Top Altitude Research Articles

Distribution of hydrometeors in monsoonal clouds over the South American continent during the austral summer monsoon: GPM observations

ABSTRACTThe Global precipitation measurement (GPM) was launched in February 2014 and provides the three-dimensional attenuated corrected radar reflectivity factor (Ze) along with the raindrop size distribution (DSD) parameters. The DSD parameters consist of the mass-weighted hydrometeors size (Dm in mm) and normalized hydrometeors concentration (Nw in mm−1 m−3). The present study investigates the vertical and spatial distribution of hydrometeors in intense convective clouds that form over South America (SA) during Austral summer monsoon seasons. We defined Cumulonimbus towers (CbTs) and intense convective cells based on 8 km (ICC8s) and 3 km (ICC3s), using vertical profile of radar reflectivity algorithm and then their properties are explored over eight selected areas over SA. CbT is defined by using the Ze≥20 dBZ at 12 km with base height less than 3 km altitude. The ICCs are defined by using the Ze thresholds at 8 and 3 km altitude, and Ze threshold value belongs to the top 5% of the Ze value at the reference height. Subtropical areas including Sierra de Cordoba (SDC) and La Plata basin (LPB) consist of a higher frequency of CbTs and ICC8s, whereas ICC3 is nearly uniformly distributed over the SA continent and the Atlantic Ocean (AO). Eastern foothills of the Andes mountain also consist of a higher frequency of CbTs and ICC8s. Irrespective of the height and Ze thresholds used in the present study, the SDC and LPB consist of the most intense convective clouds with higher echo top altitude, and similar to that observed over Western Himalaya foothills over South Asia. Land and ocean differences are visible in the cloud cells based on the 3 km reference height, which is well below the freezing level. CbTs and ICC8s do not show the land and ocean differences as in both the cases the AO has comparable Ze in average vertical profiles compared to the land areas, but in ICC3, the AO has the weakest cloud cells with the least cloud top height. The absolute slope of Ze in mixed-phase altitude is highest in ICC3 and reflect the local precipitation fallout in mixed-phase regions and suggested that fewer hydrometeors of larger sized are lifted in the upper atmosphere. The least slope over SDC and Central Foothills indicates that higher sized of hydrometeors are lifted in the upper atmosphere in the monsoonal clouds compared to other parts of SA continent. The DSD parameters indicate that in general, intense cloud cells consist of large-sized hydrometeors although their concentration is low. The spatial averages of the DSD parameters also indicate larger sized of hydrometeors exist on average for all types of clouds at 3 and 8 km in southeastern areas of SA including SDC, LPB, and Brazilian highlands. The single meteorological feature is not responsible for the intense and deep convection, but the combined meteorological variables are responsible for producing the intense and deeper convection.

Evidence of the complexity of aerosol transport in the lower troposphere on the Namibian coast during AEROCLO-sA

Abstract. The evolution of the vertical distribution and optical properties of aerosols in the free troposphere, above stratocumulus, is characterized for the first time over the Namibian coast, a region where uncertainties on aerosol–cloud coupling in climate simulations are significant. We show the high variability of atmospheric aerosol composition in the lower and middle troposphere during the Aerosols, Radiation and Clouds in southern Africa (AEROCLO-sA) field campaign (22 August–12 September 2017) around the Henties Bay supersite using a combination of ground-based, airborne and space-borne lidar measurements. Three distinct periods of 4 to 7 d are observed, associated with increasing aerosol loads (aerosol optical thickness at 550 nm ranging from ∼0.2 to ∼0.7), as well as increasing lofted aerosol layer depth and top altitude. Aerosols are observed up to 6 km above mean sea level during the later period. Aerosols transported within the free troposphere are mainly polluted dust (predominantly dust mixed with smoke from fires) for the first two periods (22 August–1 September 2017) and smoke for the last part (3–9 September) of the field campaign. As shown by Lagrangian back-trajectory analyses, the main contribution to the aerosol optical thickness over Henties Bay is shown to be due to biomass burning over Angola. Nevertheless, in early September, the highest aerosol layers (between 5 and 6 km above mean sea level) seem to come from South America (southern Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay) and reach Henties Bay after 3 to 6 d. Aerosols appear to be transported eastward by the midlatitude westerlies and towards southern Africa by the equatorward moving cut-off low originating from within the westerlies. All the observations show a very complex mixture of aerosols over the coastal regions of Namibia that must be taken into account when investigating aerosol radiative effects above stratocumulus clouds in the southeast Atlantic Ocean.

