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Aircraft observed radiances were used to measure surface wind speed and aerosol thickness. Results show that the surface wind speed is related to the width of the glitter pattern.
A method is proposed whereby the optical characteristics of the bright glitter pattern of the sunlight reflected from water are used to determine wind speed and aerosol optical thickness in the troposphere. Radiances observed from an aircraft are used to derive the aerosol optical thickness and the surface wind speed. A scanning radiometer is used to measure the radiances in several spectral channels within 45 deg of the nadir and in a plane transverse to the aircraft motion. The observations are taken under nearly cloudless sky conditions over the Pacific Ocean (long. 130.4 deg, lat. 42.3 deg), and the aircraft height is 150 m above water with a 292-deg heading. It is shown that the derived wind speed depends strongly on the width of the glitter pattern, and that the width of the computed radiance pattern at the 150-m aircraft height diverges from the measured value, indicating overestimated wind speed.
Aircraft observations of the surface temperature were made by measurements of the thermal emission in the 8-14 micrometers band over agricultural fields around Phoenix, Arizona. The diurnal range of these surface temperature measurements were well correlated with the ground measurement of soil moisture in the 0-2 cm layer. The surface temperature observations for vegetated fields were found to be within 1 or 2 C of the ambient air temperature indicating no moisture stress. These results indicate that for clear atmospheric conditions remotely sensed surface temperatures are a reliable indicator of soil moisture conditions and crop status.
A 3D cloud model is used to simulate the storm structure of the June 29, 1986 storm system observed during the Cooperative Huntsville Meteorological Experiment (Dodge et al., 1986), and the results are linked to a microwave radiative transfer model for simulating aircraft observations. The results of cloud and radiative model simulations are then compared with radar data and aircraft microwave observations, respectively. It is shown that the degree of agreement between model simulations and the aircraft microwave observations depends on the model-derived microphysics of cloud and precipitation. It is found that the calculated values of the brightness temperature (Tb) at 92 GHz are close to the observed temperatures, while the calculated Tb values at 18 and 37 GHz are lower than the observed Tb.
Summary of the evidence showing that the first optical depth of the Venus cloud layer is composed of a water solution of sulfuric acid, including earlier aircraft observations of Venus' reflectivity in the region from 1 to 4 microns obtained at a phase angle of 120 deg. Analyses of these aircraft results indicated that of all the proposed cloud candidates only a sulfuric acid solution with a concentration of 75% or more H2SO4 by weight was consistent with the observed 3-micron cloud feature. Aircraft observations of Venus are presented which were obtained in the same spectral region at a phase angle of 40 deg and in the region from 3 to 6 microns at a phase angle of 136 deg. Comparing the two sets of observations in the region from 1 to 4 microns, a striking phase effect is found: the reflectivity is much lower in the 3-micron region and there is a much more marked decline between 1.3 and 2.5 microns for the data obtained at the smaller phase angle. The observations made at the 40-deg phase angle are consistent with the theoretical behavior of a sulfuric acid cloud and imply that the sulfuric acid is present to at least many tens of optical depth below the cloud tops. Arguments concerning the concentration of the solution are reviewed, and it is concluded that the best current estimate is about 85% H2SO4 by weight.
Several aircraft were employed during the FIRE Cirrus IFO in order to make nearly simultaneous observations of cloud properties and fluxes. A segment of the flight data collected on 28 October 1988 during which the NASA Ames ER-2 overflew the NCAR King Air was analyzed. The ER-2 flew at high altitude making observations of visible and infrared radiances and infrared flux and cloud height and thickness. During this segment, the King Air flew just above the cloud base making observations of ice crystal size and shape, local meteorological variables, and infrared fluxes. While the two aircraft did not collect data exactly coincident in space and time, they did make observations within a few minutes of each other. For this case study, the infrared radiation balance of the cirrus layer is of primary concern. Observations of the upwelling 10 micron radiance, made from the ER-2, can be used to deduce the 10 micron optical depth of the layer. The upwelling broadband infrared flux is also measured from the ER-2. At the same time, the upwelling and downwelling infrared flux at the cloud base is obtained from the King Air measurements. Information on cloud microphysics is also available from the King Air. Using this data in conjunction with atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles from local radiosondes, the necessary inputs for an infrared radiative transfer model can be developed. Infrared radiative transfer calculations are performed with a multispectral two-stream model. The model fluxes at the cloud base and at 19 km are then compared with the aircraft observations to determine whether the model is performing well. Cloud layer heating rates can then be computed from the radiation exchange.
