scholarly journals Microphysical Processes and Synergistic Interaction between Frontal and Orographic Forcing of Precipitation during the 13 December 2001 IMPROVE-2 Event over the Oregon Cascades

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 3493-3519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher P. Woods ◽  
Mark T. Stoelinga ◽  
John D. Locatelli ◽  
Peter V. Hobbs
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Particle Production ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Synergistic Interaction ◽  
Orographic Precipitation ◽  
Cyclonic Storm ◽  
Cloud Liquid Water ◽  
Oregon Cascades

Abstract On 13–14 December 2001 a vigorous cyclonic storm passed over the Pacific Northwest, producing heavy orographic precipitation over the Cascade Mountains. This storm was one of several studied during the second field phase of the Improvement of Microphysical Parameterization through Observational Verification Experiment (IMPROVE). A wide variety of in situ and remotely sensed measurements were obtained as this storm passed over the Oregon Cascades. These measurements provided a comprehensive dataset of meteorological state parameters (temperature, pressure, humidity, winds, and vertical air velocity), polarization Doppler radar measurements, and cloud microphysical parameters (cloud liquid water, particle concentrations, size spectra, and imagery). The 13–14 December case was characterized by the passage of a tipped-forward lower-tropospheric front that extended upward to a preceding vigorous upper cold-frontal rainband, which produced clouds up to ∼8–9 km. An important difference between this storm and those studied previously over the Washington Cascades was that the prefrontal low-level airflow over the Oregon Cascades was characterized by strong westerly (as opposed to weak easterly) cross-barrier flow. Consequently, as the upper cold-frontal band passed over the Oregon Cascades there was both strong ice particle production aloft and significant production of liquid water at lower levels in the orographic lifting zone. Airborne in situ measurements, ground-based microwave radiometer measurements, and observations of snow crystals showed the simultaneous presence of high ice crystal concentrations and relatively large values of cloud liquid water aloft, and heavily rimed particles reaching the ground. Analyses indicate that a synergistic interaction occurred between the frontal and orographic precipitation.

Comparison of cloud liquid water paths derived from in situ and microwave radiometer data taken during the SHEBA/FIREACE

2001 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 975-978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bing Lin ◽  
Patrick Minnis ◽  
Alice Fan ◽  
Judith A. Curry ◽  
H. Gerber
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Water ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Cloud Liquid Water

scholarly journals A new retrieval for cloud liquid water path using a ground-based microwave radiometer and measurements of cloud temperature

2001 ◽  
Vol 106 (D13) ◽  
pp. 14485-14500 ◽  
Author(s):  
James C. Liljegren ◽  
Eugene E. Clothiaux ◽  
Gerald G. Mace ◽  
Seiji Kato ◽  
Xiquan Dong
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Water ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Liquid Water Path ◽  
Cloud Liquid Water ◽  
Water Path ◽  
Cloud Temperature ◽  
Cloud Liquid Water Path

scholarly journals The 13–14 December 2001 IMPROVE-2 Event. Part II: Comparisons of MM5 Model Simulations of Clouds and Precipitation with Observations

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 3520-3534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew F. Garvert ◽  
Christopher P. Woods ◽  
Brian A. Colle ◽  
Clifford F. Mass ◽  
Peter V. Hobbs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Water ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Event ◽  
State University ◽  
Cloud Liquid Water ◽  
Aircraft Flight ◽  
Oregon Cascades ◽  
Microphysical Parameterization ◽  
Mass Concentrations

Abstract This paper compares airborne in situ observations of cloud microphysical parameters with the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU–NCAR) Mesoscale Model (MM5) simulations, using the Reisner-2 bulk microphysical parameterization, for a heavy precipitation event over the Oregon Cascades on 13–14 December 2001. The MM5 correctly replicated the extent of the snow field and the growth of snow particles by vapor deposition measured along aircraft flight tracks between altitudes of 4.9 and 6 km, but overpredicted the mass concentrations of snow. The model produced a broader number distribution of snow particles than observed, overpredicting the number of moderate-to-large-sized snow particles and underpredicting the number of small particles observed along the aircraft flight track. Over the mountain crest, the model overpredicted depositional growth of snow and mass concentrations of snow, but underpredicted the amount of cloud liquid water and conversion of snow to graupel. The misclassification of graupel as snow and excessive amounts of snow resulted in the model overpredicting precipitation on the lee slopes and in localized areas along the foothills of the Cascades. The model overpredicted cloud liquid water over the lower windward slopes and foothills, where accretion of cloud liquid water by rain was the primary precipitation-producing mechanism.

