The Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera at ARM’s AMF3 Site at Oliktok Pt., AK

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Description

Telayna Gordon, Martin Stuefer, Konstantin Shkurko, Timothy Garrett, Mark Ivey, Fred Helsel, Todd Houchens, Brian Ermold, Cale Fallgatter, David Oaks, Wessley King, Benjamin Bishop, Josh Remitz The Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC) consists of three angled Unibrain cameras that photograph and measure the fall speed of hydrometeors as they enter the field of view and trip infrared motion sensors. Snowflakes between 100 μm and 3cm are captured in a 2.5 cm2 detection range. The resolution of the images ranges from 9 to 37 microns, and hydrometeors are illuminated by three 40w LEDs prior to the triggering of the camera. Hydrometeor speed is calculated based on the travel time between the arranged series of motion sensors, and photographs from all three cameras are taken at a speed of up to 1/40,000th of a second. The MASC is actively capturing images and hydrometeor fall speeds since its installation in April, 2015 at the ARM AMF3 site at Oliktok Point, Alaska, and the data are being uploaded to the ARM Data Archive. The aperture and focus of all three cameras were recently adjusted for ideal image conditions. The MASC is situated near two other instruments that provide helpful comparison data for the instrument’s observations of solid precipitation microphysics: NASA’s Precipitation Imaging Package (PIP) and the Laser Precipitation Monitor (LPM). This suite of instruments allows for observations of Arctic hydrometeors in unprecedented detail. Generic and MASC VAP data directly support evaluation of radar reflectivity, and allow researchers to fine-tune microphysics schemes within numerical models that have been developed to simulate and understand the Arctic atmosphere.