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Vertical Structure of Stratiform Rain During TEFLUN-B and TRMM-LBA as Derived From an Airborne Radar Perspective

The NASA aircraft instrumented with airborne radars overflew a number of stratiform rain systems during the Texas and Florida Underflights Experiment-B TEFLUN-B) and TRMM-LBA (LBA). TEFLUN-B was conducted near Melbourne Florida during late Summer 1998 for validation of the TRMM satellite. LBA was conducted in Rondonia, Brazil in the Amazon region. Key in these campaigns were the ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft, as well as extensive ground-validation networks including the NCAR S-band (S-POL) polarization radar and University of North Dakota Citation II in situ microphysics measurements. This paper compares the vertical structure of precipitation and vertical motions for four cases: 5 September 1998 and 13 August 1998 during TEFLUN-B and 17 February 1999 and 21 February 1999 during LBA. Both these stratiform systems were within close range of the S-POL radar, and were sampled with downlooking radars and radiometers on the ER-2 (and DC-8 during LBA). Emphasis in the paper is on statistics of the vertical hydrometeor profiles, and their relation to the vertical velocity structure deduced from the ER-2 Doppler Radar (EDOP) measurements. These profiles are used to identify whether growth regions exist as would be expected with mesoscale updrafts often associated with stratiform regions. Finally, rain rates in the stratiform rain derived from EDOP and S-POL are compared.

Heymsfield, Gerald M.↗

A TRMM-Calibrated Infrared Technique for Convective and Stratiform Rainfall: Analysis and Validation

A satellite infrared technique with passive microwave calibration has been developed for estimating convective and stratiform. rainfall. The Convective-Stratiform Technique, calibrated by coincident, physically retrieved rain rates from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), has been applied to 30 min interval GOES infrared data and aggregated over seasonal and yearly periods over northern South America. The diurnal cycle of rainfall, as well as the division between convective and stratiform rainfall is presented. For the period Jan-April 1999, analysis revealed significant effects of local circulations (river breeze, land/sea breeze, mountain/valley) on both the total rainfall and it's diurnal cycle. Results compared well (a one-hour lag) with the diurnal cycle derived from TOGA radar-estimated rainfall in Rondonia. The satellite estimates revealed that the convective rain constituted 24% of the rain area while accounting for 67% of the rain volume. Estimates of the diurnal cycle (both total rainfall and convective/stratiform) for an area encompassing the Amazon Basin (3 x 10(exp 6) square km) were in phase with those from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, despite the latter's limited sampling. Results will be presented comparing the yearly (2000) diurnal cycle for large regions (including the Amazon Basin), and an intercomparison of January-March estimates for three years, 1999-2001. We hope to demonstrate the utility of using the TRMM PR observations as verification for infrared estimates of the diurnal cycle, and as verification of the apportionment of rainfall into convective and stratiform components.

Negri, Andrew↗

A TRMM-Calibrated Infrared Technique for Convective and Stratiform Rainfall: Analysis and Validation

A satellite infrared technique with passive microwave calibration has been developed for estimating convective and stratiform rainfall. The Convective-Stratiform Technique, calibrated by coincident, physically retrieved rain rates from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), has been applied to 30 min interval GOES infrared data and aggregated over seasonal and yearly periods over northern South America. The diurnal cycle of rainfall, as well as the division between convective and stratiform rainfall is presented. For the period Jan-April 1999, analysis revealed significant effects of local circulations (river breeze, land/sea breeze, mountain/valley) on both the total rainfall and it's diurnal cycle. Results compared well (a one-hour lag) with the diurnal cycle derived from TOGA radar-estimated rainfall in Rondonia. The satellite estimates revealed that the convective rain constituted 24% of the rain area while accounting for 67% of the rain volume. Estimates of the diurnal cycle (both total rainfall and convective/stratiform) for an area encompassing the Amazon Basin (3 x 10(exp 6) sq km) were in phase with those from the TRMM Precipitation Radar, despite the latter's limited sampling. Results will be presented comparing the yearly (2000) diurnal cycle for large regions (including the Amazon Basin), and an intercomparison of January-March estimates for three years, (1999-2001). We hope to demonstrate the utility of using the TRMM PR observations as verification for infrared estimates of the diurnal cycle, and as verification of the apportionment of rainfall into convective and stratiform components.

