Extended Abstract (5.0M)13A.6
Microwave scattering observed in convective cells during CAMEX-4
Bjorn H. Lambrigtsen, JPL, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA; and A. L. Riley
The High Altitude MMIC Sounding Radiometer (HAMSR) was recently built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the NASA Instrument Incubator Program. HAMSR is a combined atmospheric temperature and water vapor sounder operating in two millimeter wave bands – near 50 GHz and near 183 GHz. Using newly developed miniature technology, it is a compact, sensitive and accurate instrument. During the recent Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-4) – a multi-agency field campaign operating out of Jacksonville, FL from August 15 to September 25 2001 - HAMSR flew on the NASA ER-2 aircraft over a number of hurricanes and other convective systems in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. Preliminary data analysis has revealed substantial scattering, manifested as deep brightness temperature depression – sometimes as much as 100 K, observed in the 183-GHz channels while passing over intense convective cells. In some cases, the 50-GHz channels also exhibited scattering depression – usually in the centers of the most intense scattering regions observed in the 183-GHz channels. Such scattering signatures are presumed to be caused primarily by ice particles of various sizes above these convective cells.
Session 13A, Tropical Cyclone Observations and Structure II(Parallel with Sessions 13B, 13C, and 13D)
Thursday, 2 May 2002, 11:00 AM-12:30 PM
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