Analysis of Thunderstorms Producing Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes With the Meteosat Second Generation

AbstractUp to now, only few works focused on the meteorological context leading to the production of Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes (TGFs). In this study, we carry out, for the first time, an analysis on large scale of the meteorological scenario linked to 278 TGFs detected by RHESSI, AGILE, and Fermi, by using the Meteosat Second Generation geostationary satellites. These satellites are useful as they continuously monitor the same geographic region in time, allowing investigations on thunderstorms' development; moreover, they are endowed with channels and products that provide information about the meteorological context under analysis, such as the cloud top temperature and altitude, the cloud extension, the drop effective radius and the cloud phase. Our work confirms what previously found in other studies about the TGF‐associated thunderstorms, by using a different approach and by using for the first time the Meteosat satellites: we find TGFs mostly linked to the development phase of deep convective thunderstorm systems, exhibiting typical characteristics of tropical storms, and providing a first picture on large scale of the TGF‐associated thunderstorm systems.

Analysis of the first positive polarity gigantic jet recorded near the Yellow Sea in mainland China

At 12:16:22 UTC on 12 August 2010, a gigantic jet (GJ) was recorded over a thunderstorm near the Yellow Sea in China. The extremely low-frequency (ELF) magnetic field recorded at the Onagawa Observatory indicates that this GJ transferred positive charge from the thundercloud to the ionosphere (namely a +GJ event), which is the first observation of a +GJ reported in mainland China. The top altitude of this GJ was estimated to be about 89 km. The parent thunderstorm formed in a very moist environment (precipitable water of 75.4 mm) with moderate convective available potential energy (1294 J/kg) and lifted index (−3.19), and strong 0–6 km wind speed shear (16.3 m/s). The meteorological parameters are not much different from typical summer thunderstorms. The area of cloud top brightness temperature colder than −60 °C (altitudes above 14 km) increased significantly after 10:00 UTC and reached the maximum at 12:00 UTC (16 min before the GJ), suggesting the occurrence of the GJ was related to the strong vertical development of the thunderstorm. Around the time of the GJ, the south cell of the storm featured overshooting top as indicated by radar data. Additionally, the storm was dominated by negative cloud-to-ground (-CG) flashes with an increase in -CG flash rate around the time of the GJ occurrence, indicating the storm appeared to be of normal polarity (the main positive charge region located above the main negative charge region). The + GJ was probably produced by a normally electrified thunderstorm, and a possible explanation for this unexpected behavior and different lightning activity of GJ-producing storms were discussed.

Improvement of airborne retrievals of cloud droplet number concentration of trade wind cumulus using a synergetic approach

Abstract. In situ measurements of cloud droplet number concentration N are limited by the sampled cloud volume. Satellite retrievals of N suffer from inherent uncertainties, spatial averaging, and retrieval problems arising from the commonly assumed strictly adiabatic vertical profiles of cloud properties. To improve retrievals of N it is suggested in this paper to use a synergetic combination of passive and active airborne remote sensing measurement, to reduce the uncertainty of N retrievals, and to bridge the gap between in situ cloud sampling and global averaging. For this purpose, spectral solar radiation measurements above shallow trade wind cumulus were combined with passive microwave and active radar and lidar observations carried out during the second Next Generation Remote Sensing for Validation Studies (NARVAL-II) campaign with the High Altitude and Long Range Research Aircraft (HALO) in August 2016. The common technique to retrieve N is refined by including combined measurements and retrievals of cloud optical thickness τ, liquid water path (LWP), cloud droplet effective radius reff, and cloud base and top altitude. Three approaches are tested and applied to synthetic measurements and two cloud scenarios observed during NARVAL-II. Using the new combined retrieval technique, errors in N due to the adiabatic assumption have been reduced significantly.

