scholarly journals Reflectivity and Liquid Water Content Vertical Decomposition Diagrams to Diagnose Vertical Evolution of Raindrop Size Distributions

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 579-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Doppler Velocity ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Vertical Column ◽  
Vertical Decomposition ◽  
Air Motion ◽  
Raindrop Size ◽  
Microphysical Processes

AbstractThis study consists of two parts. The first part describes the way in which vertical air motions and raindrop size distributions (DSDs) were retrieved from 449-MHz and 2.835-GHz (UHF and S band) vertically pointing radars (VPRs) deployed side by side during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) held in northern Oklahoma. The 449-MHz VPR can measure both vertical air motion and raindrop motion. The S-band VPR can measure only raindrop motion. These differences in VPR sensitivities facilitates the identification of two peaks in 449-MHz VPR reflectivity-weighted Doppler velocity spectra and the retrieval of vertical air motion and DSD parameters from near the surface to just below the melting layer.The second part of this study used the retrieved DSD parameters to decompose reflectivity and liquid water content (LWC) into two terms, one representing number concentration and the other representing DSD shape. Reflectivity and LWC vertical decomposition diagrams (Z-VDDs and LWC-VDDs, respectively) are introduced to highlight interactions between raindrop number and DSD shape in the vertical column. Analysis of Z-VDDs provides indirect measure of microphysical processes through radar reflectivity. Analysis of LWC-VDDs provides direct investigation of microphysical processes in the vertical column, including net raindrop evaporation or accretion and net raindrop breakup or coalescence. During a stratiform rain event (20 May 2011), LWC-VDDs exhibited signatures of net evaporation and net raindrop coalescence as the raindrops fell a distance of 2 km under a well-defined radar bright band. The LWC-VDD is a tool to characterize rain microphysics with quantities related to number-controlled and size-controlled processes.

scholarly journals Clouds and aerosols in Puerto Rico – a new evaluation

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 12573-12616 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Allan ◽  
D. Baumgardner ◽  
G. B. Raga ◽  
O. L. Mayol-Bracero ◽  
F. Morales-García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Fractional Cloud ◽  
Mountain Site

Abstract. The influence of aerosols, both natural and anthropogenic, remains a major area of uncertainty when predicting the properties and behaviour of clouds and their influence on climate. In an attempt to better understand warm cloud formation in a tropical marine environment, a period of intensive measurements using some of the latest developments in online instrumentation took place in December 2004 in Puerto Rico. Simultaneous online measurements of aerosol size distributions, composition, hygroscopicity and optical properties were made near the lighthouse of Cape San Juan in the north-eastern corner of the island and at the top of East Peak mountain (1040 m a.s.l.), the two sites separated by 17 km. Additional measurements of the cloud droplet residual and interstitial aerosol properties were made at the mountain site, accompanied by measurements of cloud droplet size distributions, liquid water content and the chemical composition of cloud and rain water samples. Both aerosol composition and cloud properties were found to be sensitive to wind sector. Air from the east-northeast (ENE) was mostly free of anthropogenic influences, the submircron fraction being mainly composed of non-sea salt sulphate, while that from the east-southeast (ESE) was found to be moderately influenced by populated islands upwind, adding smaller (<100 nm), externally mixed, carbonaceous particles to the aerosol that increased the number concentrations by over a factor of 3. This change in composition was also accompanied with a reduction in the measured hygroscopicity and fractional cloud activation potential of the aerosol. At the mountain site, the average cloud droplet concentrations increased from 193 to 519 cm−3, median volume diameter decreased from 20 to 14 μm and the liquid water content increased from 0.24 to 0.31 g m−3 when the winds shifted from the ENE to ESE. Larger numbers of interstitial particles were recorded, most notably at sizes greater than 100 nm, which were absent during clean conditions. The average size of the residual particles and concentrations of cloudwater nitrate, sulphate and insoluble material increased during polluted conditions. Previous studies in Puerto Rico had reported the presence of a significant non-anthropogenic organic fraction in the aerosols measured and concluded that this was a factor controlling the in situ cloud properties. However, this was not observed in our case. In contrast to the 1.00±0.14 μg m−3 of organic carbon measured in 1992 and 1995, the organic matter measured in the current study of 0.17±0.35 μg m−3 is many times lower, most of which can be attributed to anthropogenic sources. During clean conditions, the submicron aerosol was observed to be almost entirely inorganic, an observation supported by the hygroscopicity measurements. This suggests that organic aerosols from marine sources may not be completely ubiquitous (either spatially or temporally) in this environment and requires further investigation to quantify their true extent and implications, with more extensive, longer-term sampling in conjunction with back trajectory analyses.

scholarly journals Clouds and aerosols in Puerto Rico – a new evaluation

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 1293-1309 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Allan ◽  
D. Baumgardner ◽  
G. B. Raga ◽  
O. L. Mayol-Bracero ◽  
F. Morales-García ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Fractional Cloud ◽  
Mountain Site

