scholarly journals Moving Cellular Structure of Fog Echoes Obtained with a Millimeter-Wave Scanning Doppler Radar at Kushiro, Japan

2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (8) ◽  
pp. 1260-1273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akihisa Uematsu ◽  
Hiroyuki Hashiguchi ◽  
Michihiro Teshiba ◽  
Hisamichi Tanaka ◽  
Koichi Hirashima ◽  
...  

Abstract Observations of fogs with a millimeter-wave scanning Doppler radar were conducted at Kushiro in Hokkaido, Japan, in the summer seasons of 1999 and 2000. Three typical types of plan position indicator (PPI) displays were observed: cellular echoes with high radar reflectivity factors (∼−10 dBZ), uniformly distributed echoes with high reflectivities (∼−10 dBZ), and uniformly distributed echoes with low reflectivities (∼−30 dBZ). The authors focused on advection fog with cellular echoes observed on 5 August 1999 and 31 July 2000. Echoes showed structures of cells with a reflectivity of −10 dBZ and with intervals of about 1 km. This echo pattern moved northward (i.e., from the sea to the land). There was a vertical shear of the horizontal wind at a height around 200 m in both cases, and structures of each cell were upright above the shear line and were leaning below it. The direction and the speed of the echo pattern in both PPI and range–height indicator (RHI) displays agreed well with that of the horizontal wind at heights above the shear (200 m). In the echo cells, existence of drizzle drops is implied.

2005 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eiko Wada ◽  
Hiroyuki Hashiguchi ◽  
Masayuki K. Yamamoto ◽  
Michihiro Teshiba ◽  
Shoichiro Fukao

Abstract Observations of frontal cirrus clouds were conducted with the scanning millimeter-wave radar at the Shigaraki Middle and Upper Atmosphere (MU) Radar Observatory in Shiga, Japan, during 30 September–13 October 2000. The three-dimensional background winds were also observed with the very high frequency (VHF) band MU radar. Comparing the observational results of the two radars, it was found that the cirrus clouds appeared coincident with the layers of the strong vertical shear of the horizontal winds, and they developed and became thicker under the condition of the strong vertical shear of the horizontal wind and updraft. The result of the radiosonde observation indicated that Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) occurred at 8–9-km altitudes because of the strong vertical shear of the horizontal wind. The warm and moist air existed above the 8.5-km altitude, and the cold and dry air existed below the 8.5-km altitude. As a result of the airmass mixing of air above and below the 8.5-km altitudes, the cirrus clouds were formed. The updraft, which existed at 8.5–12-km altitude, caused the development of the cirrus clouds with the thickness of >2 km. By using the scanning millimeter-wave radar, the three-dimensional structure of cell echoes formed by KHI for the first time were successfully observed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-74
Author(s):  
Mark Schlutow ◽  
Georg S. Voelker

Abstract We investigate strongly nonlinear stationary gravity waves which experience refraction due to a thin vertical shear layer of horizontal background wind. The velocity amplitude of the waves is of the same order of magnitude as the background flow and hence the self-induced mean flow alters the modulation properties to leading order. In this theoretical study, we show that the stability of such a refracted wave depends on the classical modulation stability criterion for each individual layer, above and below the shearing. Additionally, the stability is conditioned by novel instability criteria providing bounds on the mean-flow horizontal wind and the amplitude of the wave. A necessary condition for instability is that the mean-flow horizontal wind in the upper layer is stronger than the wind in the lower layer.


Author(s):  
Yuanbo Ran ◽  
Haijiang Wang ◽  
Li Tian ◽  
Jiang Wu ◽  
Xiaohong Li

AbstractPrecipitation clouds are visible aggregates of hydrometeor in the air that floating in the atmosphere after condensation, which can be divided into stratiform cloud and convective cloud. Different precipitation clouds often accompany different precipitation processes. Accurate identification of precipitation clouds is significant for the prediction of severe precipitation processes. Traditional identification methods mostly depend on the differences of radar reflectivity distribution morphology between stratiform and convective precipitation clouds in three-dimensional space. However, all of them have a common shortcoming that the radial velocity data detected by Doppler Weather Radar has not been applied to the identification of precipitation clouds because it is insensitive to the convective movement in the vertical direction. This paper proposes a new method for precipitation clouds identification based on deep learning algorithm, which is according the distribution morphology of multiple radar data. It mainly includes three parts, which are Constant Altitude Plan Position Indicator data (CAPPI) interpolation for radar reflectivity, Radial projection of the ground horizontal wind field by using radial velocity data, and the precipitation clouds identification based on Faster-RCNN. The testing result shows that the method proposed in this paper performs better than the traditional methods in terms of precision. Moreover, this method boasts great advantages in running time and adaptive ability.