Negri, Andrew↗

Drop Axis Ratio Distributions in Stratiform and Convective Rain

A fully calibrated low profile 2D video disdrometer (2DVD) has been recording many different rainfall events in Northern Alabama (USA) since June 2007. An earlier publication reported drop shapes and axis ratio distributions determined for some of the events. For one of the cases examined, a noticeable shift in the 3.5 - 3.75 mm drop axis ratio distribution was noted. In this paper, we extend the earlier work by separating the 2DVD measurements into stratiform and convective rain. The separation is made possible by using the minute-by-minute drop size distribution (DSD) measured by the 2DVD. The 1-minute DSDs are fitted to a gamma distribution, and using a simple indexing technique which involves two of the fitted parameters, periods of convective and stratiform rain are separated for a given event. The output of the DSD indexing technique is qualitatively confirmed by comparing with simultaneous time series observations from a co-located UHF profiler which continuously records height profiles of reflectivity, Doppler mean and spectral width, all of which enable the identification of bright-band periods and, furthermore, periods of moderate and deep convection. Excellent consistency is found between the output of the DSD-based separation method and the profiler observations. Next, we utilize the output of DSD index-based separation method to flag the periods of severe convection for a given event. Drop axis ratios during the flagged periods are derived and compared with those during stratiform rain periods. Five cases have been considered. Axis ratio distributions do not show appreciable differences between stratiform and convective periods for four of the cases. The fifth case (the same case as reported earlier) shows a shift in the 3.5 - 3.75 mm drop axis ratios during a prolonged period of convection. The contoured shapes for these drops determined from the 2DVD camera data indicate the possibility of non-axisymmetric oscillations, compared with the contoured images for other events which fit well to our reference drop shapes. For all of above cases, observations from a C-band polarimetric radar - situated 15 km away are examined. The variations between the co-polar radar reflectivity and the differential reflectivity as well as the specific differential phase are compared with the 2DVD data based scattering calculations for the 5 events. The implications will be discussed.

Thurai, M.↗

Impacts of Microphysical Scheme on Convective and Stratiform Characteristics in Two High Precipitation Squall Line Events

This study investigates the impact of snow, graupel, and hail processes on simulated squall lines over the Southern Great Plains in the United States. The Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to simulate two squall line events in Oklahoma during May 2007, and the simulations are validated against radar and surface observations. Several microphysics schemes are tested in this study, including the WRF 5-Class Microphysics (WSM5), WRF 6-Class Microphysics (WSM6), Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) Three Ice (3-ice) with graupel, Goddard Two Ice (2-ice), and Goddard 3-ice hail schemes. Simulated surface precipitation is sensitive to the microphysics scheme when the graupel or hail categories are included. All of the 3-ice schemes overestimate the total precipitation with WSM6 having the largest bias. The 2-ice schemes, without a graupel/hail category, produce less total precipitation than the 3-ice schemes. By applying a radar-based convective/stratiform partitioning algorithm, we find that including graupel/hail processes increases the convective areal coverage, precipitation intensity, updraft, and downdraft intensities, and reduces the stratiform areal coverage and precipitation intensity. For vertical structures, simulations have higher reflectivity values distributed aloft than the observed values in both the convective and stratiform regions. Three-ice schemes produce more high reflectivity values in convective regions, while 2-ice schemes produce more high reflectivity values in stratiform regions. In addition, this study has demonstrated that the radar-based convective/stratiform partitioning algorithm can reasonably identify WRF-simulated precipitation, wind, and microphysical fields in both convective and stratiform regions.

snow↗

Stratiform and Convective Precipitation Observed by Multiple Radars during the DYNAMO/AMIE Experiment

