Fast-Physics System Testbed and Research Project (FASTER) convective-stratiform precipitation and vertical velocity products
Poster PDF
Authors
Tami Fairless — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Scott Giangrande — Brookhaven National Laboratory
Michael Jensen — Brookhaven National Laboratory
Pavlos Kollias — Stony Brook University
Mary Jane Bartholomew — Brookhaven National Laboratory
Xiquan Dong — University of Arizona
Description
In support of the Fast-physics System Testbed and Research (FASTER) project, several convective/stratiform precipitation products have been developed using data from the ARM radars at SGP. For the period from 1999–2007, an attenuation-based algorithm has been applied to millimeter-wavelength cloud radar (MMCR) data to produce convective/stratiform precipitation and accumulation data sets. The algorithm has been evaluated using NEXRAD data and results will be presented. Additionally, a novel approach combines UHF ARM zenith radar (UAZR), Ka-band ARM zenith radar (KAZR) from the KAZR-ARSCL VAP, and Joss-Waldvogel disdrometer (JWD) impact disdrometer data to produce time series profiles of calibrated and rain attenuation corrected reflectivity, vertical velocity, and specific echo classification. Constrained by disdrometer observations, the integrative analysis exploits the sensitivities of both radars to identify regions of cloud, stratiform precipitation, and associated bright band, drizzle, convective cores, and elevated convection. Initial results will be presented for select rain events of the 2011 Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E). The convective and stratiform properties available through the data sets, such as drop size distribution, vertical velocity magnitude, horizontal extent, and spatial characteristics, are useful for model evaluation.
