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- Author or Editor: R. D. Hart x
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Abstract
Maine stratus clouds were simultaneously observed by nadir Nd:YAG lidar measurements and in situ cloud physics measurements. A procedure was applied to derive the two-dimensional vertical cross section of the liquid water from within the cloud top lidar observations. A comparison to direct in-cloud liquid water observations gave good results. The liquid water retrieval was limited to an effective optical of 1.5. The true cloud optical thickness was also obtained from the retrieval procedure to a corresponding limit of 3.8. The optical thickness of the observed marine stratus clouds was predominantly below 3.0.
Abstract
Maine stratus clouds were simultaneously observed by nadir Nd:YAG lidar measurements and in situ cloud physics measurements. A procedure was applied to derive the two-dimensional vertical cross section of the liquid water from within the cloud top lidar observations. A comparison to direct in-cloud liquid water observations gave good results. The liquid water retrieval was limited to an effective optical of 1.5. The true cloud optical thickness was also obtained from the retrieval procedure to a corresponding limit of 3.8. The optical thickness of the observed marine stratus clouds was predominantly below 3.0.
Abstract
Thunderstorm radio noise measurements at several frequencies in the range 0.01–74 MHz have been made with specially designed remote recording stations in Iowa. The data were recorded during the spring and summer of 1974 when a series of severe storm systems produced a great number of large hail and tornado reports in Iowa. Computer analyses were made of nearly a billion bits of data, corresponding to 170 h of real-time recordings. Careful compilations of surface severe weather reports, hail damage information from insurance companies, and studies on the Des Moines WSR-57 radar echoes were compared with the analyzed radio noise data. The results include the following:
1) In agreement with earlier work, large‐amplitude radio noise impulse rates were found to he generally good indicators of thunderstorm severity. Although the majority of the radio energy radiated from major lightning strokes occurs in the 0.01 MHz range, this frequency was found to be a poor indicator of storm severity; the higher frequencies (megahertz range) were considerably better. The character of the noise appears similar at 2.5 and 74 MHz.
2) In at least five cases, tornadic events correlated in time with radio noise count rate peaks. One funnel cloud was reported equidistant at 60 km from two recording stations and coincident with count rate peaks at both stations, lending credence to the idea that the peak was associated with the storm occurrence, rather than with corona or other local effects.
3) No unusual radio noise was recorded during the lifetime of a small, verified tornado at 19 km range. In addition, the count rates for its parent thunderstorm would not have indicated severity.
In spite of inherent atmospheric variableness, the radio noise technique is a useful complementary indicator of storm severity.
Abstract
Thunderstorm radio noise measurements at several frequencies in the range 0.01–74 MHz have been made with specially designed remote recording stations in Iowa. The data were recorded during the spring and summer of 1974 when a series of severe storm systems produced a great number of large hail and tornado reports in Iowa. Computer analyses were made of nearly a billion bits of data, corresponding to 170 h of real-time recordings. Careful compilations of surface severe weather reports, hail damage information from insurance companies, and studies on the Des Moines WSR-57 radar echoes were compared with the analyzed radio noise data. The results include the following:
1) In agreement with earlier work, large‐amplitude radio noise impulse rates were found to he generally good indicators of thunderstorm severity. Although the majority of the radio energy radiated from major lightning strokes occurs in the 0.01 MHz range, this frequency was found to be a poor indicator of storm severity; the higher frequencies (megahertz range) were considerably better. The character of the noise appears similar at 2.5 and 74 MHz.
2) In at least five cases, tornadic events correlated in time with radio noise count rate peaks. One funnel cloud was reported equidistant at 60 km from two recording stations and coincident with count rate peaks at both stations, lending credence to the idea that the peak was associated with the storm occurrence, rather than with corona or other local effects.
3) No unusual radio noise was recorded during the lifetime of a small, verified tornado at 19 km range. In addition, the count rates for its parent thunderstorm would not have indicated severity.
In spite of inherent atmospheric variableness, the radio noise technique is a useful complementary indicator of storm severity.
