Particle Distributions from the Balloon-Born Particle Imager flown in the DC3 Campaign

The balloon-born particle imager, flown May – June 2012 in the Oklahoma-Texas venue of the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Experiment (DC3) field campaign, consisted of a standard High-Definition video camera for imaging particles, an optical distrometer using the PARSIVEL system, and one or more SPOT trackers for recovery. The combined system measures particle counts, size, velocity, shape, and type. This instrument was used during DC3 to provide verification data for model microphysics packages, validation of hydrometeor classification schemes for polarimetric radars, as well as providing data needed to improve the understanding of storm electrification processes.

Presented herein are a brief overview of the instrument and a summary of data collected during the DC3 project highlighting the ability of the instrument to collect the desired measurements over a range of storm conditions. Several examples of data will include comparisons of particle types and drop size distributions (for rain, snow, and mixed phase particles) with dual-polarized radar data. Additionally, these drop size distributions will be compared with their previously documented counterparts.