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- Author or Editor: William D. Hart x
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Abstract
Remote sensing lidar and imaging spectral radiometer observations were obtained from the ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft during the 1986 FIRE cirrus missions. The dual polarization lidar measurements were nadir directed with 7.5 m vertical and 40 m horizontal resolution, and clearly depicted structure at the top and within the cirrus. Simultaneous radiometric cloud top images were acquired with 5 mrd resolution at ten visible channels, three infrared window channels, and four near-infrared channels. The combined lidar and radiometer data were analyzed for the cirrus structure, radiative parameters, and inferred microphysical properties. On 28 October 1986 a cirrus formation crossed Wisconsin. The results indicate that for the eastern edge of the formation there was a cirrus layer at 9 to 11 km altitude, and a separate lower cloud at 7 to 8 km. The lidar depolarization indicated the upper layer was ice crystals, the lower layer was ice in some areas, and water or possibly mixed phase in others. Split window thermal brightness measurements indicated the upper layer was principally particles of an effective radius less than 25 μm. To the west, the cirrus formation was a denser layer extending between 6 to 11 km altitude. An equivalent height for the thermal IR emission of cirrus was defined. The equivalent height was found to be as much as 4 km below the true cloud top height. The average vertical structure of radiation parameters was derived. For the upward infrared radiance the strongest contribution was from 7 to 8 km altitude but higher cirrus were significant. Cloud visible reflectance approached 0.6 and the 10.84 μm emittance ranged to 0.9. Distinct local vacations in the relation between reflectance and emittance were found, while a significant dispersion of the emittance to reflectance relation for the entire dataset was present. The dispersion was principally due to variations in surface albedo. An overall parameterization for the average measured relation between emittance and visible albedo is given.
Abstract
Remote sensing lidar and imaging spectral radiometer observations were obtained from the ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft during the 1986 FIRE cirrus missions. The dual polarization lidar measurements were nadir directed with 7.5 m vertical and 40 m horizontal resolution, and clearly depicted structure at the top and within the cirrus. Simultaneous radiometric cloud top images were acquired with 5 mrd resolution at ten visible channels, three infrared window channels, and four near-infrared channels. The combined lidar and radiometer data were analyzed for the cirrus structure, radiative parameters, and inferred microphysical properties. On 28 October 1986 a cirrus formation crossed Wisconsin. The results indicate that for the eastern edge of the formation there was a cirrus layer at 9 to 11 km altitude, and a separate lower cloud at 7 to 8 km. The lidar depolarization indicated the upper layer was ice crystals, the lower layer was ice in some areas, and water or possibly mixed phase in others. Split window thermal brightness measurements indicated the upper layer was principally particles of an effective radius less than 25 μm. To the west, the cirrus formation was a denser layer extending between 6 to 11 km altitude. An equivalent height for the thermal IR emission of cirrus was defined. The equivalent height was found to be as much as 4 km below the true cloud top height. The average vertical structure of radiation parameters was derived. For the upward infrared radiance the strongest contribution was from 7 to 8 km altitude but higher cirrus were significant. Cloud visible reflectance approached 0.6 and the 10.84 μm emittance ranged to 0.9. Distinct local vacations in the relation between reflectance and emittance were found, while a significant dispersion of the emittance to reflectance relation for the entire dataset was present. The dispersion was principally due to variations in surface albedo. An overall parameterization for the average measured relation between emittance and visible albedo is given.
Abstract
A summary of experimental observations and analysis of cirrus from high-altitude aircraft remote sensing is presented. The vertical distribution of cirrus optical and infrared cross-section parameters and the relative effective emittance and visible reflectance are derived from nadir-viewing lidar and multispectral radiometer data for observations during the 1986 and 1991 FIRE cirrus experiments. Statistics on scattering and absorption cross sections in relation to altitude and temperature are given. The emittance and reflectance results are considered as a function of solar zenith angle. Comparative radiative transfer calculations based on the discrete-ordinate method were carried out for three representative cloud phase function models: a spherical water droplet, an ice column crystal cloud, and a Henyey-Greenstein function. The agreements between observations of the effective emittance and shortwave reflectance and the model calculations were a function of the solar zenith angle. At angles between 54° and 60° a Henyey-Greenstein (HG) function with an asymmetry factor of 0.6–0.7 produced the best comparison. At 66°–72° the ice column model was equally comparable to observations. Comparisons to the water cloud model wore poor in all cases. The effects of ice crystal microphysical variations on the observed results were not generally apparent, but one dramatic example of difference was found. In order to explain the variations noted for solar zenith angle, an instrument–the Tilt Scan CCD Camera radiometer–was developed to directly observe the shortwave bidirectional reflectance function for 1991 measurements. The results indicate a characteristic angular function of the visible reflectance of cirrus that is flatter than predicted by the ice column scattering model, but the overall asymmetry factor is comparable. The good agreement with values from an HG function at some angles is not generally applicable. The characteristics of the observed cirrus angular reflectance pattern correlate well with, and are explained by, the results that were found for the solar zenith angle dependence of the eminence and reflectance.