The motivation for this research is to develop a precipitation classification and rain rate estimation method using cloud radar-only measurements for Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) long-term cloud observation analysis, which are crucial and unique for studying cloud lifecycle and precipitation features under different weather and climate regimes. Based on simultaneous and collocated observations of the Ka-band ARM zenith radar (KAZR), two precipitation radars (NCAR S-PolKa and Texas A&M University SMART-R), and surface precipitation during the DYNAMO/AMIE field campaign, a new cloud radar-only based precipitation classification and rain rate estimation method has been developed and evaluated. The resulting precipitation classification is equivalent to those collocated SMART-R and S-PolKa observations. Both cloud and precipitation radars detected about 5% precipitation occurrence during this period. The convective (stratiform) precipitation fraction is about 18% (82%). The 2-day collocated disdrometer observations show an increased number concentration of large raindrops in convective rain compared to dominant concentration of small raindrops in stratiform rain. The composite distributions of KAZR reflectivity and Doppler velocity also show two distinct structures for convective and stratiform rain. These indicate that the method produces physically consistent results for two types of rain. The cloud radar-only rainfall estimation is developed based on the gradient of accumulative radar reflectivity below 1 km, near-surface Ze, and collocated surface rainfall (R) measurement. The parameterization is compared with the Z-R exponential relation. The relative difference between estimated and surface measured rainfall rate shows that the two-parameter relation can improve rainfall estimation.

convective↗

A Possible Explanation for the Z-R Parameter Inconsistency when Comparing Stratiform and Convective Rainfall

The well-known Z-R power law Z A R(sup b) uses two parameters, A and b, in order to relate rainfall rate R to measured weather radar reflectivity Z. A common method used by researchers is to compute Z and R from disdrometer data and then extract the A-b parameter pair from a log-linear line fit to a scatter plot of Z-R pairs. Even though it may seem far more truthful to extract the parameter pair from a fit of radar Z(sub R) versus gauge rainfall rate R(sub G), the extreme difference in spatial and temporal sampling volumes between radar and rain gauge creates a slew of problems that can generally only be solved by using rain gauge arrays and long sampling averages. Disdrometer derived A-b parameters are easily obtained and can provide information for the study of stratiform versus convective rainfall. However, an inconsistency appears when comparing averaged A-b pairs from various researchers. Values of b range from 1.26 to 1.51 for both stratiform and convective events. Paradoxically the values of A fall into three groups: 150 to 200 for convective; 200 to 400 for stratiform; and 400 to 500 again for convective. This apparent inconsistency can be explained by computing the A-b pair using the gamma DSD coupled with a modified drop terminal velocity model, v(D) alpha D(sup beta) - w, where w is a somewhat artificial constant vertical velocity of the air above the disdrometer. This model predicts three regions of A, corresponding to w less than 0, w = 0, and w greater than 0, which approximately matches observed data.

gamma DSD↗

Aerosol effects on the anvil characteristics, cold pool forcing and stratiform-convective precipitation partitioning and latent heating of mesoscale convective systems

