Stereo Photogrammetry at the SGP Central Facility

Description

Progress will be reported on an ARM campaign (Measuring Clouds at SGP with Stereo Photogrammetry) and an associated ASR project (A Study of Convective Cloud Life Cycles Using ARM Stereo Photogrammetry). On April 15, 2014, digital cameras were installed at the SGP Central Facility (CF) to perform stereo photogrammetry of clouds. These cameras are located at the north and south ends of the CF and are facing westward. These data have been converted into the Point Cloud of Cloud Points Product (PCCPP), which is being delivered to the ARM archive. The PCCPP comprises 1. images collected by the cameras that are overlaid with numbered feature points, and 2. NetCDF files containing the 3D world coordinates of those feature points. The PCCPP can be used to calculate many quantities of interest with 1-minute resolution (e.g., cloud cover, cloud-layer heights, cloud-layer horizontal winds), as well as characteristics of cloud thermals throughout their life cycle (e.g., vertical velocity, cloud width). The ASR project is using these data to take a look at the life cycles of cloud thermals. Initial results will be shown of simultaneous observations of clouds' widths and vertical velocities through their life cycles.