skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: RACORO Extended-Term Aircraft Observations of Boundary-Layer Clouds

Abstract

A first-of-a-kind, extended-term cloud aircraft campaign was conducted to obtain an in-situ statistical characterization of boundary-layer clouds needed to investigate cloud processes and refine retrieval algorithms. Coordinated by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility (AAF), the Routine AAF Clouds with Low Optical Water Depths (CLOWD) Optical Radiative Observations (RACORO) field campaign operated over the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site from 22 January to 30 June 2009, collecting 260 h of data during 59 research flights. A comprehensive payload aboard the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter aircraft measured cloud microphysics, solar and thermal radiation, aerosol properties, and atmospheric state parameters. Proximity to the SGP's extensive complement of surface measurements provides ancillary data that supports modeling studies and enables evaluating a variety of surface retrieval algorithms. The five-month duration enabled sampling a range of conditions associated with the seasonal transition from winter to summer. Although about two-thirds of the cloud flights occurred in May and June, boundary-layer cloud fields were sampled under a variety of environmental and aerosol conditions, with about 75% of the flights occurring in cumulus and stratocumulus. Preliminary analyses show how these data are being used to analyze cloud-aerosol relationships, determine the aerosolmore » sizes that are responsible for nucleating cloud drops, characterize the horizontal variability of the cloud radiative impacts, and evaluate air-borne and surface-based cloud property retrievals. We discuss how conducting an extended-term campaign requires a simplified operating paradigm that is different from that used for typical, short-term, intensive aircraft field programs.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »; ; ; ; ; ; « less
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1047399
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-81760
Journal ID: ISSN 0003-0007; BAMIAT; KP1704010; TRN: US201216%%258
DOE Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 93; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 0003-0007
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; ACETYLAMINOFLUORENES; AEROSOLS; AIRCRAFT; ALGORITHMS; CLOUDS; COMPLEMENT; DATA; RADIATIONS; RANGE; SAMPLING; SIMULATION; SURFACES; THERMAL RADIATION; USA; WATER; RACORO Extended-Term; Aircraft Observations; Boundary-Layer Clouds

Citation Formats

Vogelmann, A M, McFarquhar, Greg, Ogren, John A, Turner, David D, Comstock, Jennifer M, Feingold, G, Long, Charles N, Jonsson, Haf, Bucholtz, Anthony, Collins, Donald R, Diskin, G S, Gerber, H, Lawson, Paul, Woods, Roy, Andrews, Elizabeth, Yang, Hee-Jung, Chiu, Christine J, Hartsock, Daniel, Hubbe, John M, Lo, Chaomei, Marshak, A, Monroe, Justin, McFarlane, Sally A, Schmid, Beat, Tomlinson, Jason M, and Toto, Tami. RACORO Extended-Term Aircraft Observations of Boundary-Layer Clouds. United States: N. p., 2012. Web. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00189.1.
Vogelmann, A M, McFarquhar, Greg, Ogren, John A, Turner, David D, Comstock, Jennifer M, Feingold, G, Long, Charles N, Jonsson, Haf, Bucholtz, Anthony, Collins, Donald R, Diskin, G S, Gerber, H, Lawson, Paul, Woods, Roy, Andrews, Elizabeth, Yang, Hee-Jung, Chiu, Christine J, Hartsock, Daniel, Hubbe, John M, Lo, Chaomei, Marshak, A, Monroe, Justin, McFarlane, Sally A, Schmid, Beat, Tomlinson, Jason M, & Toto, Tami. RACORO Extended-Term Aircraft Observations of Boundary-Layer Clouds. United States. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00189.1
Vogelmann, A M, McFarquhar, Greg, Ogren, John A, Turner, David D, Comstock, Jennifer M, Feingold, G, Long, Charles N, Jonsson, Haf, Bucholtz, Anthony, Collins, Donald R, Diskin, G S, Gerber, H, Lawson, Paul, Woods, Roy, Andrews, Elizabeth, Yang, Hee-Jung, Chiu, Christine J, Hartsock, Daniel, Hubbe, John M, Lo, Chaomei, Marshak, A, Monroe, Justin, McFarlane, Sally A, Schmid, Beat, Tomlinson, Jason M, and Toto, Tami. 2012. "RACORO Extended-Term Aircraft Observations of Boundary-Layer Clouds". United States. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00189.1.
@article{osti_1047399,
title = {RACORO Extended-Term Aircraft Observations of Boundary-Layer Clouds},
author = {Vogelmann, A M and McFarquhar, Greg and Ogren, John A and Turner, David D and Comstock, Jennifer M and Feingold, G and Long, Charles N and Jonsson, Haf and Bucholtz, Anthony and Collins, Donald R and Diskin, G S and Gerber, H and Lawson, Paul and Woods, Roy and Andrews, Elizabeth and Yang, Hee-Jung and Chiu, Christine J and Hartsock, Daniel and Hubbe, John M and Lo, Chaomei and Marshak, A and Monroe, Justin and McFarlane, Sally A and Schmid, Beat and Tomlinson, Jason M and Toto, Tami},
abstractNote = {A first-of-a-kind, extended-term cloud aircraft campaign was conducted to obtain an in-situ statistical characterization of boundary-layer clouds needed to investigate cloud processes and refine retrieval algorithms. Coordinated by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Aerial Facility (AAF), the Routine AAF Clouds with Low Optical Water Depths (CLOWD) Optical Radiative Observations (RACORO) field campaign operated over the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site from 22 January to 30 June 2009, collecting 260 h of data during 59 research flights. A comprehensive payload aboard the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter aircraft measured cloud microphysics, solar and thermal radiation, aerosol properties, and atmospheric state parameters. Proximity to the SGP's extensive complement of surface measurements provides ancillary data that supports modeling studies and enables evaluating a variety of surface retrieval algorithms. The five-month duration enabled sampling a range of conditions associated with the seasonal transition from winter to summer. Although about two-thirds of the cloud flights occurred in May and June, boundary-layer cloud fields were sampled under a variety of environmental and aerosol conditions, with about 75% of the flights occurring in cumulus and stratocumulus. Preliminary analyses show how these data are being used to analyze cloud-aerosol relationships, determine the aerosol sizes that are responsible for nucleating cloud drops, characterize the horizontal variability of the cloud radiative impacts, and evaluate air-borne and surface-based cloud property retrievals. We discuss how conducting an extended-term campaign requires a simplified operating paradigm that is different from that used for typical, short-term, intensive aircraft field programs.},
doi = {10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00189.1},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1047399}, journal = {Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society},
issn = {0003-0007},
number = 6,
volume = 93,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2012},
month = {Sat Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2012}
}