Forecasting of poor visibility episodes in the vicinity of Tenerife Norte Airport

Aviation safety is a priority that may be compromised by adverse weather conditions. This is the case for poor visibility in the vicinity of airports, which can pose a risk during takeoff and landing. For airports that are prone to fog because of their location, an accurate forecast of poor-visibility episodes is vital. However, the forecasting of low clouds is still a challenge in numerical weather prediction, especially when an airport is near complex terrain for which the use of non-hydrostatic mesoscale models is mandatory. All these factors are present at Tenerife Norte Airport, which is commonly affected by poor visibility from low clouds related to persistent trade winds and moist flows from the Atlantic Ocean.In this paper, several methods for estimating visibility based on mesoscale model outputs are tested. Use of the HARMONIE-AROME model is encouraged because of its excellent performance in the detection of poor-visibility episodes (False Alarm Ratio = 0.34–0.38; Frequency Of Misses = 0.22–0.38, depending on the model version and method used). In addition, the use of satellite application facilities is proposed for the nowcasting of low clouds affecting the airport area. Specifically, we used products that estimate cloud type, cloud top altitude, and integrated water vapor content in the boundary layer. Finally, an application is presented for the monitoring of weather conditions in real time to estimate poor-visibility risk.

Atmosphere Boundary Layer Height (ABLH) Determination under Multiple-Layer Conditions Using Micro-Pulse Lidar

Accurate estimation of the atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH) is critically important and it mainly relies on the detection of the vertical profiles of atmosphere variables (temperature, humidity,’ and horizontal wind speed) or aerosols. Aerosol Lidar is a powerful remote sensing instrument frequently used to retrieve ABLH through the detection of the vertical distribution of aerosol concentration. A challenge is that cloud, residual layer (RL), and local signal structure seriously interfere with the lidar measurement of ABLH. A new objective technique presenting as giving a top limiter altitude is introduced to reduce the interference of RL and cloud layer on ABLH determination. Cloud layers are identified by looking for the rapid increase and sharp attenuation of the signal combined with the relative increase in the signal. The cloud layers whether they overlay the ABL are classified or are decoupled from the ABL are classified by analyzing the continuity of the signal below the cloud base. For cloud layer capping of the ABL, the limiter is determined to be the altitude where a positive signal gradient first occurs above the cloud upper edge. For a cloud that is decoupled from the ABL, the cloud base is considered to be the altitude limiter. For RL in the morning, the altitude limiter is the greatest positive gradient altitude below the RL top. The ABLH will be determined below the top limiter altitude using Haar wavelet (HM) and the curve fitting method (CFM). Besides, the interference of local signal noise is eliminated through consideration of the temporal continuity. While comparing the lidar-determined ABLH by HM (or CFM) and nearby radiosonde measurements of the ABLH, a reasonable concordance is found with a correlation coefficient of 0.94 (or 0.96) and 0.79 (or 0.74), presenting a mean of the relative absolute differences with respect to radiosonde measurements of 10.5% (or 12.3%) and 22.3% (or 17.2%) for cloud-free and cloudy situations, respectively. The diurnal variations in the ABLH determined from HM and CFM on four selected cases show good agreement with a mean correlation coefficient higher than 0.99 and a mean absolute bias of 0.22 km. Also, the determined diurnal ABLH are consistent with surface turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) combined with the time-height distribution of the equivalent potential temperature.

Synergetic Aerosol Layer Observation After the 2015 Calbuco Volcanic Eruption Event

