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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Demonstration of a New Water Vapor Radar (Field Campaign Report)

The purpose of the project was to demonstrate and validate observations from a new differential absorption radar, which uses an active sounding approach to remotely measure water vapor within clouds and precipitation. The instrument, the vapor in-cloud profiling radar (VIPR), is the first radar of its kind using a differential absorption technique to profile water vapor. The demonstration and validation of these data is essential to proving the utility of these observations in combination with the standard remote-sensing approaches employed at SGP. This initial effort is an essential element to facility the incorporation of the VIPR radar or its derivatives in future focused efforts to understand the role of water vapor in shaping the convective environment.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experiment of Sea Breeze Convection, Aerosols, Precipitation, and Environment (ESCAPE) C-band Radar Deployment Field Campaign Report

Convective clouds play a critical role in the Earth’s climate system, acting as sinks of total water in the atmospheric column through precipitation, thereby contributing to the atmospheric energy balance. They serve as a primary mechanism for the transfer of heat, moisture, and momentum through the troposphere, significantly impacting the large-scale atmospheric circulation and local environment, and affecting the probability of subsequent cloud formation (e.g., Hartmann et al. 1984, Su et al. 2014, Sherwood et al. 2014). Convective characteristics including convective core size (reflectivity and updraft), cloud lifetime, precipitation intensity, total precipitation amount, precipitation efficiency, and lightning flash rates can be strongly related to environmental factors (e.g., wind shear, humidity). Since cumulus clouds evolve rapidly, their microphysical and dynamical properties and life cycles are challenging to resolve in models, and even in observations (e.g., Fridlind et al. 2017, Ladino et al. 2017).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2008

A Vegetation Correction Methodology for Time Series Based Soil Moisture Retrieval From C-band Radar Observations

A methodology is presented to correct backscatter (sigma(sup 0)) observations for the effect of vegetation. The proposed methodology is based on the concept that the ratio of the surface scattering over the total amount of scattering (sigma(sup 0)(sub soil)/sigma(sup 0)) is only affected by the vegetation and can be described as a function of the vegetation water content. Backscatter observations sigma(sup 0) from the soil are not influenced by vegetation. Under bare soil conditions (sigma(sup 0)(sub soil)/sigma(sup 0)) equals 1. Under low to moderate biomass and soil moisture conditions, vegetation affects the observed sigma(sup 0) through absorption of the surface scattering and contribution of direct scattering by the vegetation itself. Therefore, the contribution of the surface scattering is smaller than the observed total amount of scattering and decreases as the biomass increases. For dense canopies scattering interactions between the soil surface and vegetation elements (e.g. leaves and stems) also become significant. Because these higher order scattering mechanisms are influenced by the soil surface, an increase in (sigma(sup 0)(sub soil)/sigma(sup 0)) may be observed as the biomass increases under densely vegetated conditions. This methodology is applied within the framework of time series based approach for the retrieval of soil moisture. The data set used for this investigation has been collected during a campaign conducted at USDA's Optimizing Production Inputs for Economic and Environmental Enhancement OPE-3) experimental site in Beltsville, Maryland (USA). This campaign took place during the corn growth cycle from May 10th to 0ctober 2nd, 2002. In this period the corn crops reached a vegetation water content of 5.1 kg m(exp -2) at peak biomass and a soil moisture range varying between 0.00 to 0.26 cubic cm/cubic cm. One of the deployed microwave instruments operated was a multi-frequency (C-band (4.75 GHz) and L-band (1.6 GHz)) quad-polarized (HH, HV, VV, VH) radar which was mounted on a 20 meter long boom. In the OPE-3 field campaign, radar observations were collected once a week at nominal times of 8 am, 10 am, 12 noon and 2 pm. During each data run the radar acquired sixty independent measurements within an azimuth of 120 degrees from a boom height of 12.2 m and at three different incidence angles (15,35, and 55 degrees). The sixty observations were averaged to provide one backscatter value for the study area and its accuracy is estimated to be 51.0 dB. For this investigation the C-band observations have been used. Application of the proposed methodology to the selected data set showed a well-defined relationship between (sigma(sup 0)(sub soil)/sigma(sup 0)) and the vegetation water content. It is found that this relationship can be described with two experimentally determined parameters, which depend on the sensing configuration (e.g. incidence angle and polarization). Through application of the proposed vegetation correction methodology and the obtained parameterizations, the soil moisture retrieval accuracy within the framework of a time series based approach is improved from 0.033 to 0.032 cubic cm/cubic cm, from 0.049 to 0.033 cubic cm/cubic cm and from 0.079 to 0.047 cubic cm/cubic cm for incidence angles of 15,35 and 55 degrees, respectively. Improvement in soil moisture retrieval due to vegetation correction is greater at larger incidence angles (due to the increased path length and larger vegetation effects on the surface signal at the larger angles).