2016 ◽  
Vol 84 ◽  
pp. 36-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashish Kumar Singh ◽  
Yong Hoon Kim

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (12) ◽  
pp. 2433-2450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerome M. Schmidt ◽  
Piotr J. Flatau ◽  
Paul R. Harasti ◽  
Robert. D. Yates ◽  
David J. Delene ◽  
...  

Abstract Descriptions of the experimental design and research highlights obtained from a series of four multiagency field projects held near Cape Canaveral, Florida, are presented. The experiments featured a 3 MW, dual-polarization, C-band Doppler radar that serves in a dual capacity as both a precipitation and cloud radar. This duality stems from a combination of the radar’s high sensitivity and extremely small-resolution volumes produced by the narrow 0.22° beamwidth and the 0.543 m along-range resolution. Experimental highlights focus on the radar’s real-time aircraft tracking capability as well as the finescale reflectivity and eddy structure of a thin nonprecipitating stratus layer. Examples of precipitating storm systems focus on the analysis of the distinctive and nearly linear radar reflectivity signatures (referred to as “streaks”) that are caused as individual hydrometeors traverse the narrow radar beam. Each streak leaves a unique radar reflectivity signature that is analyzed with regard to estimating the underlying particle properties such as size, fall speed, and oscillation characteristics. The observed along-streak reflectivity oscillations are complex and discussed in terms of diameter-dependent drop dynamics (oscillation frequency and viscous damping time scales) as well as radar-dependent factors governing the near-field Fresnel radiation pattern and inferred drop–drop interference.


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 230
Author(s):  
Inyeob La ◽  
Seong Soo Yum ◽  
Ismail Gultepe ◽  
Jae Min Yeom ◽  
Jae In Song ◽  
...  

To enhance our understanding of fog processes over complex terrain, various fog events that occurred during the International Collaborative Experiments for Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics (ICE-POP) campaign were selected. Investigation of thermodynamic, dynamic, and microphysical conditions within fog layers affected by quasi-periodic oscillation of atmospheric variables was conducted using observations from a Fog Monitor-120 (FM-120) and other in-situ meteorological instruments. A total of nine radiation fog cases that occurred in the autumn and winter seasons during the campaign over the mountainous region of Pyeongchang, Korea were selected. The wavelet analysis was used to study quasi-period oscillations of dynamic, microphysical, and thermodynamic variables. By decomposing the time series into the time-frequency space, we can determine both dominant periods and how these dominant periods change in time. Quasi-period oscillations of liquid water content (LWC), pressure, temperature, and horizontal/vertical velocity, which have periods of 15–40 min, were observed during the fog formation stages. We hypothesize that these quasi-periodic oscillations were induced by Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. The results suggest that Kelvin–Helmholtz instability events near the surface can be explained by an increase in the vertical shear of horizontal wind and by a simultaneous increase in wind speed when fog forms. In the mature stages, fluctuations of the variables did not appear near the surface anymore.


2018 ◽  
Vol 146 (9) ◽  
pp. 2799-2817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udai Shimada ◽  
Takeshi Horinouchi

Abstract Strong vertical wind shear produces asymmetries in the eyewall structure of a tropical cyclone (TC) and is generally a hostile environment for TC intensification. Typhoon Noul (2015), however, reintensified and formed a closed eyewall despite 200–850-hPa vertical shear in excess of 11 m s−1. Noul’s reintensification and eyewall formation in strong shear were examined by using Doppler radar and surface observations. The evolution of the azimuthal-mean structure showed that the tangential wind at 2-km altitude increased from 30 to 45 m s−1 in only 5 h. During the first half of the reintensification, the azimuthal-mean inflow penetrated into the ~40-km radius, well inside the radius of maximum wind (RMW), at least below 4-km altitude, and reflectivity inside the RMW increased. As for the asymmetric evolution, vigorous convection, dominated by an azimuthal wavenumber-1 asymmetry, occurred in the downshear-left quadrant when shear started to increase and then moved upshear. A mesovortex formed inside the convective asymmetry on the upshear side. The direction of vortex tilt between the 1- and 5-km altitudes rotated cyclonically from the downshear-left to the upshear-right quadrant as the vortex was vertically aligned. In conjunction with the alignment, the amplitude of the wavenumber-1 convective asymmetry decreased and a closed eyewall formed. These features are consistent with the theory that a vortex can be vertically aligned through upshear precession. The analysis results suggest that the vortex tilt, vigorous convection, and subsequent intensification were triggered by the increase in shear in a convectively favorable environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 567-588 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Bramberger ◽  
Andreas Dörnbrack ◽  
Henrike Wilms ◽  
Florian Ewald ◽  
Robert Sharman