Aircraft passive microwave observations of deep atmospheric convection at frequencies between 18 and 183 GHz are presented in conjunction with visible and infrared satellite and aircraft observations and ground-based radar observations. Deep convective cores are indicated in the microwave data by negative brightness temperature, T/(B) deviations from the land background (270 K) to extreme T(B) values below 100 K at 37, 92, and 183 GHz and below 200 K at 18 GHz. These T(B) minima, due to scattering by ice held aloft by the intense updrafts, are well correlated with areas of high radar reflectivity. For this land background case, T(B) is inversely correlated with rain rate at all frequencies due to T(B)-ice-rain correlations. Mean Delta-T between vertically polarized and horizontally polarized radiance in precipitation areas is approximately 6 K at both 18 GHz and 37 GHz, indicating nonspherical precipitation-size ice particles with a preferred horizontal orientation. Convective cores not observed in the visible and infrared data are clearly defined in the microwave observations, and borders of convective rain areas are well defined using the high-frequency (90 GHz and greater) microwave observations.
Exchange between the upper tropical troposphere and the lower troposphere is considered by examining high altitude aircraft observations of water, ozone, methane, wind and temperature for scale invariance.
CAT layer simultaneous radar and instrumented aircraft observations, noting eddy dissipation rate computation from radar reflectivity measurement
We have utilized an extensive set of independent British Airways flight data recording wind vector and temperature observations (the Global Aircraft Data Set [GADS] archive) in three ways: (a) as an independent check of operational analyses; (b) as an analysis observing system experiment (OSE) as if the GADS observations were available in real time; and (c) as the corresponding forecast simulation experiment applicable to future operational forecasts. Using a 31 day sample (0000 UTC 20 December 2000 through 0000 UTC 20 January 2000) from Winter 2000, we conclude that over the data-dense continental U. S. analyzed jet streaks are too weak by -2% to -5%. Over nearby data-sparse regions of Canada, analyzed jet streaks are too weak by -5% to -9%. The second range provides a limit on the accuracy of current jet streak analyses over the portions of the -85% of the earth's surface that are poorly covered by non-satellite observations. The -5% to -9% range is relevant for the pre-third generation satellite (AIRS, IASI, GIFTS) era.
The photochemistry of the troposphere over the South Atlantic basin is examined by modeling of aircraft observations up to 12-km altitude taken during the TRACE A expedition in September-October 1992. A close balance is found in the 0 to 12-km column between photochemical production and loss Of O3, with net production at high altitudes compensating for weak net loss at low altitudes. This balance implies that O3 concentrations in the 0-12 km column can be explained solely by in situ photochemistry; influx from the stratosphere is negligible. Simulation of H2O2, CH3OOH, and CH2O concentrations measured aboard the aircraft lends confidence in the computations of O3 production and loss rates, although there appears to be a major gap in current understanding of CH2O chemistry in the marine boundary layer. The primary sources of NO(x) over the South Atlantic Basin appear to be continental (biomass burning, lightning, soils). There is evidence that NO(x) throughout the 0 to 12-km column is recycled from its oxidation products rather than directly transported from its primary sources. There is also evidence for rapid conversion of HNO3 to NO(x) in the upper troposphere by a mechanism not included in current models. A general representation of the O3 budget in the tropical troposphere is proposed that couples the large scale Walker circulation and in situ photochemistry. Deep convection in the rising branches of the Walker circulation injects NO(x) from combustion, soils, and lightning to the upper troposphere, leading to O3 production; eventually, the air subsides and net O3 loss takes place in the lower troposphere, closing the O3 cycle. This scheme implies a great sensitivity of the oxidizing power of the atmosphere to NO(x) emissions in the tropics.