The overarching science goal of this project has been to assess the impacts of aerosols on mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). More specifically we have investigated the impacts of (a) aerosol types, (b) aerosol concentrations, and (c) the vertical and horizontal location of aerosols on the (1) anvil cloud characteristics and feedbacks; (2) total precipitation and the partitioning between convective and stratiform precipitation; (3) the vertical heating structure; (4) hydrometeor size distributions; and (5) the strength and intensity of the cold pools and updrafts. These have been achieved both through observational analyses and high-resolution cloud-resolving model simulations of three MCSs that were observed during the MC3E field campaign (25 April, 20 May and 23 May 2011). The primary findings of these research are the following: Condensation and deposition are the primary contributors to MCS latent warming, when compared to riming and nucleation processes. In terms of MCS latent cooling, sublimation, melting, and evaporation all play significant roles. Throughout the MCS lifecycle, convective regions demonstrate an approximately linear decrease in the magnitudes of latent heating rates, while latent heating within stratiform regions is associated with transitions between MCS flow regimes including the rear inflow jet. Such information regarding the temporal evolution of latent heating within convective and stratiform MCS regions could be useful in developing parameterizations representing convective organization. Increasing aerosol concentration from a clean continental to a highly polluted state produces an increase in the riming rates of cloud water, which results in less lofted cloud water in polluted environments. Aerosol-induced trends in the cloud mixing ratio profiles are, however, nonmonotonic in the mixed phase region, such that a moderate increase in aerosol concentration produces the greatest reduction in cloud water. Less lofted cloud water due to enhanced riming rates leads to reduced anvil ice mixing ratios but to greater numbers of small ice crystals within the anvil. In spite of reduced anvil ice mixing ratio, the anvil clouds exhibit greater areal coverage, increased albedo, reduced cloud top cooling, and reduced net radiative flux, which produces an aerosol-induced warming (reduced cooling) effect in these MCSs. Lower-tropospheric aerosol particles largely influence the MCS precipitation response directly rearward of the leading cold pool boundary. However, further backward in the MCS, the relative impact of lower- versus mid-tropospheric aerosol particles is strongly dependent on the MCS structure and differences in the line-normal wind shear. Mid-tropospheric aerosol particles are able to activate new cloud droplets in the mid-tropospheric levels of convective updrafts and thereby enhance mixed-phase precipitation through increased cloud riming.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Estimation of liquid water path below the melting layer in stratiform precipitation systems using radar measurements during MC3E

In this study, the liquid water path (LWP) below the melting layer in stratiform precipitation systems is retrieved, which is a combination of rain liquid water path (RLWP) and cloud liquid water path (CLWP). The retrieval algorithm uses measurements from the vertically pointing radars (VPRs) at 35 and 3 GHz operated by the US Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) during the field campaign Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E). The measured radar reflectivity and mean Doppler velocity from both VPRs and spectrum width from the 35 GHz radar are utilized. With the aid of the cloud base detected by a ceilometer, the LWP in the liquid layer is retrieved under two different situations: (I) no cloud exists below the melting base, and (II) cloud exists below the melting base. In (I), LWP is primarily contributed from raindrops only, i.e., RLWP, which is estimated by analyzing the Doppler velocity differences between two VPRs. In (II), cloud particles and raindrops coexist below the melting base. The CLWP is estimated using a modified attenuation-based algorithm. Two stratiform precipitation cases (20 and 11 May 2011) during MC3E are illustrated for two situations, respectively. With a total of 13 h of samples during MC3E, statistical results show that the occurrence of cloud particles below the melting base is low (9 %); however, the mean CLWP value can be up to 0.56 kg m -2 , which is much larger than the RLWP (0.10 kg m -2 ). When only raindrops exist below the melting base, the average RLWP value is larger (0.32 kg m -2 ) than the with-cloud situation. The overall mean LWP below the melting base is 0.34 kg m -2 for stratiform systems during MC3E.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Mesoscale characteristics of monsoonal convection and associated stratiform precipitation

Observations undertaken on 12 January 1990 at Darwin (Australia) are used to document the structure of a monsoonal rainband in a low convective available potential energy low-shear tropical environment. Dual-Doppler radar analyses are employed to investigate the structure and kinematics of the convective and stratiform regions. A system with the characteristics of a relatively short-lived squall line in which warm rain processes play a significant role in the production of precipitation is evident. Planetary boundary layer cold-pool production is important in the organization and motion of the system. A trailing stratiform region is evident with a mean updraft-downdraft circulation, but is composed of in situ decaying convective cells. A storm-relative mesoscale cyclonic circulation is also observed within the stratiform cloud. This vortex was maintained by thermodynamically induced midlevel convergence, convectively generated storm-scale circulations, and their interaction with the background monsoon flow.