AbstractStrong turbulence was encountered by the German High-Altitude Long-Range Research Aircraft (HALO) at flight level 430 (13.8 km) on 13 October 2016 above Iceland. In this event the turbulence caused altitude changes of the research aircraft of about 50 m within a period of approximately 15 s. Additionally, the automatic thrust control of the HALO could not control the large gradients in the horizontal wind speed and, consequently, the pilot had to switch off this system. Simultaneously, the French Falcon of Service des Avions Français Instrumentés pour la Recherche en Environnement (SAFIRE), flying 2 km below HALO, also encountered turbulence at almost the same location. On that day, mountain-wave (MW) excitation and propagation was favored by the alignment of strong surface winds and the polar front jet. We use a combination of in situ observations, ECMWF and empirical turbulence forecasts, and high-resolution simulations to characterize the observed turbulent event. These show that a pronounced negative vertical shear of the horizontal wind favored overturning and breaking of MWs in the area of the encountered turbulence. The turbulent region was tilted upstream and extended over a distance of about 2 km in the vertical. The analyses suggest that HALO was flying through the center of a breaking MW field while the French Falcon encountered the lower edge of this region. Surprisingly, the pronounced gradients in the horizontal wind speeds leading to the deactivation of the automatic thrust control were located north of the breaking MW field. In this area, our analysis suggests the presence of gravity waves that could have generated the encountered modulation of the horizontal wind field.


2008 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Heymsfield ◽  
Alain Protat ◽  
Dominique Bouniol ◽  
Richard T. Austin ◽  
Robin J. Hogan ◽  
...  

Abstract Vertical profiles of ice water content (IWC) can now be derived globally from spaceborne cloud satellite radar (CloudSat) data. Integrating these data with Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) data may further increase accuracy. Evaluations of the accuracy of IWC retrieved from radar alone and together with other measurements are now essential. A forward model employing aircraft Lagrangian spiral descents through mid- and low-latitude ice clouds is used to estimate profiles of what a lidar and conventional and Doppler radar would sense. Radar reflectivity Ze and Doppler fall speed at multiple wavelengths and extinction in visible wavelengths were derived from particle size distributions and shape data, constrained by IWC that were measured directly in most instances. These data were provided to eight teams that together cover 10 retrieval methods. Almost 3400 vertically distributed points from 19 clouds were used. Approximate cloud optical depths ranged from below 1 to more than 50. The teams returned retrieval IWC profiles that were evaluated in seven different ways to identify the amount and sources of errors. The mean (median) ratio of the retrieved-to-measured IWC was 1.15 (1.03) ± 0.66 for all teams, 1.08 (1.00) ± 0.60 for those employing a lidar–radar approach, and 1.27 (1.12) ± 0.78 for the standard CloudSat radar–visible optical depth algorithm for Ze > −28 dBZe. The ratios for the groups employing the lidar–radar approach and the radar–visible optical depth algorithm may be lower by as much as 25% because of uncertainties in the extinction in small ice particles provided to the groups. Retrievals from future spaceborne radar using reflectivity–Doppler fall speeds show considerable promise. A lidar–radar approach, as applied to measurements from CALIPSO and CloudSat, is useful only in a narrow range of ice water paths (IWP) (40 < IWP < 100 g m−2). Because of the use of the Rayleigh approximation at high reflectivities in some of the algorithms and differences in the way nonspherical particles and Mie effects are considered, IWC retrievals in regions of radar reflectivity at 94 GHz exceeding about 5 dBZe are subject to uncertainties of ±50%.


Author(s):  
K.B. Cooper ◽  
C. Baldi ◽  
G. Chattopadhyay ◽  
M. Choukroun ◽  
C. Cochrane ◽  
...  

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