scholarly journals Retrieval of cloud liquid water distributions from a single scanning microwave radiometer aboard a moving platform – Part 1: Field trial results from the Wakasa Bay experiment

2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 12027-12064 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Huang ◽  
A. Gasiewksi ◽  
W. Wiscombe
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Observation System ◽  
Mobile Cloud ◽  
The Sea Of Japan ◽  
Inversion Algorithm ◽  
Cloud Liquid Water ◽  
Wakasa Bay

Abstract. Tomographic methods offer a new promise for retrieving three-dimensional distributions of cloud liquid water from path-integrated radiometric measurements by passive sensors. A mobile cloud tomography system using only a single scanning microwave radiometer has many advantages over a fixed system using multiple distinctly-located radiometers, e.g., efficient and flexible data collection. Part 1 (this paper) examines the results from a limited cloud tomography trial carried out during the 2003 AMSR-E validation campaign at Wakasa Bay of the Sea of Japan. During the tomographic test, the Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR) and Microwave Imaging Radiometer (MIR) aboard the NASA P-3 research aircraft scanned through a system of low-level clouds and thus provided a useful dataset for testing the cloud tomography method. We conduct three retrieval runs with a constrained inversion algorithm using, respectively the PSR, MIR, and combined PSR and MSR data. The liquid water paths calculated from the PSR retrieval are consistent with that from the MIR retrieval. The retrieved cloud field based on the combined data appears to be physically plausible and consistent with the cloud image obtained by a cloud radar. It is unfortunate that there were no in-situ cloud measurements during the experiment that can be used to quantitatively validate the tomographic retrievals. Nevertheless, we find that some vertically-uniform clouds appear at high altitudes in the retrieved fields where the radar image shows clear sky. This is likely due to flawed data collection geometry, which, in turn, is determined by the radiometer scan strategy, and aircraft altitude and moving speed. This sets the stage for Part 2 of this study that aims at possible improvements of the mobile cloud tomography approach by a group of sensitivity studies using observation system simulation experiments.

scholarly journals Observations of Quasi-Stationary and Shallow Orographic Snow Clouds: Spatial Distributions of Supercooled Liquid Water and Snow Particles

2005 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 743-751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenichi Kusunoki ◽  
Masataka Murakami ◽  
Narihiro Orikasa ◽  
Mizuho Hoshimoto ◽  
Yoshinobu Tanaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Water ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Indirect Evidence ◽  
Supercooled Liquid ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Spatial Distributions ◽  
Liquid Water Path ◽  
Cyclonic Storm ◽  
Water Path

On 25 February 1999, due to a winter monsoon after a cyclonic storm, orographic snow clouds formed under conditions of weak cold advection on the western side of the central mountain range of Japan. In this study, the Ka-band Doppler radar and vehicle-mounted microwave radiometer and 2D-Grey imaging probe were used to obtain unique datasets for analyzing the spatial distributions of microphysical structures of the snow clouds at the windward slope. The liquid water path, number concentration of snow particles (0.1–6.4 mm diameter), and precipitation rate were found to be correlated with altitude. The greater concentration of larger particles tended to appear up the slope. The echo top was at about 2.5 km (−30 dBZ), and the relatively strong echo region (>−3 dBZ) appeared at 5 km up the slope and extended nearly parallel to the slope. According to the echo pattern, the ice water path increased with terrain height and reached the maximum intensity at about 14 km up the slope. These observations provide indirect evidence that terrain-induced updrafts lead to the generation and growth of supercooled cloud droplets and indicate that the riming process plays an important role in the growth of snow particles at higher altitudes. In this paper, it is confirmed that the abundance of supercooled liquid water (SLW) during intensified monsoon flow is due to larger water production rates caused by higher vertical velocities induced by topography. Furthermore, it can be shown that small-scale terrains enhance localized updrafts embedded within the larger-scale flow and have noticeable impact on SLW cloud distribution.