Joseph, Alicia T.↗
DOE OSTI2025

G-Band Radar Demonstration for Microphysics Field Campaign Report

The G-Band Radar Demonstration for Microphysics (GRDM) campaign took place at the Eastern Pacific Cloud Aerosol Precipitation Experiment (EPCAPE) from March 15 to April 30, 2024. This was a deployment of two of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) radars and one radar from Brookhaven National Laboratory to demonstrate the utility of high-frequency millimeter-wave radars for remote sensing of stratocumulus microphysical properties. The radars were deployed on the Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier alongside the AMF instruments (Figure 1). The radars include a Ka-band (35 GHz), W-band (94 GHz), and four G-band (158, 165, 174, and 240 GHz) channels. The 240 GHz and W-band channels provide complete Doppler spectra, which are useful for advanced analysis. The 158-175 GHz channels are sensitive to the water vapor profile and are useful for attenuation correction. These radars complement the high-sensitivity ARM KAZR. The goal of the deployment was to observe drizzling stratocumulus and demonstrate the capabilities of the multifrequency radar data set to constrain profiles of liquid water content and drizzle drop characteristic size. The data are still being analyzed. The methodology to derive the cloud and precipitation parameters will exploit differential attenuation and differential reflectivity between low-frequency (Ka-band) and high-frequency (G-band) channels. The method will also exploit the capability of the G-band observations to constrain the attenuation due to water vapor. These observations will quantify the capabilities and limitations of the emerging technology of G-band radars for constraint stratocumulus cloud microphysics, which are key to constraining aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions and low-cloud climate feedback.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Radar Wind Profiler for Cloud Forecasting at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Field Campaign Report

The Radar Wind Profiler for Cloud Forecasting at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) [http://www.arm.gov/campaigns/osc2013rwpcf] campaign was scheduled to take place from 15 July 2013 through 15 July 2015 (or until shipped for the next U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement [ARM] Climate Research Facility first Mobile Facility [AMF1] deployment). The campaign involved the deployment of the AMF1 Scintec 915 MHz Radar Wind Profiler (RWP) at BNL, in conjunction with several other ARM, BNL and National Weather Service (NWS) instruments. The two main scientific foci of the campaign were: 1) To provide profiles of the horizontal wind to be used to test and validate short-term cloud advection forecasts for solar-energy applications and 2) to provide vertical profiling capabilities for the study of dynamics (i.e., vertical velocity) and hydrometeors in winter storms. This campaign was a serendipitous opportunity that arose following the deployment of the RWP at the Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) campaign in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and restriction from participation in the Green Ocean Amazon 2014/15 (GoAmazon 2014/15) campaign due to radio-frequency allocation restriction for international deployments. The RWP arrived at BNL in the fall of 2013, but deployment was delayed until fall of 2014 as work/safety planning and site preparation were completed. The RWP further encountered multiple electrical failures, which eventually required several shipments of instrument power supplies and the final amplifier to the vendor to complete repairs. Data collection began in late January 2015. The operational modes of the RWP were changed such that in addition to collecting traditional profiles of the horizontal wind, a vertically pointing mode was also included for the purpose of precipitation sensing and estimation of vertical velocities. The RWP operated well until the end of the campaign in July 2015 and collected observations for more than 20 precipitation events.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Radar Wind Profiler for Cloud Forecasting at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) Field Campaign Report

