An ARSCL simulator: Generation and application to LASSO case studies
Poster PDF
Authors
Mariko Oue — Stony Brook University
Pavlos Kollias — Stony Brook University
Aleksandra Tatarevic — McGill University
Tami Fairless — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Andrew M. Vogelmann — Brookhaven National Laboratory
Satoshi Endo — Brookhaven National Laboratory
William I. Gustafson — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Category
ARM next generation – Megasite and LES activities
Description
Active Remotely-Sensed Cloud Locations (ARSCL) is a very useful product to evaluate large-eddy simulation (LES) outputs. However, remot- sensing cloud measurements can have uncertainties due to instrument limitations such as sensitivity and having a larger sampling volume than model grid spacing. These issues can cause errors in evaluation of the model outputs. This poster describes an ARSCL simulator that converts model output into virtual ARSCL data for comparison to ARSCL observations.
We develop the ARSCL simulator based on the Cloud-Resolving Model Radar SIMulator (CR-SIM), which is a scanning and profiling multi-parametric radar simulator capable of emulating the interaction between transmitted polarized radar waves and rotationally symmetric hydrometeors. The CR-SIM has been updated to simulate ceilometer (905 nm in wavelength) and multi-pulse lidar (MPL, 353 or 532 nm in wavelength) backscattering, lidar ratio, and extinction coefficient including their attenuation effects. The ceilometer simulation also produces cloud base height at each column. The MPL simulation includes aerosol backscattering, aerosol extinction coefficient, aerosol lidar ratio, and molecular backscattering.
Using these lidar and Ka-band radar (KAZR) vertical profiling measurement simulations, including their attenuation and sensitivity effects, we simulated a virtual ARSCL product, which includes cloud mask and cloud layer top/base heights, for LASSO shallow cumulus cases. The simulated virtual-ARSCL cloud mask identified low-level clouds (i.e., shallow cumuli) detected by KAZR measurements and upper-level clouds (i.e., cirrus clouds) detected by MPL measurements. Moreover, microwave radiometer (MWR) observation-like liquid water path was calculated taking account of the field of view of MWR and its random noise. The Virtual ARSCL product is expected to help evaluation of LES output with real observations.