scholarly journals Tomographic retrieval of cloud liquid water fields from a single scanning microwave radiometer aboard a moving platform – Part 1: Field trial results from the Wakasa Bay experiment

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (14) ◽  
pp. 6685-6697 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Huang ◽  
A. J. Gasiewski ◽  
W. Wiscombe
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Mobile Systems ◽  
Observation System ◽  
The Sea Of Japan ◽  
Inversion Algorithm ◽  
Cloud Liquid Water ◽  
Wakasa Bay

Abstract. Tomographic methods offer great potential for retrieving three-dimensional spatial distributions of cloud liquid water from radiometric observations by passive microwave sensors. Fixed tomographic systems require multiple radiometers, while mobile systems can use just a single radiometer. Part 1 (this paper) examines the results from a limited cloud tomography trial with a single-radiometer airborne system carried out as part of the 2003 AMSR-E validation campaign over Wakasa Bay of the Sea of Japan. During this trial, the Polarimetric Scanning Radiometer (PSR) and Microwave Imaging Radiometer (MIR) aboard the NASA P-3 research aircraft provided a useful dataset for testing the cloud tomography method over a system of low-level clouds. We do tomographic retrievals with a constrained inversion algorithm using three configurations: PSR, MIR, and combined PSR and MIR data. The liquid water paths from the PSR retrieval are consistent with those from the MIR retrieval. The retrieved cloud field based on the combined data appears to be physically plausible and consistent with the cloud image obtained by a cloud radar. We find that some vertically-uniform clouds appear at high altitudes in the retrieved field where the radar shows clear sky. This is likely due to the sub-optimal data collection strategy. This sets the stage for Part 2 of this study that aims to define optimal data collection strategies using observation system simulation experiments.

Impact of Moisture Flux and Freezing Level on Simulated Orographic Precipitation Errors over the Pacific Northwest

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 140-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanluan Lin ◽  
Brian A. Colle ◽  
Sandra E. Yuter
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Moisture Flux ◽  
Orographic Precipitation ◽  
Surface Precipitation ◽  
Freezing Level ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Oregon Cascades ◽  
Ice Water

Abstract Two cool seasons (November–March) of daily simulations using the fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–NCAR Mesoscale Model (MM5) over the Pacific Northwest are used to investigate orographic precipitation bias. Model simulations are compared with data from a radiosonde site at Salem, Oregon, just upstream (west) of the Oregon Cascades; precipitation gauges over a portion of the Pacific Northwest; and a National Weather Service Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) in Portland, Oregon. The 77 storms analyzed are partitioned into warm/cold storms based on the freezing level above/below the Oregon Cascades crest (~1600 m MSL). Although the seasonal precipitation is well simulated, the model has a tendency to overpredict surface precipitation for cold storms. The correlation between the upstream relative humidity–weighted integrated moisture transport and precipitation for warm storms (r2 = 0.81) is higher than that for cold storms (r2 = 0.54). Comparisons of model ice water content (IWC) and derived reflectivity with radar-retrieved IWC and observed reflectivity for the 38 well-simulated storms show reasonably good agreement for warm storms but an overprediction of IWC and reflectivity aloft for cold storms. One plausible reason for the persistent overprediction of IWC in cold storms might be related to the positive bias in snow depositional growth formulation in the model bulk microphysics parameterization. A favorable overlap of the maximum snow depositional growth region with the mountain wave ascent region in cold storms magnifies the bias and likely contributes to the precipitation overprediction. This study also highlights the benefit of using data aloft from an operational radar to complement surface precipitation gauges for model precipitation evaluation over mountainous terrain.

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