The Radar Wind Profiler for Cloud Forecasting at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) [http://www.arm.gov/campaigns/osc2013rwpcf] campaign was scheduled to take place from 15 July 2013 through 15 July 2015 (or until shipped for the next U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement [ARM] Climate Research Facility first Mobile Facility [AMF1] deployment). The campaign involved the deployment of the AMF1 Scintec 915 MHz Radar Wind Profiler (RWP) at BNL, in conjunction with several other ARM, BNL and National Weather Service (NWS) instruments. The two main scientific foci of the campaign were: 1) To provide profiles of the horizontal wind to be used to test and validate short-term cloud advection forecasts for solar-energy applications and 2) to provide vertical profiling capabilities for the study of dynamics (i.e., vertical velocity) and hydrometeors in winter storms. This campaign was a serendipitous opportunity that arose following the deployment of the RWP at the Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) campaign in Cape Cod, Massachusetts and restriction from participation in the Green Ocean Amazon 2014/15 (GoAmazon 2014/15) campaign due to radio-frequency allocation restriction for international deployments. The RWP arrived at BNL in the fall of 2013, but deployment was delayed until fall of 2014 as work/safety planning and site preparation were completed. The RWP further encountered multiple electrical failures, which eventually required several shipments of instrument power supplies and the final amplifier to the vendor to complete repairs. Data collection began in late January 2015. The operational modes of the RWP were changed such that in addition to collecting traditional profiles of the horizontal wind, a vertically pointing mode was also included for the purpose of precipitation sensing and estimation of vertical velocities. The RWP operated well until the end of the campaign in July 2015 and collected observations for more than 20 precipitation events.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Improving Vertical Velocity Retrievals from Doppler Radar Observations of Convection Field Campaign Report

Our National Science Foundation (NSF)-supported project was designed to address two longstanding challenges in radar-, meso-scale-, and hydro-meteorology: (1) mitigating the effects of non-simultaneous data collection on radar data-based analysis products, and (2) improving estimates of the vertical velocity (w) field in dual-Doppler wind analyses. Errors associated with the non-simultaneous data collection introduce errors in all Doppler analyses, and impose a lower limit on the time and space scales that can be studied. For many investigations the w field is of prime meteorological importance, but it is the velocity component most difficult to accurately synthesize from dual-Doppler wind observations. Our original plan proposed for short field campaigns at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) Central Facility (CF) was to use multiple-Doppler radial wind data from the scanning ARM X-band radars to test and refine our multiple-Doppler wind analysis algorithms. An important part of our plan was the use of high-temporal-resolution w observations to verify the analyses. In our original plan, these data would be obtained from Doppler lidars, 915 MhZ profilers and Ka-band ARM Zenith Radar (KAZR) zenith-pointing radars at the CF and nearby ARM facilities in north-central Oklahoma. Using the data, we planned to test the utility of new spatially variable advection-correction/analysis procedures, the utility of the anelastic vertical vorticity equation as a constraint in variational multiple-Doppler wind analysis, and other Doppler wind analysis procedures. Idealized tests with numerically-simulated supercell data had suggested the vorticity constraint could help improve the vertical velocity field if the data were gathered with sufficiently high temporal resolution (e.g., volume scans completed in 30-60 sec), so we were interested in exploring the use of rapid-scan data from the X-band Scanning ARM Precipitation Radars (XSAPRs).

Southern Great Plains, convection, KAZR, XSAPR, ve↗
DOE OSTI2019

Use of polarimetric radar measurements to constrain simulated convective cell evolution: a pilot study with Lagrangian tracking

Abstract. To probe the potential value of a radar-driven field campaign to constrain simulation of isolated convection subject to a strong aerosol perturbation, convective cells observed by the operational KHGX weather radar in the vicinity of Houston, Texas, are examined individually and statistically. Cells observed in a single case study of onshore flow conditions during July 2013 are first examined and compared with cells in a regional model simulation. Observed and simulated cells are objectively identified and tracked from observed or calculated positive specific differential phase ( K DP ) above the melting level, which is related to the presence of supercooled liquid water. Several observed and simulated cells are subjectively selected for further examination. Below the melting level, we compare sequential cross sections of retrieved and simulated raindrop size distribution parameters. Above the melting level, we examine time series of K DP and radar differential reflectivity ( Z DR ) statistics from observations and calculated from simulated supercooled rain properties, alongside simulated vertical wind and supercooled rain mixing ratio statistics. Results indicate that the operational weather radar measurements offer multiple constraints on the properties of simulated convective cells, with substantial value added from derived K DP and retrieved rain properties. The value of collocated three-dimensional lightning mapping array measurements, which are relatively rare in the continental US, supports the choice of Houston as a suitable location for future field studies to improve the simulation and understanding of convective updraft physics. However, rapid evolution of cells between routine volume scans motivates consideration of adaptive scan strategies or radar imaging technologies to amend operational weather radar capabilities. A 3-year climatology of isolated cell tracks, prepared using a more efficient algorithm, yields additional relevant information. Isolated cells are found within the KHGX domain on roughly 40 % of days year-round, with greatest concentration in the northwest quadrant, but roughly 5-fold more cells occur during June through September. During this enhanced occurrence period, the cells initiate following a strong diurnal cycle that peaks in the early afternoon, typically follow a south-to-north flow, and dissipate within 1 h, consistent with the case study examples. Statistics indicate that ~  150 isolated cells initiate and dissipate within 70 km of the KHGX radar during the enhanced occurrence period annually, and roughly 10 times as many within 200 km, suitable for multi-instrument Lagrangian observation strategies. In addition to ancillary meteorological and aerosol measurements, robust vertical wind speed retrievals would add substantial value to a radar-driven field campaign.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2019

