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Abstract
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Abstract
Aircraft data from the JASIN Experiment have been used to examine the role that intermittency plays in turbulent transfer in the near-neutral marine atmospheric boundary layer. Conditional sampling, using the time-varying dissipation rate as an indicator, was the technique chosen for studying the dimensions of observed bursts of dissipation and their relation to the turbulent transfer. Burst fractional area coverage, γ, showed significant height variability in the surface layer, from a value of 0.45 near the surface decreasing to a constant value of about 0.30 above Z=0.2Zi
. It was shown that γ is quite sensitive in the surface layer to the height of measurement and to the surface roughness (scaling with
The plume model of Frisch provided an estimate of the physical dimensions of the bursts. Their area varied little with height and corresponded to an average diameter of 140 m, but the number density decreased with height. The regions of high turbulence activity showed an elongation of 10% in the mean wind direction throughout the ABL.
Bursts of dissipation rate were generally coincident with regions of enhanced flux. Conditional statistics showed that 50–60% of the vertical velocity variance, stress, and water vapor fluxes were concentrated in 30% of the area over most of the ABL. The mean vertical velocity difference, Δw, between the bursts and the ambient state was found to reflect buoyant input of energy into the ABL through a dependence on the convective scaling velocity w *. This observation, the roughness height dependence of γ, and various laboratory findings suggest that plumes may be generated by the shear properties of the flow, rather than by thermal instabilities.
The turbulence kinetic energy balance showed that bursts of dissipation are also regions of enhanced turbulent transfer. In the convective case, buoyant production is concentrated in these regions. The transport of turbulence kinetic energy out of the lower ABL by the bursts actually exceeds the net transport, so that the ambient state transports turbulence kinetic energy to the surface.
Abstract
Aircraft data from the JASIN Experiment have been used to examine the role that intermittency plays in turbulent transfer in the near-neutral marine atmospheric boundary layer. Conditional sampling, using the time-varying dissipation rate as an indicator, was the technique chosen for studying the dimensions of observed bursts of dissipation and their relation to the turbulent transfer. Burst fractional area coverage, γ, showed significant height variability in the surface layer, from a value of 0.45 near the surface decreasing to a constant value of about 0.30 above Z=0.2Zi
. It was shown that γ is quite sensitive in the surface layer to the height of measurement and to the surface roughness (scaling with
The plume model of Frisch provided an estimate of the physical dimensions of the bursts. Their area varied little with height and corresponded to an average diameter of 140 m, but the number density decreased with height. The regions of high turbulence activity showed an elongation of 10% in the mean wind direction throughout the ABL.
Bursts of dissipation rate were generally coincident with regions of enhanced flux. Conditional statistics showed that 50–60% of the vertical velocity variance, stress, and water vapor fluxes were concentrated in 30% of the area over most of the ABL. The mean vertical velocity difference, Δw, between the bursts and the ambient state was found to reflect buoyant input of energy into the ABL through a dependence on the convective scaling velocity w *. This observation, the roughness height dependence of γ, and various laboratory findings suggest that plumes may be generated by the shear properties of the flow, rather than by thermal instabilities.
The turbulence kinetic energy balance showed that bursts of dissipation are also regions of enhanced turbulent transfer. In the convective case, buoyant production is concentrated in these regions. The transport of turbulence kinetic energy out of the lower ABL by the bursts actually exceeds the net transport, so that the ambient state transports turbulence kinetic energy to the surface.
Scattering of sunlight or moonlight by cloud particles can generate colorful optical patterns that are both scientifically and aesthetically interesting. Photographs of corona rings and iridescence are presented to demonstrate how cloud-particle distributions and meteorology combine to produce a wide variety of observed patterns. The photographs of coronas are analyzed using Fraunhofer diffraction theory to determine that these optical displays were generated by cloud particles with mean diameters ranging from 7.6 to 24.3 μm. All examples of coronas and iridescence presented in this paper were observed within mountain wave clouds along the steep lee side of the Rocky Mountains over northeastern Colorado. Such clouds, commonly observed both here and on the downstream side of many other prominent mountain ranges, tend to have small cloud particles with narrow particle-size distributions, conditions that lead to relatively frequent and vivid optical displays. The meteorology accompanying at least one-half of the displays presented here suggest that the wave cloud particles consisted of ice, whereas, at least until recently, it has been accepted that spherical liquid cloud droplets are primarily responsible for coronas and iridescence. Microphotographs of particles collected from the interior of similar mountain wave clouds show that such clouds can indeed contain quasi-spherical ice particles with effective diameters less than 25 μm, which provide a mechanism for the high-quality optical displays to be generated within wave clouds at high altitudes with temperatures below −36° to −38°C. In fact, these quasi-spherical ice particles maybe commonly associated with mountain wave clouds, thus suggesting that this type of ice particle may regularly produce coronas and iridescence.