Abstract
Simultaneous measurements with the millimeter-wave imaging radiometer (MIR), cloud lidar system (CLS), and the MODIS airborne simulator (MAS) were made aboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft over the western Pacific Ocean on 17–18 January 1993. These measurements were used to study the effects of clouds on water vapor profile retrievals based on millimeter-wave radiometer measurements. The CLS backscatter measurements (at 0.532 and 1.064 μm) provided information on the heights and a detailed structure of cloud layers; the types of clouds could be positively identified. All 12 MAS channels (0.6–13 μm) essentially respond to all types of clouds, while the six MIR channels (89–220 GHz) show little sensitivity to cirrus clouds. The radiances from the 12-μm and 0.875-μm channels of the MAS and the 89-GHz channel of the MIR were used to gauge the performance of the retrieval of water vapor profiles from the MIR observations under cloudy conditions. It was found that, for cirrus and absorptive (liquid) clouds, better than 80% of the retrieval was convergent when one of the three criteria was satisfied; that is, the radiance at 0.875 μm is less than 100 W cm−3 sr−1, or the brightness at 12 μm is greater than 260 K, or brightness at 89 GHz is less than 270 K (equivalent to cloud liquid water of less than 0.04 g cm−2). The range of these radiances for convergent retrieval increases markedly when the condition for convergent retrieval was somewhat relaxed. The algorithm of water vapor profiling from the MIR measurements could not perform adequately over the areas of storm-related clouds that scatter radiation at millimeter wavelengths.
Abstract
Simultaneous measurements with the millimeter-wave imaging radiometer (MIR), cloud lidar system (CLS), and the MODIS airborne simulator (MAS) were made aboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft over the western Pacific Ocean on 17–18 January 1993. These measurements were used to study the effects of clouds on water vapor profile retrievals based on millimeter-wave radiometer measurements. The CLS backscatter measurements (at 0.532 and 1.064 μm) provided information on the heights and a detailed structure of cloud layers; the types of clouds could be positively identified. All 12 MAS channels (0.6–13 μm) essentially respond to all types of clouds, while the six MIR channels (89–220 GHz) show little sensitivity to cirrus clouds. The radiances from the 12-μm and 0.875-μm channels of the MAS and the 89-GHz channel of the MIR were used to gauge the performance of the retrieval of water vapor profiles from the MIR observations under cloudy conditions. It was found that, for cirrus and absorptive (liquid) clouds, better than 80% of the retrieval was convergent when one of the three criteria was satisfied; that is, the radiance at 0.875 μm is less than 100 W cm−3 sr−1, or the brightness at 12 μm is greater than 260 K, or brightness at 89 GHz is less than 270 K (equivalent to cloud liquid water of less than 0.04 g cm−2). The range of these radiances for convergent retrieval increases markedly when the condition for convergent retrieval was somewhat relaxed. The algorithm of water vapor profiling from the MIR measurements could not perform adequately over the areas of storm-related clouds that scatter radiation at millimeter wavelengths.
A field campaign was carried out near Boardman, Oregon, to study the effects of subgrid-scale variability of sensible- and latent-heat fluxes on surface boundary-layer properties. The experiment involved three U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, one National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration laboratory, and several universities. The experiment was conducted in a region of severe contrasts in adjacent surface types that accentuated the response of the atmosphere to variable surface forcing. Large values of sensible-heat flux and low values of latent-heat flux characterized a sagebrush steppe area; significantly smaller sensible-heat fluxes and much larger latent-heat fluxes were associated with extensive tracts of irrigated farmland to the north, east, and west of the steppe. Data were obtained from an array of surface flux stations, remote-sensing devices, an instrumented aircraft, and soil and vegetation measurements. The data will be used to address the problem of extrapolating from a limited number of local measurements to area-averaged values of fluxes suitable for use in global climate models.
A field campaign was carried out near Boardman, Oregon, to study the effects of subgrid-scale variability of sensible- and latent-heat fluxes on surface boundary-layer properties. The experiment involved three U.S. Department of Energy laboratories, one National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration laboratory, and several universities. The experiment was conducted in a region of severe contrasts in adjacent surface types that accentuated the response of the atmosphere to variable surface forcing. Large values of sensible-heat flux and low values of latent-heat flux characterized a sagebrush steppe area; significantly smaller sensible-heat fluxes and much larger latent-heat fluxes were associated with extensive tracts of irrigated farmland to the north, east, and west of the steppe. Data were obtained from an array of surface flux stations, remote-sensing devices, an instrumented aircraft, and soil and vegetation measurements. The data will be used to address the problem of extrapolating from a limited number of local measurements to area-averaged values of fluxes suitable for use in global climate models.