Abstract
A summary of experimental observations and analysis of cirrus from high-altitude aircraft remote sensing is presented. The vertical distribution of cirrus optical and infrared cross-section parameters and the relative effective emittance and visible reflectance are derived from nadir-viewing lidar and multispectral radiometer data for observations during the 1986 and 1991 FIRE cirrus experiments. Statistics on scattering and absorption cross sections in relation to altitude and temperature are given. The emittance and reflectance results are considered as a function of solar zenith angle. Comparative radiative transfer calculations based on the discrete-ordinate method were carried out for three representative cloud phase function models: a spherical water droplet, an ice column crystal cloud, and a Henyey-Greenstein function. The agreements between observations of the effective emittance and shortwave reflectance and the model calculations were a function of the solar zenith angle. At angles between 54° and 60° a Henyey-Greenstein (HG) function with an asymmetry factor of 0.6–0.7 produced the best comparison. At 66°–72° the ice column model was equally comparable to observations. Comparisons to the water cloud model wore poor in all cases. The effects of ice crystal microphysical variations on the observed results were not generally apparent, but one dramatic example of difference was found. In order to explain the variations noted for solar zenith angle, an instrument–the Tilt Scan CCD Camera radiometer–was developed to directly observe the shortwave bidirectional reflectance function for 1991 measurements. The results indicate a characteristic angular function of the visible reflectance of cirrus that is flatter than predicted by the ice column scattering model, but the overall asymmetry factor is comparable. The good agreement with values from an HG function at some angles is not generally applicable. The characteristics of the observed cirrus angular reflectance pattern correlate well with, and are explained by, the results that were found for the solar zenith angle dependence of the eminence and reflectance.
Abstract
A Nd:YAG lidar system was flown aboard NASA's ER-2 high altitude aircraft. Observations of cloud top height were made with 70 m along-track and 7.5 m vertical-height resolution. The lidar data observed from an East Pacific stratocumulus cloud height deck revealed large cloud variability on 1–5 km scales. The cloud deck sloped upward from 700 to 1000 m in a northeast-southwest direction over a distance of 120 km. Vertical cloud top distributions were negatively skewed indicating flat-topped clouds. The dominant spectral peak of the cloud top variations was found at 4.5 km, which is 5 to 7 times the depth of the local boundary layer. No other peaks were significant in the average spectrum, The cloud layer was stable with respect to cloud top entrainment instability. The southwestern region of the study area was more prone to shear instability at cloud top than the northeastern region. The results of this study show that a lidar system is ideal to provide the topography of clouds and local boundary layer depth. This information is useful in the study of cloud top radiation and parameterization of clouds in numerical models.
Abstract
A Nd:YAG lidar system was flown aboard NASA's ER-2 high altitude aircraft. Observations of cloud top height were made with 70 m along-track and 7.5 m vertical-height resolution. The lidar data observed from an East Pacific stratocumulus cloud height deck revealed large cloud variability on 1–5 km scales. The cloud deck sloped upward from 700 to 1000 m in a northeast-southwest direction over a distance of 120 km. Vertical cloud top distributions were negatively skewed indicating flat-topped clouds. The dominant spectral peak of the cloud top variations was found at 4.5 km, which is 5 to 7 times the depth of the local boundary layer. No other peaks were significant in the average spectrum, The cloud layer was stable with respect to cloud top entrainment instability. The southwestern region of the study area was more prone to shear instability at cloud top than the northeastern region. The results of this study show that a lidar system is ideal to provide the topography of clouds and local boundary layer depth. This information is useful in the study of cloud top radiation and parameterization of clouds in numerical models.