Scattering of sunlight or moonlight by cloud particles can generate colorful optical patterns that are both scientifically and aesthetically interesting. Photographs of corona rings and iridescence are presented to demonstrate how cloud-particle distributions and meteorology combine to produce a wide variety of observed patterns. The photographs of coronas are analyzed using Fraunhofer diffraction theory to determine that these optical displays were generated by cloud particles with mean diameters ranging from 7.6 to 24.3 μm. All examples of coronas and iridescence presented in this paper were observed within mountain wave clouds along the steep lee side of the Rocky Mountains over northeastern Colorado. Such clouds, commonly observed both here and on the downstream side of many other prominent mountain ranges, tend to have small cloud particles with narrow particle-size distributions, conditions that lead to relatively frequent and vivid optical displays. The meteorology accompanying at least one-half of the displays presented here suggest that the wave cloud particles consisted of ice, whereas, at least until recently, it has been accepted that spherical liquid cloud droplets are primarily responsible for coronas and iridescence. Microphotographs of particles collected from the interior of similar mountain wave clouds show that such clouds can indeed contain quasi-spherical ice particles with effective diameters less than 25 μm, which provide a mechanism for the high-quality optical displays to be generated within wave clouds at high altitudes with temperatures below −36° to −38°C. In fact, these quasi-spherical ice particles maybe commonly associated with mountain wave clouds, thus suggesting that this type of ice particle may regularly produce coronas and iridescence.
Abstract
In a changing climate, there is an interest in predicting how extreme rainfall events may change. Using historical records, several recent papers have evaluated whether high-intensity precipitation scales with temperature in accordance with the Clausius–Clapeyron (C–C) relationship. For varying locations in Europe, these papers have identified both super C–C relationships as well as a breakdown of the C–C relationship under dry conditions. In this paper, a similar analysis is carried out for the United States using data from 14 weather stations clustered in four different hydroclimatic regions: the coastal northeast, interior New York, the central plains, and the western plains. In all regions except interior New York state, 99th percentile 1-h precipitation generally followed the C–C relation. In interior New York, there was evidence that intensity scaled with a super C–C relationship. For the 99.9th percentile precipitation, interior New York displayed some moderate evidence of a super C–C relationship, the western plains showed little relation between precipitation and temperature, and the remainder of sites generally scaled with the C–C relationship. Also, if only July, August, and September precipitation is considered, all stations except those in interior New York have little relation between temperature and precipitation, suggesting that precipitation intensity during summer months may not be well constrained by the C–C relationship. Overall, the C–C relationship (or a variation thereof) does not appear to constrain extreme precipitation in all regions and in all seasons, and its ability to aid in constraining future predictions of extreme precipitation may only be relevant to certain locales and time periods.