Abstract
Extratropical transition (ET) is the process by which a tropical cyclone, upon encountering a baroclinic environment and reduced sea surface temperature at higher latitudes, transforms into an extratropical cyclone. This process is influenced by, and influences, phenomena from the tropics to the midlatitudes and from the meso- to the planetary scales to extents that vary between individual events. Motivated in part by recent high-impact and/or extensively observed events such as North Atlantic Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and western North Pacific Typhoon Sinlaku in 2008, this review details advances in understanding and predicting ET since the publication of an earlier review in 2003. Methods for diagnosing ET in reanalysis, observational, and model-forecast datasets are discussed. New climatologies for the eastern North Pacific and southwest Indian Oceans are presented alongside updates to western North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean climatologies. Advances in understanding and, in some cases, modeling the direct impacts of ET-related wind, waves, and precipitation are noted. Improved understanding of structural evolution throughout the transformation stage of ET fostered in large part by novel aircraft observations collected in several recent ET events is highlighted. Predictive skill for operational and numerical model ET-related forecasts is discussed along with environmental factors influencing posttransition cyclone structure and evolution. Operational ET forecast and analysis practices and challenges are detailed. In particular, some challenges of effective hazard communication for the evolving threats posed by a tropical cyclone during and after transition are introduced. This review concludes with recommendations for future work to further improve understanding, forecasts, and hazard communication.
Abstract
Extratropical transition (ET) is the process by which a tropical cyclone, upon encountering a baroclinic environment and reduced sea surface temperature at higher latitudes, transforms into an extratropical cyclone. This process is influenced by, and influences, phenomena from the tropics to the midlatitudes and from the meso- to the planetary scales to extents that vary between individual events. Motivated in part by recent high-impact and/or extensively observed events such as North Atlantic Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and western North Pacific Typhoon Sinlaku in 2008, this review details advances in understanding and predicting ET since the publication of an earlier review in 2003. Methods for diagnosing ET in reanalysis, observational, and model-forecast datasets are discussed. New climatologies for the eastern North Pacific and southwest Indian Oceans are presented alongside updates to western North Pacific and North Atlantic Ocean climatologies. Advances in understanding and, in some cases, modeling the direct impacts of ET-related wind, waves, and precipitation are noted. Improved understanding of structural evolution throughout the transformation stage of ET fostered in large part by novel aircraft observations collected in several recent ET events is highlighted. Predictive skill for operational and numerical model ET-related forecasts is discussed along with environmental factors influencing posttransition cyclone structure and evolution. Operational ET forecast and analysis practices and challenges are detailed. In particular, some challenges of effective hazard communication for the evolving threats posed by a tropical cyclone during and after transition are introduced. This review concludes with recommendations for future work to further improve understanding, forecasts, and hazard communication.
Abstract
Pan-Africa convection-permitting regional climate model simulations have been performed to study the impact of high resolution and the explicit representation of atmospheric moist convection on the present and future climate of Africa. These unique simulations have allowed European and African climate scientists to understand the critical role that the representation of convection plays in the ability of a contemporary climate model to capture climate and climate change, including many impact-relevant aspects such as rainfall variability and extremes. There are significant improvements in not only the small-scale characteristics of rainfall such as its intensity and diurnal cycle, but also in the large-scale circulation. Similarly, effects of explicit convection affect not only projected changes in rainfall extremes, dry spells, and high winds, but also continental-scale circulation and regional rainfall accumulations. The physics underlying such differences are in many cases expected to be relevant to all models that use parameterized convection. In some cases physical understanding of small-scale change means that we can provide regional decision-makers with new scales of information across a range of sectors. We demonstrate the potential value of these simulations both as scientific tools to increase climate process understanding and, when used with other models, for direct user applications. We describe how these ground-breaking simulations have been achieved under the U.K. Government’s Future Climate for Africa Programme. We anticipate a growing number of such simulations, which we advocate should become a routine component of climate projection, and encourage international coordination of such computationally and human-resource expensive simulations as effectively as possible.
Abstract
Pan-Africa convection-permitting regional climate model simulations have been performed to study the impact of high resolution and the explicit representation of atmospheric moist convection on the present and future climate of Africa. These unique simulations have allowed European and African climate scientists to understand the critical role that the representation of convection plays in the ability of a contemporary climate model to capture climate and climate change, including many impact-relevant aspects such as rainfall variability and extremes. There are significant improvements in not only the small-scale characteristics of rainfall such as its intensity and diurnal cycle, but also in the large-scale circulation. Similarly, effects of explicit convection affect not only projected changes in rainfall extremes, dry spells, and high winds, but also continental-scale circulation and regional rainfall accumulations. The physics underlying such differences are in many cases expected to be relevant to all models that use parameterized convection. In some cases physical understanding of small-scale change means that we can provide regional decision-makers with new scales of information across a range of sectors. We demonstrate the potential value of these simulations both as scientific tools to increase climate process understanding and, when used with other models, for direct user applications. We describe how these ground-breaking simulations have been achieved under the U.K. Government’s Future Climate for Africa Programme. We anticipate a growing number of such simulations, which we advocate should become a routine component of climate projection, and encourage international coordination of such computationally and human-resource expensive simulations as effectively as possible.
