A Comprehensive Northern Hemisphere Particle Microphysics Data Set From the Precipitation Imaging Package

Journal Article · 15 May 2024 · Earth and Space Science

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2024ea003538 · OSTI ID:2352252

King, Fraser  ^[1]; Pettersen, Claire  ^[1]; Bliven, Larry F. ^[2]; Cerrai, Diego  ^[3]; Chibisov, Alexey ^[2]; Cooper, Steven J. ^[4]; L’Ecuyer, Tristan  ^[5]; Kulie, Mark S.  ^[6]; Leskinen, Matti ^[7]; Mateling, Marian  ^[8]; McMurdie, Lynn  ^[9]; Moisseev, Dimitri  ^[10]; Nesbitt, Stephen W. ^[11]; Petersen, Walter A. ^[12]; Rodriguez, Peter ^[13]; Schirtzinger, Carl ^[2]; Stuefer, Martin ^[14]; von Lerber, Annakaisa  ^[10]; Wingo, Matthew T. ^[15]; Wolff, David B. ^[2] ; Wong, Telyana ^[14]; Wood, Norman  ^[8]

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1. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
2. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Wallops ISlandt, VA (United States)
3. University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)
4. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT (United States)
5. Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, Madison, WI (United States); University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
6. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Madison, WI (United States). Atmospheric Physics and Dynamics Branch
7. University of Helsinki (Finland)
8. University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)
9. University of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)
10. University of Helsinki (Finland); Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki (Finland)
11. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
12. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL (United States)
13. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto (Canada)
14. US Department of Energy (USDOE), Washington DC (United States); University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK (United States)
15. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), Huntsville, AL (United States); University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL (United States)

Microphysical observations of precipitating particles are critical data sources for numerical weather prediction models and remote sensing retrieval algorithms. However, obtaining coherent data sets of particle microphysics is challenging as they are often unindexed, distributed across disparate institutions, and have not undergone a uniform quality control process. This work introduces a unified, comprehensive Northern Hemisphere particle microphysical data set from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration precipitation imaging package (PIP), accessible in a standardized data format and stored in a centralized, public repository. Data is collected from 10 measurement sites spanning 34° latitude (37°N–71°N) over 10 years (2014–2023), which comprise a set of 1,070,000 precipitating minutes. The provided data set includes measurements of a suite of microphysical attributes for both rain and snow, including distributions of particle size, vertical velocity, and effective density, along with higher-order products including an approximation of volume-weighted equivalent particle densities, liquid equivalent snowfall, and rainfall rate estimates. The data underwent a rigorous standardization and quality assurance process to filter out erroneous observations to produce a self-describing, scalable, and achievable data set. Case study analyses demonstrate the capabilities of the data set in identifying physical processes like precipitation phase-changes at high temporal resolution. Bulk precipitation characteristics from a multi-site intercomparison also highlight distinct microphysical properties unique to each location. This curated PIP data set is a robust database of high-quality particle microphysical observations for constraining future precipitation retrieval algorithms, and offers new insights toward better understanding regional and seasonal differences in bulk precipitation characteristics.

• Research Organization: ARM Data Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
• Contributing Organization: PNNL, BNL, ANL, ORNL
• Grant/Contract Number: AC05-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 2352252
• Journal Information: Earth and Space Science, Journal Name: Earth and Space Science Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 11; ISSN 2333-5084
• Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English