On 22 April 2015, the Calbuco volcano in Chile (Lat: 41.33 ∘ S, Long: 72.62 ∘ W) erupted after 43 years of inactivity followed by a great amount of aerosol injection into the atmosphere. The pyroclastic material dispersed into the atmosphere posed a potential threat to aviation traffic and air quality over affected a large area. The plumes and debris spread from its location to Patagonian and Pampean regions, reaching the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and neighboring countries, such as Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, driven by the westerly winds at these latitudes. The presence of volcanic aerosol layers could be identified promptly at the proximities of Calbuco and afterwards by remote sensing using satellites and lidars in the path of the dispersed aerosols. The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board of AQUA/TERRA satellites and Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) on board of Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite were the space platforms used to track the injected layers and a multi-channel lidar system from Latin America Lidar Network (LALINET) SPU Lidar station in South America allowed us to get the spatial and temporal distribution of Calbuco ashes after its occurrence. The SPU lidar stations co-located Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sunphotometers to help in the optical characterization. Here, we present the volcanic layer transported over São Paulo area and the detection of aerosol plume between 18 and 20 km. The path traveled by the volcanic aerosol to reach the Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP) was tracked by CALIPSO and the aerosol optical and geometrical properties were retrieved at some points to monitor the plume evolution. Total attenuated backscatter profile at 532 nm obtained by CALIPSO revealed the height range extension of the aerosol plume between 18 and 20 km and are in agreement with SPU lidar range corrected signal at 532 nm. The daily evolution of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) at 532 and 355 nm, retrieved from AERONET sunphotometer, showed a substantial increasing on 27 April, the day of the volcanic plume detection at Metropolitan Area of São Paulo (MASP), achieving values of 0 . 33 ± 0 . 16 and 0 . 22 ± 0 . 09 at 355 and 532 nm, respectively. AERONET aerosol size distribution was dominated by fine mode aerosol over coarse mode, especially on 27 and 28 April. The space and time coincident aerosol extinction profiles from SPU lidar station and OMPS LP from the Calbuco eruption conducted on 27 April agreed on the double layer structure. The main objective of this study was the application of the transmittance method, using the Platt formalism, to calculate the optical and physical properties of volcanic plume, i.e., aerosol bottom and top altitude, the aerosol optical depth and lidar ratio. The aerosol plume was detected between 18 and 19.3 km, with AOD value of 0.159 at 532 nm and Ånsgtröm exponent of 0 . 61 ± 0 . 58 . The lidar ratio retrieved was 76 ± 27 sr and 63 ± 21 sr at 532 and 355 nm, respectively. Considering the values of these parameters, the Calbuco volcanic aerosol layers could be classified as sulfates with some ash type.

Improvements to a long-term Rayleigh-scatter lidar temperature climatology by using an optimal estimation method

Abstract. Hauchecorne and Chanin (1980) developed a robust method to calculate middle-atmosphere temperature profiles using measurements from Rayleigh-scatter lidars. This traditional method has been successfully used to greatly improve our understanding of middle-atmospheric dynamics, but the method has some shortcomings regarding the calculation of systematic uncertainties and the vertical resolution of the retrieval. Sica and Haefele (2015) have shown that the optimal estimation method (OEM) addresses these shortcomings and allows temperatures to be retrieved with confidence over a greater range of heights than the traditional method. We have calculated a temperature climatology from 519 nights of Purple Crow Lidar Rayleigh-scatter measurements using an OEM. Our OEM retrieval is a first-principle retrieval in which the forward model is the lidar equation and the measurements are the level-0 count returns. It includes a quantitative determination of the top altitude of the retrieved temperature profiles, the evaluation of nine systematic plus random uncertainties, and the vertical resolution of the retrieval on a profile-by-profile basis. Our OEM retrieval allows for the vertical resolution to vary with height, extending the retrieval in altitude 5 to 10 km higher than the traditional method. It also allows the comparison of the traditional method's sensitivity to two in-principle equivalent methods of specifying the seed pressure: using a model pressure seed versus using a model temperature combined with the lidar's density measurement to calculate the seed pressure. We found that the seed pressure method is superior to using a model temperature combined with the lidar-derived density. The increased altitude capability of our OEM retrievals allows for a comparison of the Rayleigh-scatter lidar temperatures throughout the entire altitude range of the sodium lidar temperature measurements. Our OEM-derived Rayleigh temperatures are shown to have improved agreement relative to our previous comparisons using the traditional method, and the agreement of the OEM-derived temperatures is the same as the agreement between existing sodium lidar temperature climatologies. This detailed study of the calculation of the new Purple Crow Lidar temperature climatology using the OEM establishes that it is both highly advantageous and practical to reprocess existing Rayleigh-scatter lidar measurements that cover long time periods, during which time the lidar may have undergone several significant equipment upgrades, while gaining an upper limit to useful temperature retrievals equivalent to an order of magnitude increase in power-aperture product due to the use of an OEM.