Abstract
Accurate knowledge of cloud optical properties, such as extinction-to-backscatter ratio and depolarization ratio, can have a significant impact on the quality of cloud extinction retrievals from lidar systems because parameterizations of these variables are often used in nonideal conditions to determine cloud phase and optical depth. Statistics and trends of these optical parameters are analyzed for 4 yr (2003–07) of cloud physics lidar data during five projects that occurred in varying geographic locations and meteorological seasons. Extinction-to-backscatter ratios (also called lidar ratios) are derived at 532 nm by calculating the transmission loss through the cloud layer and then applying it to the attenuated backscatter profile in the layer, while volume depolarization ratios are computed using the ratio of the parallel and perpendicular polarized 1064-nm channels. The majority of the cloud layers yields a lidar ratio between 10 and 40 sr, with the lidar ratio frequency distribution centered at 25 sr for ice clouds and 16 sr for altocumulus clouds. On average, for ice clouds the lidar ratio slightly decreases with decreasing temperature, while the volume depolarization ratio increases significantly as temperatures decrease. Trends for liquid water clouds (altocumulus clouds) are also observed. Ultimately, these observed trends in optical properties, as functions of temperature and geographic location, should help to improve current parameterizations of extinction-to-backscatter ratio, which in turn should yield increased accuracy in cloud optical depth and radiative forcing estimates.
Abstract
Accurate knowledge of cloud optical properties, such as extinction-to-backscatter ratio and depolarization ratio, can have a significant impact on the quality of cloud extinction retrievals from lidar systems because parameterizations of these variables are often used in nonideal conditions to determine cloud phase and optical depth. Statistics and trends of these optical parameters are analyzed for 4 yr (2003–07) of cloud physics lidar data during five projects that occurred in varying geographic locations and meteorological seasons. Extinction-to-backscatter ratios (also called lidar ratios) are derived at 532 nm by calculating the transmission loss through the cloud layer and then applying it to the attenuated backscatter profile in the layer, while volume depolarization ratios are computed using the ratio of the parallel and perpendicular polarized 1064-nm channels. The majority of the cloud layers yields a lidar ratio between 10 and 40 sr, with the lidar ratio frequency distribution centered at 25 sr for ice clouds and 16 sr for altocumulus clouds. On average, for ice clouds the lidar ratio slightly decreases with decreasing temperature, while the volume depolarization ratio increases significantly as temperatures decrease. Trends for liquid water clouds (altocumulus clouds) are also observed. Ultimately, these observed trends in optical properties, as functions of temperature and geographic location, should help to improve current parameterizations of extinction-to-backscatter ratio, which in turn should yield increased accuracy in cloud optical depth and radiative forcing estimates.
Abstract
An improvement to high-spectral-resolution infrared cloud-top altitude retrievals is compared to existing retrieval methods and cloud lidar measurements. The new method, CO2 sorting, determines optimal channel pairs to which the CO2 slicing retrieval will be applied. The new retrieval is applied to aircraft Scanning High-Resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS) measurements. The results are compared to existing passive retrieval methods and coincident Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) measurements. It is demonstrated that when CO2 sorting is used to select channel pairs for CO2 slicing there is an improvement in the retrieved cloud heights when compared to the CPL for the optically thin clouds (total optical depths less than 1.0). For geometrically thick but tenuous clouds, the infrared retrieved cloud tops underestimated the cloud height, when compared to those of the CPL, by greater than 2.5 km. For these cases the cloud heights retrieved by the S-HIS correlated closely with the level at which the CPL-integrated cloud optical depth was approximately 1.0.
Abstract
An improvement to high-spectral-resolution infrared cloud-top altitude retrievals is compared to existing retrieval methods and cloud lidar measurements. The new method, CO2 sorting, determines optimal channel pairs to which the CO2 slicing retrieval will be applied. The new retrieval is applied to aircraft Scanning High-Resolution Interferometer Sounder (S-HIS) measurements. The results are compared to existing passive retrieval methods and coincident Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) measurements. It is demonstrated that when CO2 sorting is used to select channel pairs for CO2 slicing there is an improvement in the retrieved cloud heights when compared to the CPL for the optically thin clouds (total optical depths less than 1.0). For geometrically thick but tenuous clouds, the infrared retrieved cloud tops underestimated the cloud height, when compared to those of the CPL, by greater than 2.5 km. For these cases the cloud heights retrieved by the S-HIS correlated closely with the level at which the CPL-integrated cloud optical depth was approximately 1.0.