Keenan, Thomas D.↗

Recent Improvements in Estimating Convective and Stratiform Rainfall in Amazonia

In this paper we present results from the application of a satellite infrared (IR) technique for estimating rainfall over northern South America. Our main objectives are to examine the diurnal variability of rainfall and to investigate the relative contributions from the convective and stratiform components. We apply the technique of Anagnostou et al (1999). In simple functional form, the estimated rain area A(sub rain) may be expressed as: A(sub rain) = f(A(sub mode),T(sub mode)), where T(sub mode) is the mode temperature of a cloud defined by 253 K, and A(sub mode) is the area encompassed by T(sub mode). The technique was trained by a regression between coincident microwave estimates from the Goddard Profiling (GPROF) algorithm (Kummerow et al, 1996) applied to SSM/I data and GOES IR (11 microns) observations. The apportionment of the rainfall into convective and stratiform components is based on the microwave technique described by Anagnostou and Kummerow (1997). The convective area from this technique was regressed against an IR structure parameter (the Convective Index) defined by Anagnostou et al (1999). Finally, rainrates are assigned to the Am.de proportional to (253-temperature), with different rates for the convective and stratiform

Negri, Andrew J.↗

Stratiform and Convective Rain Discrimination from Microwave Radiometer Observations

A criterion based on the SSM/I observations is developed to discriminate rain into convective and stratiform types. This criterion depends on the microwave polarization properties of the flat melting snow particles that fall slowly in the stratiform clouds. Utilizing this criterion and some spatial and temporal characteristics of hydrometeors in TOGA-COARE area revealed by ship borne radars, we have developed an algorithm to retrieve convective and stratiform rain rate from SSM/I data.

Prabhakara, C.↗

Modeling of Convective-Stratiform Precipitation Processes: Sensitivity to Partitioning Methods and Numerical Advection Schemes

Six different convective-stratiform separation techniques, including a new technique that utilizes the ratio of vertical and terminal velocities, are compared and evaluated using two-dimensional numerical simulations of a tropical [Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE)] and midlatitude continental [Preliminary Regional Experiment for STORM-Central (PRESTORM)] squall line. The simulations are made using two different numerical advection schemes: 4th order and positive definite advection. Comparisons are made in terms of rainfall, cloud coverage, mass fluxes, apparent heating and moistening, mean hydrometeor profiles, CFADs (Contoured Frequency with Altitude Diagrams), microphysics, and latent heating retrieval. Overall, it was found that the different separation techniques produced results that qualitatively agreed. However, the quantitative differences were significant. Observational comparisons were unable to conclusively evaluate the performance of the techniques. Latent heating retrieval was shown to be sensitive to the use of separation technique mainly due to the stratiform region for methods that found very little stratiform rain. The midlatitude PRESTORM simulation was found to be nearly invariant with respect to advection type for most quantities while for TOGA COARE fourth order advection produced numerous shallow convective cores and positive definite advection fewer cells that were both broader and deeper penetrating above the freezing level.

Lang, Steve↗

Modeling of Convective-Stratiform Precipitation Processes: Sensitivity to Partitioning Methods

Six different convective-stratiform separation techniques, including a new technique that utilizes the ratio of vertical and terminal velocities, are compared and evaluated using two-dimensional numerical simulations of a tropical [Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE)] and midlatitude continental [Preliminary Regional Experiment for STORM-Central (PRESTORM)] squall line. Comparisons are made in terms of rainfall, cloud coverage, mass fluxes, apparent heating and moistening, mean hydrometeor profiles, CFADs (Contoured Frequency with Altitude Diagrams), microphysics, and latent heating retrieval. Overall, it was found that the different separation techniques produced results that qualitatively agreed. However, the quantitative differences were significant. Observational comparisons were unable to conclusively evaluate the performance of the techniques. Latent heating retrieval was shown to be sensitive to the use of separation technique mainly due to the stratiform region for methods that found very little stratiform rain.