Abstract. The influence of aerosols, both natural and anthropogenic, remains a major area of uncertainty when predicting the properties and behaviour of clouds and their influence on climate. In an attempt to better understand warm cloud formation in a tropical marine environment, a period of intensive measurements took place in December 2004 in Puerto Rico, using some of the latest developments in online instrumentation such as aerosol mass spectrometers, cloud condensation nuclei counters and a hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyser. Simultaneous online measurements of aerosol size distributions, composition, hygroscopicity and optical properties were made near the lighthouse of Cape San Juan in the north-eastern corner of the island and at the top of East Peak mountain (1040 m a.s.l.), the two sites separated by 17 km. Additional measurements of the cloud droplet residual and interstitial aerosol properties were made at the mountain site, accompanied by measurements of cloud droplet size distributions, liquid water content and the chemical composition of cloud and rain water samples. Both aerosol composition and cloud properties were found to be sensitive to wind sector. Air from the east-northeast (ENE) was mostly free of anthropogenic influences, the submicron fraction being mainly composed of non-sea salt sulphate, while that from the east-southeast (ESE) was found to be moderately influenced by populated islands upwind, adding smaller (<100 nm), externally mixed, carbonaceous particles to the aerosol that increased the number concentrations by over a factor of 3. This change in composition was also accompanied with a reduction in the measured hygroscopicity and fractional cloud activation potential of the aerosol. At the mountain site, the average cloud droplet concentrations increased from 193 to 519 cm−3, median volume diameter decreased from 20 to 14 μm and the liquid water content increased from 0.24 to 0.31 g m−3 when the winds shifted from the ENE to ESE. Larger numbers of interstitial particles were recorded, most notably at sizes greater than 100 nm, which were absent during clean conditions. The average size of the residual particles and concentrations of cloudwater nitrate, sulphate and insoluble material increased during polluted conditions. Previous studies in Puerto Rico had reported the presence of a significant non-anthropogenic organic fraction in the aerosols measured and concluded that this was a factor controlling the in situ cloud properties. However, this was not observed in our case. In contrast to the 1.00±0.14 μg m−3 of organic carbon measured in 1992 and 1995, the organic matter measured in the current study of 0.17±0.35 μg m−3 is many times lower, most of which can be attributed to anthropogenic sources. During clean conditions, the submicron aerosol was observed to be almost entirely inorganic, an observation supported by the hygroscopicity measurements. This suggests that organic aerosols from marine sources may not be completely ubiquitous (either spatially or temporally) in this environment and requires further investigation to quantify their true extent and implications, with more extensive, longer-term sampling in conjunction with wind field analyses.

scholarly journals Proof of Concept: Development of Snow Liquid Water Content Profiler Using CS650 Reflectometers at Caribou, ME, USA

Sensors ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Pérez Díaz ◽  
Jonathan Muñoz ◽  
Tarendra Lakhankar ◽  
Reza Khanbilvardi ◽  
Peter Romanov
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Concept Development ◽  
Proof Of Concept

Field Measurement of the Liquid-Water Content of Snow

1981 ◽  
Vol 27 (95) ◽  
pp. 175-178 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Field Measurement ◽  
Solution Method ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Field Trials

Abstract Field trials show that the liquid-water content of snow can be determined simply and cheaply by a version of Bader’s solution method.

scholarly journals Measuring ice- and liquid-water properties in mixed-phase cloud layers at the Leipzig Cloudnet station

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (16) ◽  
pp. 10609-10620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Bühl ◽  
Patric Seifert ◽  
Alexander Myagkov ◽  
Albert Ansmann
Keyword(s):  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Mass Flux ◽  
Mixed Phase ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Doppler Velocity ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Ice Water Content ◽  
Ice Water

Abstract. An analysis of the Cloudnet data set collected at Leipzig, Germany, with special focus on mixed-phase layered clouds is presented. We derive liquid- and ice-water content together with vertical motions of ice particles falling through cloud base. The ice mass flux is calculated by combining measurements of ice-water content and particle Doppler velocity. The efficiency of heterogeneous ice formation and its impact on cloud lifetime is estimated for different cloud-top temperatures by relating the ice mass flux and the liquid-water content at cloud top. Cloud radar measurements of polarization and Doppler velocity indicate that ice crystals formed in mixed-phase cloud layers with a geometrical thickness of less than 350 m are mostly pristine when they fall out of the cloud.

scholarly journals Snow dielectric properties: from DC to microwave X-band

1994 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 92-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
TH. Achammer ◽  
A. Denoth
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Dielectric Properties ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Liquid Water Content ◽  
Frequency Range ◽  
Snow Density ◽  
Cold Room ◽  
X Band ◽  
Grain Size And Shape

Broadband measurements of dielectric properties of natural snow samples near or at 0°C are reported. Measurement quantities are: dielectric permittivity, loss factor and complex propagation factor for electromagnetic waves. X-band measurements were made in a cold room in the laboratory; measurements at low and intermediate frequencies were carried out both in the field (Stubai Alps, 3300 m; Hafelekar near Innsbruck, 2100 m) and in the cold room. Results show that in the different frequency ranges the relative effect on snow dielectric properties of the parameters: density, grain-size and shape, liquid water content, shape and distribution of liquid inclusions and content of impurities, varies significantly. In the low-frequency range the influence of grain-size and shape and snow density dominates; in the medium-frequency range liquid water content and density are the dominant parameters. In the microwave X-band the influence of the amount, shape and distribution of liquid inclusions and snow density is more important than that of the remaining parameters.

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