A three-dimensional cloud model, radiative transfer model-based simulation system is tested and validated against the aircraft-based radiance observations of an intense convective system in southeastern Virginia on 29 June 1986 during the Cooperative Huntsville Meteorological Experiment. NASA's ER-2, a high-altitude research aircraft with a complement of radiometers operating at 11-micrometer infrared channel and 18-, 37-, 92-, and 183-GHz microwave channels provided data for this study. The cloud model successfully simulated the cloud system with regard to aircraft- and radar-observed cloud-top heights and diameters and with regard to radar-observed reflectivity structure. For the simulation time found to correspond best with the aircraft- and radar-observed structure, brightness temperatures T(sub b) are simulated and compared with observations for all the microwave frequencies along with the 11-micrometer infrared channel. Radiance calculations at the various frequencies correspond well with the aircraft observations in the areas of deep convection. The clustering of 37-147-GHz T(sub b) observations and the isolation of the 18-GHz values over the convective cores are well simulated by the model. The radiative transfer model, in general, is able to simulate the observations reasonably well from 18 GHz through 174 GHz within all convective areas of the cloud system. When the aircraft-observed 18- and 37-GHz, and 90- and 174-GHz T(sub b) are plotted against each other, the relationships have a gradual difference in the slope due to the differences in the ice particle size in the convective and more stratiform areas of the cloud. The model is able to capture these differences observed by the aircraft. Brightness temperature-rain rate relationships compare reasonably well with the aircraft observations in terms of the slope of the relationship. The model calculations are also extended to select high-frequency channels at 220, 340, and 400 GHz to simulate the Millimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer aircraft instrument to be flown in the near future. All three of these frequencies are able to discriminate the convective and anvil portions of the system, providing useful information similar to that from the frequencies below 183 GHz but with potentially enhanced spatial resolution from a satellite platform. In thin clouds, the dominant effect of water vapor is seen at 174, 340, and 400 GHz. In thick cloudy areas, the scattering effect is dominant at 90 and 220 GHz, while the overlaying water vapor can attenuate at 174, 340, and 400 GHz. All frequencies (90-400 GHz) show strong signatures in the core.
A method for using congruent atmospheric path aircraft-satellite observations to calibrate a satellite radiometer is presented. A calibrated spectroradiometer aboard a NASA ER-2 aircraft at an altitude of 19 km above White Sands (New Mexico) was oriented to view White Sands at the overpass time of the NOAA-11 AVHRR instrument along the same view vector as the satellite instrument. The data from six flights between November 1988 and October 1990 were transformed into corresponding estimates of AVHRR channel radiance at the satellite (derived from the aircraft measurements), and average counts (from the AVHRR measurements), both averaged across the footprint of the spectroradiometer. Prelaunch measurements of the AVHRR spectral response profiles are assumed, and the radiance spectrum measured by the spectroradiometer was adjusted to satellite altitude using the LOWTRAN-7 computer code. Results show reduced gains in both channel 1 (0.65 micron) and channel 2 (0.85 micron), compared to prelaunch values, with little further reduction in gain after 200 days in orbit. Results for the gain ratio (channel 1/channel 2), which is important for the calculation of the normalized vegetation index, show constant in-orbit values 5 percent above the prelaunch value.
Low-level, ATS-3 satellite wind estimates are compared with values of wind direction and speed interpolated from analyses based on research aircraft observations of a synoptic tropical wave of moderate intensity on 26 July 1969 during BOMEX. The data were stratified according to whether a satellite estimate was positioned in one of three regions; namely, east or west of the wave trough or north of the disturbance center. When cloud and analysis vector magnitude deviations were computed, regional differences became apparent. These differences are attributed to the physical behavior of the cloud targets tracked under the influence of the surrounding large-scale environment.
The structure of an oceanic cold front is described on the basis of research aircraft observations taken during the Ocean Storms field experiment. Synoptic and mesoscale analyses compare the structure of an upper-level jet-front system observed slightly downstream from the wind speed maximum to its structure in the upstream entrance region. Stratospheric potential vorticity and ozone were found within the frontal zone down to about 800 mb. Microscale analyses of the front near the sea surface were carried out for a portion of the front having the signature of a 'rope' cloud in satellite imagery. A narrow (less than 1 km) zone of upward motion (about 4 m/s) and of horizontal shear (about 0.01/s) characterized the front near the surface. Significant alongfront variability was found, including lateral displacements in the frontal zone where there were weaker updrafts.