Use of Polarimetric Radar Measurements to Constrain Simulated Convective Cell Evolution: A Pilot Study with Lagrangian Tracking

To probe the potential value of a radar-driven field campaign to constrain simulation of isolated convection subject to a strong aerosol perturbation, convective cells observed by the operational KHGX weather radar in the vicinity of Houston, Texas, are examined individually and statistically. Cells observed in a single case study of onshore flow conditions during July 2013 are first examined and compared with cells in a regional model simulation. Observed and simulated cells are objectively identified and tracked from observed or calculated positive specific differential phase (K(sub DP)) above the melting level, which is related to the presence of supercooled liquid water. Several observed and simulated cells are subjectively selected for further examination. Below the melting level, we compare sequential cross sections of retrieved and simulated raindrop size distribution parameters. Above the melting level, we examine time series of KDP and radar differential reflectivity (Z(sub DR)) statistics from observations and calculated from simulated supercooled rain properties, alongside simulated vertical wind and supercooled rain mixing ratio statistics. Results indicate that the operational weather radar measurements offer multiple constraints on the properties of simulated convective cells, with substantial value added from derived K(sub DP) and retrieved rain properties. The value of collocated three-dimensional lightning mapping array measurements, which are relatively rare in the continental US, supports the choice of Houston as a suitable location for future field studies to improve the simulation and understanding of convective updraft physics. However, rapid evolution of cells between routine volume scans motivates consideration of adaptive scan strategies or radar imaging technologies to amend operational weather radar capabilities. A 3-year climatology of isolated cell tracks, prepared using a more efficient algorithm, yields additional relevant information. Isolated cells are found within the KHGX domain on roughly 40 % of days year-round, with greatest concentration in the northwest quadrant, but roughly 5-fold more cells occur during June through September. During this enhanced occurrence period, the cells initiate following a strong diurnal cycle that peaks in the early afternoon, typically follow a south-to-north flow, and dissipate within 1 h, consistent with the case study examples. Statistics indicate that ∼ 150 isolated cells initiate and dissipate within 70 km of the KHGX radar during the enhanced occurrence period annually, and roughly 10 times as many within 200 km, suitable for multi-instrument Lagrangian observation strategies. In addition to ancillary meteorological and aerosol measurements, robust vertical wind speed retrievals would add substantial value to a radar-driven field campaign.

Fridlind, Ann M.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Generation of Merged Radar-Lidar Data Products during the IMPACTS 2020 Field Campaign

A novel, composite lidar and radar data products was created using lidar and radar data products generated from the NASA ER-2 aircraft during the NASA IMPACTS 2020 field campaign. This product is intended to supplement the raw data sources, tease out additional aspects of the mechanisms underpinning wintertime cyclones, and enhance our understanding of microphysical properties in sensor overlap regions. Initial combined products focused on generating normalized fields of ER-2 based radar and lidar data to provide a more comprehensive visualization of storm structure (precipitation bands, cloud tops, melting levels, etc.) Ongoing work has focused on developing a combined radar-lidar reflectivity product and deriving hydrometeor particle properties (type, orientation, etc.) using ER-2-based depolarization data. To validate these hydrometeor properties, we leverage coincident overpasses of the high-altitude ER-2 aircraft with the suite of cloud particle probes on the in-situ P-3 aircraft during coincident flight overpasses. This work aims to provide vital information to help IMPACTS achieve its mission goal of improving microphysical properties retrievals from airborne and spaceborne platforms for these high-impact winter storm events.