Abstract
In a changing climate, there is an interest in predicting how extreme rainfall events may change. Using historical records, several recent papers have evaluated whether high-intensity precipitation scales with temperature in accordance with the Clausius–Clapeyron (C–C) relationship. For varying locations in Europe, these papers have identified both super C–C relationships as well as a breakdown of the C–C relationship under dry conditions. In this paper, a similar analysis is carried out for the United States using data from 14 weather stations clustered in four different hydroclimatic regions: the coastal northeast, interior New York, the central plains, and the western plains. In all regions except interior New York state, 99th percentile 1-h precipitation generally followed the C–C relation. In interior New York, there was evidence that intensity scaled with a super C–C relationship. For the 99.9th percentile precipitation, interior New York displayed some moderate evidence of a super C–C relationship, the western plains showed little relation between precipitation and temperature, and the remainder of sites generally scaled with the C–C relationship. Also, if only July, August, and September precipitation is considered, all stations except those in interior New York have little relation between temperature and precipitation, suggesting that precipitation intensity during summer months may not be well constrained by the C–C relationship. Overall, the C–C relationship (or a variation thereof) does not appear to constrain extreme precipitation in all regions and in all seasons, and its ability to aid in constraining future predictions of extreme precipitation may only be relevant to certain locales and time periods.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the ability of a modern data assimilation system to provide long-term diagnostic facilities to monitor the performance of the observational network. Operational data assimilation systems use short-range forecasts to provide the background, or first-guess, field for the analysis. We make a detailed study of the apparent or perceived error of these forecasts when they are verified against radiosondes. On the assumption that the observational error of the radiosondes is horizontally uncorrelated, the perceived forecast error can be partitioned into prediction error, which is horizontally correlated, and observation error, which is not. The calculations show that in areas where there is adequate radiosonde coverage, the 6-hour prediction error is comparable with the observation error.
This statement is discussed from a number of viewpoints. We demonstrate in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes, for example, that the forecasts account for most of the evolution of the atmospheric state from one analysis to the next, so that the analysis algorithm needs to make only a small correction to an accurate first-guess field; the situation is rather different in the Southern Hemisphere. If the doubling time for small errors is two days, then analysis error will amplify by less than 10% in 6 hours.
This being the case, the statistics of the forecast/observation differences have a simple statistical structure. Large variations of the statistics from station to station, or large biases, are indicative of problems in the data or in the assimilation system. Case studies demonstrate the ability of simple statistical tools to identify systematically erroneous radiosonde wind data in data sparse, as well as in data rich areas, errors which would have been difficult to detect in any other way. The statistical tools are equally effective in diagnosing the performance of the assimilation system.
The results suggest that it is possible to provide regular feedback on the quality of observations of winds and heights to operators of radiosonde networks and other observational systems. This capability has become available over the last decade through improvements in the techniques of numerical weather analysis and prediction.
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the ability of a modern data assimilation system to provide long-term diagnostic facilities to monitor the performance of the observational network. Operational data assimilation systems use short-range forecasts to provide the background, or first-guess, field for the analysis. We make a detailed study of the apparent or perceived error of these forecasts when they are verified against radiosondes. On the assumption that the observational error of the radiosondes is horizontally uncorrelated, the perceived forecast error can be partitioned into prediction error, which is horizontally correlated, and observation error, which is not. The calculations show that in areas where there is adequate radiosonde coverage, the 6-hour prediction error is comparable with the observation error.
This statement is discussed from a number of viewpoints. We demonstrate in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes, for example, that the forecasts account for most of the evolution of the atmospheric state from one analysis to the next, so that the analysis algorithm needs to make only a small correction to an accurate first-guess field; the situation is rather different in the Southern Hemisphere. If the doubling time for small errors is two days, then analysis error will amplify by less than 10% in 6 hours.
This being the case, the statistics of the forecast/observation differences have a simple statistical structure. Large variations of the statistics from station to station, or large biases, are indicative of problems in the data or in the assimilation system. Case studies demonstrate the ability of simple statistical tools to identify systematically erroneous radiosonde wind data in data sparse, as well as in data rich areas, errors which would have been difficult to detect in any other way. The statistical tools are equally effective in diagnosing the performance of the assimilation system.
The results suggest that it is possible to provide regular feedback on the quality of observations of winds and heights to operators of radiosonde networks and other observational systems. This capability has become available over the last decade through improvements in the techniques of numerical weather analysis and prediction.
Abstract
A cloud-seeding experiment was conducted in Tasmania using a target area and three control areas. Seeding was on a random basis using silver-iodide smoke released from an aircraft. Evidence is presented that seeding increased rainfall in the eastern half of the target area during autumn.
Abstract
A cloud-seeding experiment was conducted in Tasmania using a target area and three control areas. Seeding was on a random basis using silver-iodide smoke released from an aircraft. Evidence is presented that seeding increased rainfall in the eastern half of the target area during autumn.