INVESTIGATING ALOFT AEROSOLS OVER CENTRAL-EASTERN CHINA USING CALIPSO MEASUREMENTS

Abstract. The rapid development of China in the last decade has brought about serious environmental problems, among which the air quality has attracted much attention. Especially in the winter, haze events with PM2.5 as the primary pollutant frequently occur, which has a huge strike on people's health. Such cumulative anthropogenic aerosols at surface over haze pollution regions could be lifted upwards by vertical turbulent mixing forming elevated haze layers that subsequent transport to distant regions. This paper attempts to analyze layer top altitude, ratio of anthropogenic source and optical properties by counting events occurring in aloft aerosols layer. CALIPSO satellite instruments are used for statistical analysis by screening layer data over central-eastern China from 2007 to 2016. In the most economically active and polluted areas of China, the North China Plain (NCP) and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) are compared to analyze trend variations over ten years. Results shows that the frequency of occurrence of aloft layer in South China are higher than in North China, indicating that heat has a strong lifting effect on the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Further, the NCP has a unique high frequency value at 2.5 km, while the YRD has two peaks, 3.5 km and 2 km respectively. Moreover, in the past five years in the NCP (2011–2016) and YRD (2012–2016) regions, the anthropogenic source of pollutants dominated by smoke showed a downward trend year by year. In addition, monthly proportion of smoke and polluted dust are analyzed in NCP and YRD winter. Finally, the volume depolarization ratio is almost distributed within 0.2, indicating that the shape of the particles is irregular. The particulate color ratio has a sharp peak near 0.4–0.7 suggesting that smaller particles dominate the size distribution during the winter months.

Simulated and observed horizontal inhomogeneities of optical thickness of Arctic stratus

Abstract. Two-dimensional horizontal fields of cloud optical thickness τ derived from airborne measurements of solar spectral, cloud-reflected radiance are compared with semi-idealized large eddy simulations (LESs) of Arctic stratus performed with the Consortium for Small-scale Modeling (COSMO) atmospheric model. The measurements were collected during the Vertical Distribution of Ice in Arctic Clouds (VERDI) campaign carried out in Inuvik, Canada, in April/May 2012. The input for the LESs is obtained from collocated airborne dropsonde observations of a persistent Arctic stratus above the sea-ice-free Beaufort Sea. Simulations are performed for spatial resolutions of 50 m (1.6 km × 1.6 km domain) and 100 m (6.4 km × 6.4 km domain). Macrophysical cloud properties, such as cloud top altitude and vertical extent, are well captured by the COSMO simulations. However, COSMO produces rather homogeneous clouds compared to the measurements, in particular for the simulations with coarser spatial resolution. For both spatial resolutions, the directional structure of the cloud inhomogeneity is well represented by the model. Differences between the individual cases are mainly associated with the wind shear near cloud top and the vertical structure of the atmospheric boundary layer. A sensitivity study changing the wind velocity in COSMO by a vertically constant scaling factor shows that the directional, small-scale cloud inhomogeneity structures can range from 250 to 800 m, depending on the mean wind speed, if the simulated domain is large enough to capture also large-scale structures, which then influence the small-scale structures. For those cases, a threshold wind velocity is identified, which determines when the cloud inhomogeneity stops increasing with increasing wind velocity.

Cloud vertical structure over a tropical station obtained using long-term high-resolution radiosonde measurements