Stephen D Nicholls↗
DOE OSTI2026

SAIL Field Campaign X-Band Precipitation Radar Seasonal Surface Hydrometeor Phase Classification Value-Added Product Report

The Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) campaign generated an unprecedented, multisensory record of cold-season precipitation in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB). To complement the Surface Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (SQUIRE) snow water equivalent (SWE) product derived from the Colorado State University (CSU) X-band radar, a hydrometeor phase classification data set was developed to systematically identify phase of the near-surface precipitation. The algorithm uses Corrected Moments in Antenna Coordinates (CMAC) fields with semi-supervised classification (SSC) and fuzzy-logic hydrometeor classification (FHC) methods and maps hydrometeor classes to a compact set of phase classes suitable for Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (QPE) and hydrologic applications. We used SQUIRE grid projections to mitigate beam-blockage issues by selecting the near-surface gates for each beam as well as to make it directly usable for the QPE products.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantitative Ceilometer-Radar Studies of Clouds Field Campaign Report

The Long Island Solar Farm (LISF) is a 32-megawatt solar photovoltaic power plant built through a collaboration including BP Solar, the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The LISF, located on the Brookhaven National Laboratory site, began delivering power to the LIPA grid in November 2011, and is currently one of the largest solar photovoltaic power plants in the eastern United States. It is generating enough renewable energy to power approximately 4,500 homes and is helping New York State meet its clean energy and carbon reduction goals. Brookhaven National Laboratory (BN)L has the LISF instrumented and is capturing solar insolation and power data that can be used for research purposes. Additional information on LISF is available here: https://www.bnl.gov/lisf/. A network of nine high-definition (HD cameras) and 32 pyranometers are deployed within the LISF for the purpose of monitoring the location and characteristics of clouds and available global horizontal irradiance at the surface across the region. Information collected by this network every 30 s is currently used in BNL’s solar NowCasting algorithm, which forecasts near-term solar energy availability accounting for the behavior of clouds. The most important parameters for forecasting the near-term solar energy availability are accurate estimations of their horizontal extend, horizontal motion, and cloud base height. Currently, images from nearly located cameras are used to estimate the cloud base height. In order to evaluate the potential of this method for estimating the cloud base height, we decided to deploy a Vaisala ceilometer at the LISF.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2002

Characteristics of Vertical Profiles of Reflectivity and Doppler Derived From TRMM Field Campaigns

The TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) measures the vertical profile of reflectivity from which the surface rain rate is estimated after attenuation corrections in the 2A21 algorithm. Characteristics of the vertical reflectivity profile is important for various reasons ranging from scientific to instrument algorithms. It is well known that different types of precipitation such as stratiform or convection, have different heating profiles. The vertical profile of reflectivity can provide information on precipitation classification. The vertical reflectivity structure also provides information on precipitation processes such as growth and aggregation. In terms of TRMM algorithms, an independent estimate of the vertical profiles are also extremely important since the PR returns can be attenuated in the rain layer near the surface. Corrections for attenuation are required in the lowest few kilometers, necessitating some assumptions about the rain size distributions and the reflectivity profile below the lowest measurement unaffected by the surface return. Furthermore, some assumptions about the vertical reflectivity profile are required for Ground Validation (GV) radars, since their lowest scan may be 1 or more kilometers above the surface. Statistics on the vertical reflectivity and Doppler structure are presented from the ER-2 Doppler Radar (EDOP) which participated in several TRMM field campaigns (TEFLUN-A, TEFLUN-B, and LBA) and CAMEX-3. The ER-2 aircraft overflew diverse precipitation types during these campaigns. EDOP is an X-band (9.6 GHz) radar for which returns are less attenuated than at the TRMM PR frequency. The EDOP profiles are first corrected for attenuation using the SRT method. The data from all the ER-2 campaigns are then classified by type (convection, stratiform, and other) and then statistics were performed on the vertical reflectivity and Doppler profiles in the form of CFAD's. These CFADs are compared and discussed. The computed CFAD's indicate significant differences as a function of precipitation type and location (hurricane versus non-hurricane, Brazil versus Florida). The implications of these profiles will be discussed.

Starr, David OC.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cross Validation of the Network of Ground-Based Radar with GPM during the Remote Sensing of Electrification, Lightning, And Mesoscale/Microscale Processes with Adaptive Ground Observations (RELAMPAGO) Field Campaign

The cross-validation of radars in a network is important in making consistent retrievals across the domain and assuring the product quality. During the RELAMPAGO field campaign, two C-band radars, namely the Colorado State University C-band Hydrological Instrument for Volumetric Observations ( CSU-CHIVO) and the C-band Scanning ARM Precipitation Radar (CSAPR-2), were deployed near the Sierras de Cordoba in Argentina, a region known for having some of the most intense severe weather in the world. In addition to these two radars, the operational radar of the Cordoba City, the Radar Meteorologico Argentino 1 (RMA-1), adds another instrument to the RELAMPAGO network. This study presents an intercomparison between the RELAMPAGO C-band radars using the GPM spaceborne radar as a common reference ..A method to bring ground-based radars into better agreement is also proposed. Moreover, the attenuation correction for the C-band radar is studied in the context of intercomparing two radars. The attenuation coefficients are computed for the RELAMPAGO domain using the local disdrometers deployed. during the campaign. After the attenuation correction, CSU-CHIVO, CSAPR-2, and RMA-1 compare well with GPM-DPR with a high correlation and bias less than 1 dB.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2004