Abstract
A method is demonstrated for deriving a correction for the effects of an infrared window when used to weatherproof a radiometrically calibrated thermal infrared imager. The technique relies on initial calibration of two identical imagers without windows and subsequently operating the imagers side by side: one with a window and one without. An equation is presented that expresses the scene radiance in terms of through-window radiance and the transmittance, reflectance, and emissivity of the window. The window’s optical properties are determined as a function of angle over the imager’s field of view through a matrix inversion using images observed simultaneously with and without a window. The technique is applied to calibrated sky images from infrared cloud imager systems. Application of this window correction algorithm to data obtained months before or after the algorithm was derived leads to an improvement from 0.46 to 0.91 for the correlation coefficient between data obtained simultaneously from imagers with and without a window. Once the window correction has been determined, the windowed imager can operate independently and provide accurate measurements of sky radiance.
Abstract
A method is demonstrated for deriving a correction for the effects of an infrared window when used to weatherproof a radiometrically calibrated thermal infrared imager. The technique relies on initial calibration of two identical imagers without windows and subsequently operating the imagers side by side: one with a window and one without. An equation is presented that expresses the scene radiance in terms of through-window radiance and the transmittance, reflectance, and emissivity of the window. The window’s optical properties are determined as a function of angle over the imager’s field of view through a matrix inversion using images observed simultaneously with and without a window. The technique is applied to calibrated sky images from infrared cloud imager systems. Application of this window correction algorithm to data obtained months before or after the algorithm was derived leads to an improvement from 0.46 to 0.91 for the correlation coefficient between data obtained simultaneously from imagers with and without a window. Once the window correction has been determined, the windowed imager can operate independently and provide accurate measurements of sky radiance.
Abstract
Helicopter-borne observations of the impact of turbulent mixing and cloud microphysical properties in shallow trade wind cumuli are presented. The measurements were collected during the Cloud, Aerosol, Radiation and Turbulence in the Trade Wind Regime over Barbados (CARRIBA) project. Basic meteorological parameters (3D wind vector, air temperature, and relative humidity), cloud condensation nuclei concentrations, and cloud microphysical parameters (droplet number, size distribution, and liquid water content) are measured by the Airborne Cloud Turbulence Observation System (ACTOS), which is fixed by a 160-m-long rope underneath a helicopter flying with a true airspeed of approximately 20 m s−1. Clouds at different evolutionary stages were sampled. A total of 300 clouds are classified into actively growing, decelerated, and dissolving clouds. The mixing process of these cloud categories is investigated by correlating the cloud droplet number concentration and cubed droplet mean volume diameter. A significant tendency to more inhomogeneous mixing with increasing cloud lifetime is observed. Furthermore, the mixing process and its effects on droplet number concentration, droplet size, and cloud liquid water content are statistically evaluated. It is found that, in dissolving clouds, liquid water content and droplet number concentration are decreased by about 50% compared to actively growing clouds. Conversely, the droplet size remains almost constant, which can be attributed to the existence of a humid shell around the cloud that prevents cloud droplets from rapid evaporation after entrainment of premoistened air. Moreover, signs of secondary activation are found, which results in a more difficult interpretation of observed mixing diagrams.
Abstract
Helicopter-borne observations of the impact of turbulent mixing and cloud microphysical properties in shallow trade wind cumuli are presented. The measurements were collected during the Cloud, Aerosol, Radiation and Turbulence in the Trade Wind Regime over Barbados (CARRIBA) project. Basic meteorological parameters (3D wind vector, air temperature, and relative humidity), cloud condensation nuclei concentrations, and cloud microphysical parameters (droplet number, size distribution, and liquid water content) are measured by the Airborne Cloud Turbulence Observation System (ACTOS), which is fixed by a 160-m-long rope underneath a helicopter flying with a true airspeed of approximately 20 m s−1. Clouds at different evolutionary stages were sampled. A total of 300 clouds are classified into actively growing, decelerated, and dissolving clouds. The mixing process of these cloud categories is investigated by correlating the cloud droplet number concentration and cubed droplet mean volume diameter. A significant tendency to more inhomogeneous mixing with increasing cloud lifetime is observed. Furthermore, the mixing process and its effects on droplet number concentration, droplet size, and cloud liquid water content are statistically evaluated. It is found that, in dissolving clouds, liquid water content and droplet number concentration are decreased by about 50% compared to actively growing clouds. Conversely, the droplet size remains almost constant, which can be attributed to the existence of a humid shell around the cloud that prevents cloud droplets from rapid evaporation after entrainment of premoistened air. Moreover, signs of secondary activation are found, which results in a more difficult interpretation of observed mixing diagrams.