High resolution weather forecast models with explicit prediction of hydrometeor type, size distribution, and fall speed may be useful in the development of precipitation retrievals, by providing representative characteristics of frozen hydrometeors. Several single or double-moment microphysics schemes are currently available within the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, allowing for the prediction of up to three ice species. Each scheme incorporates different assumptions regarding the characteristics of their ice classes, particularly in terms of size distribution, density, and fall speed. In addition to the prediction of hydrometeor content, these schemes must accurately represent the vertical profile of water vapor to account for possible attenuation, along with the size distribution, density, and shape characteristics of ice crystals that are relevant to microwave scattering. An evaluation of a particular scheme requires the availability of field campaign measurements. The Canadian CloudSat/CALIPSO Validation Project (C3VP) obtained measurements of ice crystal shapes, size distributions, fall speeds, and precipitation during several intensive observation periods. In this study, C3VP observations obtained during the 22 January 2007 synoptic-scale snowfall event are compared against WRF model output, based upon forecasts using four single-moment and two double-moment schemes available as of version 3.1. Schemes are compared against aircraft observations by examining differences in size distribution, density, and content. In addition to direct measurements from aircraft probes, simulated precipitation can also be converted to equivalent, remotely sensed characteristics through the use of the NASA Goddard Satellite Data Simulator Unit. Outputs from high resolution forecasts are compared against radar and satellite observations emphasizing differences in assumed crystal shape and size distribution characteristics.
In this work, we examine wet scavenging of soluble trace gases in storms observed during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign. We conduct high-resolution simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) of a severe storm in Oklahoma. The model represents well the storm location, size, and structure as compared with Next Generation Weather Radar reflectivity, and simulated CO transport is consistent with aircraft observations. Scavenging efficiencies (SEs) between inflow and outflow of soluble species are calculated from aircraft measurements and model simulations. Using a simple wet scavenging scheme, we simulate the SE of each soluble species within the error bars of the observations. The simulated SEs of all species except nitric acid (HNO 3 ) are highly sensitive to the values specified for the fractions retained in ice when cloud water freezes. To reproduce the observations, we must assume zero ice retention for formaldehyde (CH 2 O) and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) and complete retention for methyl hydrogen peroxide (CH 3 OOH) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), likely to compensate for the lack of aqueous chemistry in the model. We then compare scavenging efficiencies among storms that formed in Alabama and northeast Colorado and the Oklahoma storm. Significant differences in SEs are seen among storms and species. More scavenging of HNO 3 and less removal of CH 3 OOH are seen in storms with higher maximum flash rates, an indication of more graupel mass. Graupel is associated with mixed-phase scavenging and lightning production of nitrogen oxides (NOx ), processes that may explain the observed differences in HNO 3 and CH 3 OOH scavenging.
During the POLARCAT summer campaign in 2008, two episodes (2 5 July and 7 10 July 2008) occurred where low-pressure systems traveled from Siberia across the Arctic Ocean towards the North Pole. The two cyclones had extensive smoke plumes from Siberian forest fires and anthropogenic sources in East Asia embedded in their associated air masses, creating an excellent opportunity to use satellite and aircraft observations to validate the performance of atmospheric transport models in the Arctic, which is a challenging model domain due to numerical and other complications. Here we compare transport simulations of carbon monoxide (CO) from the Lagrangian transport model FLEXPART and the Eulerian chemical transport model TOMCAT with retrievals of total column CO from the IASI passive infrared sensor onboard the MetOp-A satellite. The main aspect of the comparison is how realistic horizontal and vertical structures are represented in the model simulations. Analysis of CALIPSO lidar curtains and in situ aircraft measurements provide further independent reference points to assess how reliable the model simulations are and what the main limitations are. The horizontal structure of mid-latitude pollution plumes agrees well between the IASI total column CO and the model simulations. However, finer-scale structures are too quickly diffused in the Eulerian model. Applying the IASI averaging kernels to the model data is essential for a meaningful comparison. Using aircraft data as a reference suggests that the satellite data are biased high, while TOMCAT is biased low. FLEXPART fits the aircraft data rather well, but due to added background concentrations the simulation is not independent from observations. The multi-data, multi-model approach allows separating the influences of meteorological fields, model realisation, and grid type on the plume structure. In addition to the very good agreement between simulated and observed total column CO fields, the results also highlight the difficulty to identify a data set that most realistically represents the actual pollution state of the Arctic atmosphere.