THz Radar Observations of Hydrometeors in a Spray Chamber
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- Department of Environmental and Climate Sciences Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton NY USA
- Department of Physics Michigan Technological University Houghton MI USA
- Department of Environmental and Climate Sciences Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton NY USA, Division of Atmospheric Science Stony Brook University Stony Brook NY USA
Abstract A THz radar, with its wide bandwidth, is capable of high‐resolution imaging down to the centimeter scale. In this study, a THz radar is applied to detect hydrometeors generated in a spray chamber. The observed backscattering signals show fluctuations at centimeter scales, indicating various hydrometeor distribution patterns along the radar beam. A co‐located High‐Speed Imaging (HSI) sensor is used to measure the Drop Size Distributions (DSD) in the spray chamber. The radar sampling beam is well aligned with the HSI probes, allowing an objective comparison between the remote sensing and in situ observations. In this study, the observed radar power is compared with the power estimated from the HSI measurements. Results show great consistency, with power difference smaller than 0.5 dB. This study demonstrates the feasibility and great potential of using a THz radar for ultra‐high‐resolution observations of clouds in a laboratory facility, and in the real atmosphere.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- Grant/Contract Number:
- NONE; SC0012704
- OSTI ID:
- 2375581
- Journal Information:
- Geophysical Research Letters, Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 51; ISSN 0094-8276
- Publisher:
- American Geophysical Union (AGU)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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