Rainfall and Snowfall Observations by the Airborne Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar during the Wakasa Bay Experiment

Radar data obtained through the NASA/JPL Airborne Precipitation Radar APR-2 during the Wakasa Bay Experiment in January/February 2003 were processed to obtain calibrated reflectivity measurements, rainfall/snowfall velocity measurements, classification of the surface type and detection of the boundaries of the melting layer of precipitation. In this paper the processing approach is described together with an overview of the resulting data quality and known issues.

field campaign↗
NASA NTRS2010

Application of the Tor Vergata Scattering Model to L Band Backscatter During the Corn Growth Cycle

At the USDA's Optimizing Production Inputs for Economic and Environmental Enhancement (OPE3) experimental site in Beltsville, Maryland, USA) a field campaign took place throughout the 2002 corn growth cycle from May 10th (emergence of corn crops) to October 2nd (harvest). One of the microwave instruments deployed was the multi-frequency (X-, C- and L-band) quad-polarized (HH, HV, VV, VH) NASA GSFC/George Washington University (GWU) truck mounted radar. During the field campaign, this radar system provided once a week fully polarized C- and L-band (4.75 and 1.6 GHz) backscatter measurements from incidence angle of 15, 35, and 55 degrees. In support of microwave observations, an extensive ground characterization took place, which included measurements of surface roughness, soil moisture, vegetation biomass and morphology. The field conditions during the campaign are characterized by several dry downs with a period of drought in the month of August. Peak biomass the corn canopies was reached on July 24th with a total biomass of approximately 6.5 kg/sq m. This dynamic range in both soil moisture and vegetation conditions within the data set is ideal for the validation of discrete medium vegetation scattering models. In this study, we compare the L band backscatter measurements with simulations by the Tor Vergata model (ferrazzoli and Guerriero 1996). The measured soil moisture, vegetation biomass and most reliably measured vegetation morphological parameters (e.g. number of leaves, number of stems and stem height) were used as input for the Tor Vergata model. The more uncertain model parameters (e.g. surface roughness, leaf thickness) and the stem diameter were optimized using a parameter estimation routine based on the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm. As cost function for this optimization, the HH and VV polarized backscatter measured and stimulated by the TOR Vergata model for incidence angle of 15, 35, and 55 degrees were used (6 measurements in total). The calibrated Tor Vergata model simulations are in excellent agreement with the measurements of Root Mean Squared Differences (RMSD's) of 0.8, 0.9 and 1.4 dB for incidences of 15, 35 and 55 degrees, respectively. The results from this study that a physically based scattering model with the appropriate parameterization can accurately simulate backscatter measurements and, as such, have the potential of being used for the retrieval of biophysical variables (e.g. soil moisture and vegetation biomass).

Joseph, A. T.↗
DOE OSTI2023

SAIL Field Campaign X-Band Precipitation Radar Surface Quantitative Precipitation Estimation (SQUIRE) Value-Added Product Report

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility procured 3- and 5-cm wavelength radars for documenting the macrophysical, microphysical, and dynamical structure of precipitating systems. In order to maximize the scientific impact, ARM supported the development of an application chain to correct for various phenomena in order to retrieve the lowest retrieved value on a Cartesian grid. This report details the motivation, science, and progress to date, as well as charting a path forward.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2020

The GPM Ground Validation Program

We present a detailed overview of the structure and activities associated with the NASA-led ground-validation component of the NASA-JAXA Global Pre­cipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. The overarching philosophy and approaches for NASA's GV program are presented with primary focus placed on aspects of direct validation and a summary of physical validation campaigns and results. We describe a spectrum of key instruments, methods, field campaigns and data products developed and used by NASA's GV team to verify GPM level-2 precipitation products in rain and snow. We describe the tools and analysis framework used to confirm that NASA's Level-I science requirements for GPM are met by the GPM Core Observatory. Examples of routine validation activities related to verification of Integrated Multi­satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) products for two different regions of the globe (Korea and the US) are provided, and a brief analysis related to IMERG performance in the extreme rainfall event associated with Hurricane Florence is discussed.

precipitation↗