The Microphysics of Stratiform Precipitation During OLYMPEX: Compatibility Between Triple‐Frequency Radar and Airborne In Situ Observations
The link between stratiform precipitation microphysics and multifrequency radar observables is thoroughly investigated by exploiting simultaneous airborne radar and in situ observations collected from two aircraft during the OLYMPEX/RADEX (Olympic Mountain Experiment/Radar Definition Experiment 2015...
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Veröffentlicht in: | Journal of geophysical research. Atmospheres 2019-08, Vol.124 (15), p.8764-8792 |
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Hauptverfasser: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
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Zusammenfassung: | The link between stratiform precipitation microphysics and multifrequency radar observables is thoroughly investigated by exploiting simultaneous airborne radar and in situ observations collected from two aircraft during the OLYMPEX/RADEX (Olympic Mountain Experiment/Radar Definition Experiment 2015) field campaign. Above the melting level, in situ images and triple‐frequency radar signatures both indicate the presence of moderately rimed aggregates. Various mass‐size relationships of ice particles and snow scattering databases are used to compute the radar reflectivity from the in situ particle size distribution. At Ku and Ka band, the best agreement with radar observations is found when using the self‐similar Rayleigh‐Gans approximation for moderately rimed aggregates. At W band, a direct comparison is challenging because of the non‐Rayleigh effects and of the probable attenuation due to ice aggregates and supercooled liquid water between the two aircraft. A variational method enables the retrieval of the full precipitation profile above and below the melting layer, by combining the observations from the three radars. Even with three radar frequencies, the retrieval of rain properties is challenging over land, where the integrated attenuation is not available. Otherwise, retrieved mean volume diameters and water contents of both solid and liquid precipitation are in agreement with in situ observations and indicate local changes of the degree of riming of ice aggregates, on the scale of 5 km. Finally, retrieval results are analyzed to explore the validity of using continuity constraints on the water mass flux and diameter within the melting layer in order to improve retrievals of ice properties.
Key Points
Signature of moderately rimed aggregates in triple‐frequency radar reflectivity measurements is confirmed by in situ microphysics
Self‐similar ice crystal models coupled with Rayleigh‐Gans approximation ensure consistency between in situ and radar observations
Profiles of solid and liquid precipitation microphysics are retrieved by combining triple‐frequency radars |
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ISSN: | 2169-897X 2169-8996 |
DOI: | 10.1029/2018JD029858 |