Abstract. Cloud vertical structure, including top and base altitudes, thickness of cloud layers, and the vertical distribution of multilayer clouds, affects large-scale atmosphere circulation by altering gradients in the total diabatic heating and cooling and latent heat release. In this study, long-term (11 years) observations of high-vertical-resolution radiosondes are used to obtain the cloud vertical structure over a tropical station at Gadanki (13.5∘ N, 79.2∘ E), India. The detected cloud layers are verified with independent observations using cloud particle sensor (CPS) sonde launched from the same station. High-level clouds account for 69.05 %, 58.49 %, 55.5 %, and 58.6 % of all clouds during the pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon, and winter seasons, respectively. The average cloud base (cloud top) altitudes for low-level, middle-level, high-level, and deep convective clouds are 1.74 km (3.16 km), 3.59 km (5.55 km), 8.79 km (10.49 km), and 1.22 km (11.45 km), respectively. Single-layer, two-layer, and three-layer clouds account for 40.80 %, 30.71 %, and 19.68 % of all cloud configurations, respectively. Multilayer clouds occurred more frequently during the monsoon with 34.58 %. Maximum cloud top altitude and cloud thickness occurred during the monsoon season for single-layer clouds and the uppermost layer of multiple-layer cloud configurations. In multilayer cloud configurations, diurnal variations in the thickness of upper-layer clouds are larger than those of lower-layer clouds. Heating and cooling in the troposphere and lower stratosphere due to these cloud layers are also investigated and peak cooling (peak warming) is found below (above) the cold-point tropopause (CPT) altitude. The magnitude of cooling (warming) increases from single-layer to four- or more-layer cloud occurrence. Further, the vertical structure of clouds is also studied with respect to the arrival date of the Indian summer monsoon over Gadanki.

Effect of convection on the thermal structure of the troposphere and lower stratosphere including the tropical tropopause layer in the South Asian monsoon region

Influence of convection on the thermal structure of Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (TLS) is investigated using radiosonde data, obtained from Trivandrum (8.5°N, 76.9°E), Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E), Bhubaneswar (20.25°N, 85.83°E), Kolkata (22.65°N, 88.45°E) and Singapore (1.37°N, 103.98°E), collected during different convective categories classified based on the altitude of deep convective cloud tops (CT) in the period 2008–2014. During deep convective events, the temperature showed lower tropospheric cooling, an upper tropospheric warming and an anomalous cooling (warming) below (above) the cold point tropopause (CPT) with respect to the clear-sky value. While warming in the upper troposphere is strongest (∼2–4 K) around 10–12 km, anomalous cooling (warming) below (above) the CPT is maximum around 15.5 km (17.5 km) with values in the range of−2 to −4 K (3–6 K). These temperature perturbations are observed 5–6 days prior to the convective events. In response to deep convection, surface cooling up to ∼ −4 K is also observed. This study showed that the magnitude of cold and warm anomalies increases with strength of convection. During deep convection, the potential temperature (θ) shows a decrease (<5 K) in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL) from the TTL-base up to CPT compared to that on clear-sky days, confirming the vertical mixing of convective air from the lower atmosphere to the TTL-levels. Correlation analysis between different TTL parameters suggests that, as the cloud top altitude increases, along with the adiabatic process, diabatic process also plays a major role in the TTL. An interesting feature observed during deep convection is the ascent of TTL-base by ∼1.5 km and descent of CPT and TTL-top by 0.5 km, which effectively thins the TTL by ∼2 km.

Maximum precipitation altitude on the northern flank of the Qilian Mountains, northwest China

Abstract Investigation of the altitude of maximum precipitation (AMP) and the factors that determine this height supports the understanding of vertical precipitation distribution in mountains. Based on the field precipitation measurement on the northern flank of the Qilian Mountains, the AMP was investigated at vertical profiles from 1,483 to 4,484 m. It found a 2,300 m-AMP in winter and a 4,200 m-AMP in other seasons and on a yearly scale. The AMPs increase from the cold and dry season to the warm and wet season and therefore increase with precipitation. During winter, the interaction of the predominant high-pressure system, the thermal inversion layer below 2,200 m, and the westerly lead to the 2,300-m AMP. In other seasons, the convergent Tibetan Plateau monsoon causes the water vapor move to the Qilian Mountains, and the enhanced uplifting by the mountain produces greater precipitation with altitude, forming the AMP at the higher areas. The front steepest terrain is the primary factor causing the formation of 4,200-m AMP in the study area. The annual AMP may be roughly equal to seven-eighths of the altitude of the mountain top on the north flank of the Qilian Mountains.