Abstract
Coordinated observational data of atmospheric aerosols were collected over a 24-h period between 2300 mountain daylight time (MDT) on 27 August 2009 and 2300 MDT on 28 August 2009 at Bozeman, Montana (45.66°N, 111.04°W, elevation 1530 m) using a collocated two-color lidar, a diode-laser-based water vapor differential absorption lidar (DIAL), a solar radiometer, and a ground-based nephelometer. The optical properties and spatial distribution of the atmospheric aerosols were inferred from the observational data collected using the collocated instruments as part of a closure experiment under dry conditions with a relative humidity below 60%. The aerosol lidar ratio and aerosol optical depth retrieved at 532 and 1064 nm using the two-color lidar and solar radiometer agreed with one another to within their individual uncertainties while the scattering component of the aerosol extinction measured using the nephelometer matched the scattering component of the aerosol extinction retrieved using the 532-nm channel of the two-color lidar and the single-scatter albedo retrieved using the solar radiometer. Using existing aerosol models developed with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) data, a thin aerosol layer observed over Bozeman was most likely identified as smoke from forest fires burning in California; Washington; British Columbia, Canada; and northwestern Montana. The intrusion of the thin aerosol layer caused a change in the atmospheric radiative forcing by a factor of 1.8 ± 0.5 due to the aerosol direct effect.
Abstract
Coordinated observational data of atmospheric aerosols were collected over a 24-h period between 2300 mountain daylight time (MDT) on 27 August 2009 and 2300 MDT on 28 August 2009 at Bozeman, Montana (45.66°N, 111.04°W, elevation 1530 m) using a collocated two-color lidar, a diode-laser-based water vapor differential absorption lidar (DIAL), a solar radiometer, and a ground-based nephelometer. The optical properties and spatial distribution of the atmospheric aerosols were inferred from the observational data collected using the collocated instruments as part of a closure experiment under dry conditions with a relative humidity below 60%. The aerosol lidar ratio and aerosol optical depth retrieved at 532 and 1064 nm using the two-color lidar and solar radiometer agreed with one another to within their individual uncertainties while the scattering component of the aerosol extinction measured using the nephelometer matched the scattering component of the aerosol extinction retrieved using the 532-nm channel of the two-color lidar and the single-scatter albedo retrieved using the solar radiometer. Using existing aerosol models developed with Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) data, a thin aerosol layer observed over Bozeman was most likely identified as smoke from forest fires burning in California; Washington; British Columbia, Canada; and northwestern Montana. The intrusion of the thin aerosol layer caused a change in the atmospheric radiative forcing by a factor of 1.8 ± 0.5 due to the aerosol direct effect.
The Land/Sea Breeze Experiment (LASBEX) was conducted at Moss Landing, California, 15–30 September 1987. The experiment was designed to study the vertical structure and mesoscale variation of the land/sea breeze. A Doppler lidar, a triangular array of three sodars, two sounding systems (one deployed from land and one from a ship), and six surface weather stations (one shipborne) were sited around the Moss Landing area. Measurements obtained included ten sea-breeze and four land-breeze events. This paper describes the objectives and design of the experiment, as well as the observing systems that were used. Some preliminary results and selected observations are presented, called from the data collected, as well as the ensuing analysis plans.
The Land/Sea Breeze Experiment (LASBEX) was conducted at Moss Landing, California, 15–30 September 1987. The experiment was designed to study the vertical structure and mesoscale variation of the land/sea breeze. A Doppler lidar, a triangular array of three sodars, two sounding systems (one deployed from land and one from a ship), and six surface weather stations (one shipborne) were sited around the Moss Landing area. Measurements obtained included ten sea-breeze and four land-breeze events. This paper describes the objectives and design of the experiment, as well as the observing systems that were used. Some preliminary results and selected observations are presented, called from the data collected, as well as the ensuing analysis plans.
