TY - JOUR
T1 - Polarimetric radar and aircraft observations of saggy bright bands during MC3E
AU - Kumjian, Matthew R.
AU - Mishra, Subashree
AU - Giangrande, Scott E.
AU - Toto, Tami
AU - Ryzhkov, Alexander V.
AU - Bansemer, Aaron
N1 - Funding Information:
Support for this work comes from grant ER65459 from the U.S. Depart ment of Energy Atmospheric System Research program. Support for A. Ryzhkov and S. Mishra comes from NOAA/Office and Atmospheric Research under NOAA-University of Oklahoma cooperative agreement NA11OAR4320072, U.S. Department of Commerce. Support for A. Bansemer is from DOE ASR grant DE-SC0008648. We would like to thank Mike Poellet and his research group at UND for processing and providing the in situ aircraft data. Radar data are avail able at the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program data archive. We would also like to thank Sandra Yuter (NCSU) for helpful criticisms of our work. The comments and suggestions from three anonymous reviewers significantly improved the clarity and presentation of the manuscript. The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Polarimetric radar observations increasingly are used to understand cloud microphysical processes, which is critical for improving their representation in cloud and climate models. In particular, there has been recent focus on improving representations of ice collection processes (e.g., aggregation and riming), as these influence precipitation rate, heating profiles, and ultimately cloud life cycles. However, distinguishing these processes using conventional polarimetric radar observations is difficult, as they produce similar fingerprints. This necessitates improved analysis techniques and integration of complementary data sources. The Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) provided such an opportunity. Quasi-vertical profiles of polarimetric radar variables in two MC3E stratiform precipitation events reveal episodic melting layer sagging. Integrated analyses using scanning and vertically pointing radar and aircraft measurements reveal that saggy bright band signatures are produced when denser, faster-falling, more isometric hydrometeors (relative to adjacent times) descend into the melting layer. In one case, strong circumstantial evidence for riming is found during bright band sagging times. A bin microphysical melting layer model successfully reproduces many aspects of the signature, supporting the observational analysis. If found to be a reliable indicator of riming, saggy bright bands could be a proxy for the presence of supercooled liquid water in stratiform precipitation, which may provid.
AB - Polarimetric radar observations increasingly are used to understand cloud microphysical processes, which is critical for improving their representation in cloud and climate models. In particular, there has been recent focus on improving representations of ice collection processes (e.g., aggregation and riming), as these influence precipitation rate, heating profiles, and ultimately cloud life cycles. However, distinguishing these processes using conventional polarimetric radar observations is difficult, as they produce similar fingerprints. This necessitates improved analysis techniques and integration of complementary data sources. The Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) provided such an opportunity. Quasi-vertical profiles of polarimetric radar variables in two MC3E stratiform precipitation events reveal episodic melting layer sagging. Integrated analyses using scanning and vertically pointing radar and aircraft measurements reveal that saggy bright band signatures are produced when denser, faster-falling, more isometric hydrometeors (relative to adjacent times) descend into the melting layer. In one case, strong circumstantial evidence for riming is found during bright band sagging times. A bin microphysical melting layer model successfully reproduces many aspects of the signature, supporting the observational analysis. If found to be a reliable indicator of riming, saggy bright bands could be a proxy for the presence of supercooled liquid water in stratiform precipitation, which may provid.
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U2 - 10.1002/2015JD024446
DO - 10.1002/2015JD024446
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84963904768
VL - 121
SP - 3584
EP - 3607
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
SN - 2169-897X
IS - 7
ER -