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Title: Can liquid cloud microphysical processes be used for vertically pointing cloud radar calibration?

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (Online)
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [1];  [2]
  1. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States). Cooperative Inst. for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES); National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). NOAA Earth System Research Lab. (ESRL)
  2. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
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Cloud radars are unique instruments for observing cloud processes, but uncertainties in radar calibration have frequently limited data quality. Thus far, no single robust method exists for assessing the calibration of past cloud radar data sets. Here, we investigate whether observations of microphysical processes in liquid clouds such as the transition of cloud droplets to drizzle drops can be used to calibrate cloud radars. Specifically, we study the relationships between the radar reflectivity factor and three variables not affected by absolute radar calibration: the skewness of the radar Doppler spectrum (γ), the radar mean Doppler velocity (W), and the liquid water path (LWP). For each relation, we evaluate the potential for radar calibration. For γ and W, we use box model simulations to determine typical radar reflectivity values for reference points. We apply the new methods to observations at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites North Slope of Alaska (NSA) and Oliktok Point (OLI) in 2016 using two 35 GHz Ka-band ARM Zenith Radars (KAZR). For periods with a sufficient number of liquid cloud observations, we find that liquid cloud processes are robust enough for cloud radar calibration, with the LWP-based method performing best. We estimate that, in 2016, the radar reflectivity at NSA was about 1±1 dB too low but stable. For OLI, we identify serious problems with maintaining an accurate calibration including a sudden decrease of 5 to 7 dB in June 2016.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0013306; SC0012704
OSTI ID:
1526077
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1561246; OSTI ID: 1673429
Report Number(s):
BNL-212055-2019-JAAM
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (Online), Vol. 12, Issue 6; ISSN 1867-8548
Publisher:
European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 7 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (2)

Internet of Things for Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change book December 2019
PAMTRA 1.0: the Passive and Active Microwave radiative TRAnsfer tool for simulating radiometer and radar measurements of the cloudy atmosphere journal January 2020

Figures / Tables (14)

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