Ultraviolet imager on Venus orbiter Akatsuki and its initial results

The ultraviolet imager (UVI) has been developed for the Akatsuki spacecraft (Venus Climate Orbiter mission). The UVI takes ultraviolet (UV) images of the solar radiation reflected by the Venusian clouds with narrow bandpass filters centered at the 283 and 365 nm wavelengths. There are absorption bands of SO2 and unknown absorbers in these wavelength regions. The UV images provide the spatial distribution of SO2 and the unknown absorber around cloud top altitudes. The images also allow us to understand the cloud top morphologies and haze properties. Nominal sequential images with 2-h intervals are used to understand the dynamics of the Venusian atmosphere by estimating the wind vectors at the cloud top altitude, as well as the mass transportation of UV absorbers. The UVI is equipped with off-axial catadioptric optics, two bandpass filters, a diffuser installed in a filter wheel moving with a step motor, and a high sensitivity charge-coupled device with UV coating. The UVI images have spatial resolutions ranging from 200 m to 86 km at sub-spacecraft points. The UVI has been kept in good condition during the extended interplanetary cruise by carefully designed operations that have maintained its temperature maintenance and avoided solar radiation damage. The images have signal-to-noise ratios of over 100 after onboard desmear processing.

Ten Year Analysis of Tropopause‐Overshooting Convection Using GridRad Data

AbstractConvection that penetrates the tropopause (overshooting convection) rapidly transports air from the lower troposphere to the lower stratosphere, potentially mixing air between the two layers. This exchange of air can have a substantial impact on the composition, radiation, and chemistry of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS). In order to improve our understanding of the role convection plays in the transport of trace gases across the tropopause, this study presents a 10 year analysis of overshooting convection for the eastern two thirds of the contiguous United States for March through August of 2004 to 2013 based on radar observations. Echo top altitudes are estimated at hourly intervals using high‐resolution, three‐dimensional, gridded, radar reflectivity fields created by merging observations from available radars in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) network. Overshooting convection is identified by comparing echo top altitudes with tropopause altitudes derived from the ERA‐Interim reanalysis. It is found that overshooting convection is most common in the central United States, with a weak secondary maximum along the southeast coast. The maximum number of overshooting events occur consistently between 2200 and 0200 UTC. Most overshooting events occur in May, June, and July when convection is deepest and the tropopause altitude is relatively low. Approximately 45% of the analyzed overshooting events (those with echo tops at least 1 km above the tropopause) have echo tops extending above the 380 K level into the stratospheric overworld.

Validation of optimal estimation method retrievals of middle atmospheric temperature

OEM (Optimal Estimation Method) retrievals of temperature from lidar measurements are robust and practical (Sica and Haefele, 2015). They offer significant improvements over traditional methods. We will show a climatology of +360 nights of measurements from the Purple Crow Lidar and the improvements offered using an OEM, including the quantitative determination of the top altitude of the retrieval and the evaluation of the various systematic and random uncertainties due to measurement noise.

Characteristics of Convective Storm Top Altitudes in Summer over the Tibetan Plateau by GPM

To have a clear understanding of the convective precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and its surrounding regions, this research systematically studied characteristics of distribution of convective storm top altitudes over the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding regions by using the level-2 orbital data obtained by the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR). The following conclusions are drawn in this study. (1) Because of the development of Asia summer monsoon, the number of samples of precipitation with storm top altitude above 10 km increases gradually from June to August, and all the samples of precipitation diminishes with the increases of altitude. That is, the higher the storm top altitude, the less the frequency of precipitation. (2) The deep convection frequency above 10 km altitude over the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding regions is less than 0.8%. The deep convection frequency above 14 km is obviously less than the 10 km deep convection, not exceeding 0.2%. (3) With the increase of convective storm top altitude, the proportion of corresponding deep convection decreases exponentially. The contribution of convective precipitation to total precipitation is consistent with the contribution of convective precipitation frequency to total precipitation frequency, and the both area fractions of them decrease rapidly with the increases of the contribution. Besides, both of the two maximum contributions are below 40%. (4) The storm top altitude and surface rain rate of convective precipitation are the lowest in June and the highest in August. Furthermore, the storm top altitude over the TP rises slowly from the western part of the plateau to the eastern part, and the rain rate shows a significant gradient change with the increases of height. Below 6 km altitude, the maximum value of rain rate can reach 8 mm/h, but the precipitation intensity reduce to 4 mm/h when the altitude is above 6 km.

