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Title: A 25-month database of stratus cloud properties generated from ground-based measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains Site

Abstract

A 25-month database of the macrophysical, microphysical, and radiative properties of isolated and overcast low-level stratus clouds has been generated using a newly developed parameterization and surface measurements from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement central facility in Oklahoma. The database (5-min resolution) includes two parts: measurements and retrievals. The former consist of cloud base and top heights, layer-mean temperature, cloud liquid water path, and solar transmission ratio measured by a ground-based lidar/ceilometer and radar pair, radiosondes, a microwave radiometer, and a standard Eppley precision spectral pyranometer, respectively. The retrievals include the cloud-droplet effective radius and number concentration and broadband shortwave optical depth and cloud and top-of-atmosphere albedos. Stratus without any overlying mid or high-level clouds occurred most frequently during winter and least often during summer. Mean cloud-layer altitudes and geometric thicknesses were higher and greater, respectively, in summer than in winter. Both quantities are positively correlated with the cloud-layer mean temperature. Mean cloud-droplet effective radii range from 8.1 {mu}m in winter to 9.7 {mu}m during summer, while cloud-droplet number concentrations during winter are nearly twice those in summer. Since cloud liquid water paths are almost the same in both seasons, cloud optical depth is higher during the winter, leading to greatermore » cloud albedos and lower cloud transmittances. (c) 2000 American Geophysical Union.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [4];  [5]
  1. Meteorology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City (United States)
  2. NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (United States)
  3. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, DOE, Richland, Washington (United States)
  4. Department of Meteorology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park (United States)
  5. Ames Laboratory, DOE, Ames, Iowa (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
20216298
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 105; Journal Issue: D4; Other Information: PBD: 27 Feb 2000; Journal ID: ISSN 0148-0227
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; STRATOSPHERE; CLOUDS; PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; DROPLETS; REMOTE SENSING; DATA ANALYSIS; TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS; EXPERIMENTAL DATA; RADIATION MONITORING; HUMIDITY

Citation Formats

Dong, Xiquan, Minnis, Patrick, Ackerman, Thomas P, Clothiaux, Eugene E, Mace, Gerald G, Long, Charles N, and Liljegren, James C. A 25-month database of stratus cloud properties generated from ground-based measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains Site. United States: N. p., 2000. Web. doi:10.1029/1999JD901159.
Dong, Xiquan, Minnis, Patrick, Ackerman, Thomas P, Clothiaux, Eugene E, Mace, Gerald G, Long, Charles N, & Liljegren, James C. A 25-month database of stratus cloud properties generated from ground-based measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains Site. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD901159
Dong, Xiquan, Minnis, Patrick, Ackerman, Thomas P, Clothiaux, Eugene E, Mace, Gerald G, Long, Charles N, and Liljegren, James C. 2000. "A 25-month database of stratus cloud properties generated from ground-based measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains Site". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD901159.
@article{osti_20216298,
title = {A 25-month database of stratus cloud properties generated from ground-based measurements at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains Site},
author = {Dong, Xiquan and Minnis, Patrick and Ackerman, Thomas P and Clothiaux, Eugene E and Mace, Gerald G and Long, Charles N and Liljegren, James C},
abstractNote = {A 25-month database of the macrophysical, microphysical, and radiative properties of isolated and overcast low-level stratus clouds has been generated using a newly developed parameterization and surface measurements from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement central facility in Oklahoma. The database (5-min resolution) includes two parts: measurements and retrievals. The former consist of cloud base and top heights, layer-mean temperature, cloud liquid water path, and solar transmission ratio measured by a ground-based lidar/ceilometer and radar pair, radiosondes, a microwave radiometer, and a standard Eppley precision spectral pyranometer, respectively. The retrievals include the cloud-droplet effective radius and number concentration and broadband shortwave optical depth and cloud and top-of-atmosphere albedos. Stratus without any overlying mid or high-level clouds occurred most frequently during winter and least often during summer. Mean cloud-layer altitudes and geometric thicknesses were higher and greater, respectively, in summer than in winter. Both quantities are positively correlated with the cloud-layer mean temperature. Mean cloud-droplet effective radii range from 8.1 {mu}m in winter to 9.7 {mu}m during summer, while cloud-droplet number concentrations during winter are nearly twice those in summer. Since cloud liquid water paths are almost the same in both seasons, cloud optical depth is higher during the winter, leading to greater cloud albedos and lower cloud transmittances. (c) 2000 American Geophysical Union.},
doi = {10.1029/1999JD901159},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/20216298}, journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research},
issn = {0148-0227},
number = D4,
volume = 105,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Feb 27 00:00:00 EST 2000},
month = {Sun Feb 27 00:00:00 EST 2000}
}