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Article Type:
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The Microwave Radiative Properties of Falling Snow Derived from Nonspherical Ice Particle Models. Part II: Initial Testing Using Radar, Radiometer and In Situ Observations

William S. Olson Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology/University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland

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Lin Tian Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research/Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland

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Mircea Grecu Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research/Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland

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Kwo-Sen Kuo Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center/University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, Maryland

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Benjamin T. Johnson Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology/University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland

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Andrew J. Heymsfield National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

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Aaron Bansemer National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado

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Gerald M. Heymsfield NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

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James R. Wang NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

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Robert Meneghini NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland

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Print Publication:
01 Mar 2016
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-15-0131.1
Page(s):
709–722
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Abstract

In this study, two different particle models describing the structure and electromagnetic properties of snow are developed and evaluated for potential use in satellite combined radar–radiometer precipitation estimation algorithms. In the first model, snow particles are assumed to be homogeneous ice–air spheres with single-scattering properties derived from Mie theory. In the second model, snow particles are created by simulating the self-collection of pristine ice crystals into aggregate particles of different sizes, using different numbers and habits of the collected component crystals. Single-scattering properties of the resulting nonspherical snow particles are determined using the discrete dipole approximation. The size-distribution-integrated scattering properties of the spherical and nonspherical snow particles are incorporated into a dual-wavelength radar profiling algorithm that is applied to 14- and 34-GHz observations of stratiform precipitation from the ER-2 aircraftborne High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP) radar. The retrieved ice precipitation profiles are then input to a forward radiative transfer calculation in an attempt to simulate coincident radiance observations from the Conical Scanning Millimeter-Wave Imaging Radiometer (CoSMIR). Much greater consistency between the simulated and observed CoSMIR radiances is obtained using estimated profiles that are based upon the nonspherical crystal/aggregate snow particle model. Despite this greater consistency, there remain some discrepancies between the higher moments of the HIWRAP-retrieved precipitation size distributions and in situ distributions derived from microphysics probe observations obtained from Citation aircraft underflights of the ER-2. These discrepancies can only be eliminated if a subset of lower-density crystal/aggregate snow particles is assumed in the radar algorithm and in the interpretation of the in situ data.

Current affiliation: Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc., Lexington, Massachusetts.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Corresponding author address: William Olson, Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, MD 20771. E-mail: bill.olson@nasa.gov

Abstract

In this study, two different particle models describing the structure and electromagnetic properties of snow are developed and evaluated for potential use in satellite combined radar–radiometer precipitation estimation algorithms. In the first model, snow particles are assumed to be homogeneous ice–air spheres with single-scattering properties derived from Mie theory. In the second model, snow particles are created by simulating the self-collection of pristine ice crystals into aggregate particles of different sizes, using different numbers and habits of the collected component crystals. Single-scattering properties of the resulting nonspherical snow particles are determined using the discrete dipole approximation. The size-distribution-integrated scattering properties of the spherical and nonspherical snow particles are incorporated into a dual-wavelength radar profiling algorithm that is applied to 14- and 34-GHz observations of stratiform precipitation from the ER-2 aircraftborne High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP) radar. The retrieved ice precipitation profiles are then input to a forward radiative transfer calculation in an attempt to simulate coincident radiance observations from the Conical Scanning Millimeter-Wave Imaging Radiometer (CoSMIR). Much greater consistency between the simulated and observed CoSMIR radiances is obtained using estimated profiles that are based upon the nonspherical crystal/aggregate snow particle model. Despite this greater consistency, there remain some discrepancies between the higher moments of the HIWRAP-retrieved precipitation size distributions and in situ distributions derived from microphysics probe observations obtained from Citation aircraft underflights of the ER-2. These discrepancies can only be eliminated if a subset of lower-density crystal/aggregate snow particles is assumed in the radar algorithm and in the interpretation of the in situ data.

Current affiliation: Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc., Lexington, Massachusetts.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Corresponding author address: William Olson, Mesoscale Atmospheric Processes Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd., Greenbelt, MD 20771. E-mail: bill.olson@nasa.gov
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