Study of Titan’s fall southern stratospheric polar cloud composition with Cassini/CIRS: Detection of benzene ice

We report the detection of a spectral signature observed at 682 cm−1 by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) in nadir and limb geometry observations of Titan’s southern stratospheric polar region in the middle of southern fall, while stratospheric temperatures are the coldest since the beginning of the Cassini mission. In the same period, many gases observed in CIRS spectra (C2H2, HCN, C4H2, C3H4, HC3N and C6H6) are highly enriched in the stratosphere at high southern latitude due to the air subsidence of the global atmospheric circulation and some of these molecules condense at much higher altitude than usually observed for other latitudes. The 682 cm−1 signature, which is only observed below an altitude of 300 km, is at least partly attributed to the benzene (C6H6) ice ν4 C–H bending mode. While we first observed it in CIRS nadir spectra of the southern polar region in early 2013, we focus here on the study of nadir data acquired in May 2013, which have a more favorable observation geometry. We derived the C6H6 ice mass mixing ratio in 5° latitude bins from the south pole to 65°S and infer the C6H6 cloud top altitude to be located deeper with increasing distance from the pole. We additionally analyzed limb data acquired in March 2015, which were the first limb dataset available after the May 2013 nadir observation, in order to infer a vertical profile of its mass mixing ratio in the 0.1–1 mbar region (250–170 km). We derive an upper limit of ∼1.5 µm for the equivalent radius of pure C6H6 ice particles from the shape of the observed emission band, which is consistent with our estimation of the ice particle size from condensation growth and sedimentation timescales. We compared the ice mass mixing ratio with the haze mass mixing ratio inferred in the same region from the continuum emission of CIRS spectra, and derived that the haze mass mixing ratios are ∼30 times larger than the C6H6 ice mass mixing ratios for all observations. Several other unidentified signatures are observed near 687 and 702 cm−1 and possibly 695 cm−1, which could also be due to ice spectral signatures as they are observed in the deep stratosphere at pressure levels similar to the C6H6 ice ones. We could not reproduce these signatures with pure nitrile ices (HCN, HC3N, CH3CN, C2H5CN and C2N2) spectra available in the literature except the 695 cm−1 feature that could possibly be due to C2H3CN ice. From this tentative detection, we derive the corresponding C2H3CN ice mass mixing ratio profile and also inferred an upper limit of its gas volume mixing ratio of 2 × 10−7 at 0.01 mbar at 79°S in March 2015.

Validation of GMI Snowfall Observations by Using a Combination of Weather Radar and Surface Measurements

AbstractCurrently, there are several spaceborne microwave instruments suitable for the detection and quantitative estimation of snowfall. To test and improve retrieval snowfall algorithms, ground validation datasets that combine detailed characterization of snowfall microphysics and spatial precipitation measurements are required. To this endpoint, measurements of snow microphysics are combined with large-scale weather radar observations to generate such a dataset. The quantitative snowfall estimates are computed by applying event-specific relations between the equivalent reflectivity factor and snowfall rate to weather radar observations. The relations are derived using retrieved ice particle microphysical properties from observations that were carried out at the University of Helsinki research station in Hyytiälä, Finland, which is about 64 km east of the radar. For each event, the uncertainties of the estimate are also determined. The feasibility of using this type of data to validate spaceborne snowfall measurements and algorithms is demonstrated with the NASA GPM Microwave Imager (GMI) snowfall product. The detection skill and retrieved surface snowfall precipitation of the GPROF detection algorithm, versions V04A and V05A, are assessed over southern Finland. On the basis of the 26 studied overpasses, probability of detection (POD) is 0.90 for version V04A and 0.84 for version V05A, and corresponding false-alarm rates are 0.09 and 0.10, respectively. A clear dependence of detection skill on cloud echo top height is shown: POD increased from 0.8 to 0.99 (V04A) and from 0.61 to 0.94 (V05A) as the cloud echo top altitude increased from 2 to 5 km. Both versions underestimate the snowfall rate by factors of 6 (V04A) and 3 (V05A).