Lang, S. E.↗

Impacts of Microphysical Scheme on Convective and Stratiform Characteristics in Two High Precipitation Squall Line Events

This study investigates the impact of snow, graupel, and hail processes on the simulated squall lines over the Southern Great Plains in the United States. Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to simulate two squall line events in May 2007, and the results are validated against radar and surface observations in Oklahoma. Several microphysics schemes are tested in this study, including WRF 5-Class Microphysics Scheme (WSM5), WRF 6-Class Microphysics Scheme (WSM6), Goddard Three Ice scheme (Goddard 3-ice) with graupel, Goddard Two Ice scheme (Goddard 2-ice), and Goddard 3-ice hail scheme. The simulated surface precipitation is sensitive to the microphysics scheme, and especially to whether graupel or hail category is included. All of the three ice (3-ice) schemes overestimated the total precipitation, within which WSM6 has the highest overestimation. Two ice (2-ice) schemes, missing a graupel/hail category, produced less total precipitation than 3-ice schemes. By applying a radar-based convective/stratiform partitioning algorithm, we find that by including the graupel/hail processes, there is an increase in areal coverage, precipitation intensity, updraft and downdraft intensity in convective region and a reduction of areal coverage and its precipitation intensity in stratiform region. For vertical structures, all the bulk schemes, especially 2-ice schemes, have the highest reflectivity located at upper levels (~8 km), which is unrealistic compared to observations. In addition, this study shows the radar-based convective/stratiform partitioning algorithm can reasonably identify WRF simulated precipitation, wind and microphysics fields in both convective and stratiform regions.

characteristics↗

EPCAPE Stratiform Cloud Analysis for Radiative Properties Experiment (SCARPE) Field Campaign Report

A unique attribute of the Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE) is the availability of an elevated secondary measurement site just 5 km from the main U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) deployment on Scripps Pier. Mount Soledad, at 250 m elevation, offers the ability to frequently measure aerosol chemical and microphysical properties within the low-level Eastern Pacific coastal stratiform clouds that the AMF is observing from below. Based on the EPCAPE experiment design to deploy three major systems on Mount Soledad—the scanning radars, the Russell aerosol mobile laboratory, and an ARM microwave radiometer (MWR)—an additional plan was made to deploy a suite of Eppley Laboratory radiometers at this site to measure the radiative response to instantaneous changes in observed aerosol properties and MWR retrieved cloud liquid water path (LWP). This supplemental field campaign was proposed as the Stratiform Cloud Analysis for Radiative Properties Experiment (SCARPE).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Ice particle production in mid-level stratiform mixed-phase clouds observed with collocated A-Train measurements

Abstract. Collocated A-Train CloudSat radar and CALIPSO lidar measurements between 2006 and 2010 are analyzed to study primary ice particle production characteristics in mid-level stratiform mixed-phase clouds on a global scale. For similar clouds in terms of cloud top temperature and liquid water path, Northern Hemisphere latitude bands have layer-maximum radar reflectivity (ZL) that is ∼ 1 to 8 dBZ larger than their counterparts in the Southern Hemisphere. The systematically larger ZL under similar cloud conditions suggests larger ice number concentrations in mid-level stratiform mixed-phase clouds over the Northern Hemisphere, which is possibly related to higher background aerosol loadings. Furthermore, we show that springtime northern mid- and high latitudes have ZL that is larger by up to 6 dBZ (a factor of 4 higher ice number concentration) than other seasons, which might be related to more dust events that provide effective ice nucleating particles. Our study suggests that aerosol-dependent ice number concentration parameterizations are required in climate models to improve mixed-phase cloud simulations, especially over the Northern Hemisphere.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

The removal of soluble species by warm stratiform clouds

The development of a one-dimensional, time-dependent model to study the removal of soluble gases from a warm, precipitating stratiform cloud is reported. The model calculates the distributions of water vapor and condensed water, in the form of cloud drops and raindrops, as well as the in-cloud concentration of a soluble species in the gas and aqueous phases for a specified profile of pressure and temperature and an assumed updraft velocity. Highly soluble gases are found to be rapidly dissolved into cloud droplets and then slowly incorporated into raindrops as cloudwater is converted to rainwater. The rainout rate for highly soluble species is found to be ultimately limited by the rate at which new gaseous material can be transferred from the cloud-free air into the cloud. The model calculations indicate that turbulence represents an important mechanism by which highly soluble gases are transported into stratiform clouds.

Qin, YU↗