Abstract
The Airborne Cloud–Aerosol Transport System (ACATS) is a Doppler wind lidar system that has recently been developed for atmospheric science capabilities at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). ACATS is also a high-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL), uniquely capable of directly resolving backscatter and extinction properties of a particle from a high-altitude aircraft. Thus, ACATS simultaneously measures optical properties and motion of cloud and aerosol layers. ACATS has flown on the NASA ER-2 during test flights over California in June 2012 and science flights during the Wallops Airborne Vegetation Experiment (WAVE) in September 2012. This paper provides an overview of the ACATS method and instrument design, describes the ACATS HSRL retrieval algorithms for cloud and aerosol properties, and demonstrates the data products that will be derived from the ACATS data using initial results from the WAVE project. The HSRL retrieval algorithms developed for ACATS have direct application to future spaceborne missions, such as the Cloud–Aerosol Transport System (CATS) to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS). Furthermore, the direct extinction and particle wind velocity retrieved from the ACATS data can be used for science applications such as dust or smoke transport and convective outflow in anvil cirrus clouds.
Abstract
The Airborne Cloud–Aerosol Transport System (ACATS) is a Doppler wind lidar system that has recently been developed for atmospheric science capabilities at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). ACATS is also a high-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL), uniquely capable of directly resolving backscatter and extinction properties of a particle from a high-altitude aircraft. Thus, ACATS simultaneously measures optical properties and motion of cloud and aerosol layers. ACATS has flown on the NASA ER-2 during test flights over California in June 2012 and science flights during the Wallops Airborne Vegetation Experiment (WAVE) in September 2012. This paper provides an overview of the ACATS method and instrument design, describes the ACATS HSRL retrieval algorithms for cloud and aerosol properties, and demonstrates the data products that will be derived from the ACATS data using initial results from the WAVE project. The HSRL retrieval algorithms developed for ACATS have direct application to future spaceborne missions, such as the Cloud–Aerosol Transport System (CATS) to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS). Furthermore, the direct extinction and particle wind velocity retrieved from the ACATS data can be used for science applications such as dust or smoke transport and convective outflow in anvil cirrus clouds.
Abstract
During the 2014–15 academic year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and the University of Oklahoma (OU) School of Meteorology jointly created the first SPC-led course at OU focused on connecting traditional theory taught in the academic curriculum with operational meteorology. This class, “Applications of Meteorological Theory to Severe-Thunderstorm Forecasting,” began in 2015. From 2015 through 2017, this spring–semester course has engaged 56 students in theoretical skills and related hands-on weather analysis and forecasting applications, taught by over a dozen meteorologists from the SPC, the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, and the NOAA National Weather Service Forecast Offices. Following introductory material, which addresses many theoretical principles relevant to operational meteorology, numerous presentations and hands-on activities focused on instructors’ areas of expertise are provided to students. Topics include the following: storm-induced perturbation pressure gradients and their enhancement to supercells, tornadogenesis, tropical cyclone tornadoes, severe wind forecasting, surface and upper-air analyses and their interpretation, and forecast decision-making. This collaborative approach has strengthened bonds between meteorologists in operations, research, and academia, while introducing OU meteorology students to the vast array of severe thunderstorm forecast challenges, state-of-the-art operational and research tools, communication of high-impact weather information, and teamwork skills. The methods of collaborative instruction and experiential education have been found to strengthen both operational–academic relationships and students’ appreciation of the intricacies of severe thunderstorm forecasting, as detailed in this article.
Abstract
During the 2014–15 academic year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center (SPC) and the University of Oklahoma (OU) School of Meteorology jointly created the first SPC-led course at OU focused on connecting traditional theory taught in the academic curriculum with operational meteorology. This class, “Applications of Meteorological Theory to Severe-Thunderstorm Forecasting,” began in 2015. From 2015 through 2017, this spring–semester course has engaged 56 students in theoretical skills and related hands-on weather analysis and forecasting applications, taught by over a dozen meteorologists from the SPC, the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, and the NOAA National Weather Service Forecast Offices. Following introductory material, which addresses many theoretical principles relevant to operational meteorology, numerous presentations and hands-on activities focused on instructors’ areas of expertise are provided to students. Topics include the following: storm-induced perturbation pressure gradients and their enhancement to supercells, tornadogenesis, tropical cyclone tornadoes, severe wind forecasting, surface and upper-air analyses and their interpretation, and forecast decision-making. This collaborative approach has strengthened bonds between meteorologists in operations, research, and academia, while introducing OU meteorology students to the vast array of severe thunderstorm forecast challenges, state-of-the-art operational and research tools, communication of high-impact weather information, and teamwork skills. The methods of collaborative instruction and experiential education have been found to strengthen both operational–academic relationships and students’ appreciation of the intricacies of severe thunderstorm forecasting, as detailed in this article.
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.
