Extended Abstract (224K)4A.2
Thunderstorm Generated Cirrus Observed From X and W-Band Airborne Radar During CRYSTAL-FACE
Gerald M. Heymsfield, NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD; and L. Li, L. Tian, M. Mcgill, and Z. Wang
The CRYSTAL-FACE (C-F) campaign focused on various aspects of cirrus clouds associated with deep summertime convection in Florida. One of the goals was to determine the relation between the amount and altitude of the cirrus, to the convective intensity. During C-F, we utilized two nadir-viewing airborne radars on the NASA high-altitude (20 km) aircraft. The 9.6 GHz ER-2 Doppler Radar (EDOP) and the 94 GHz Cloud Radar System (CRS) are complementary systems for studying this problem since CRS is more sensitive than EDOP for cirrus detection, and EDOP is considerably less attenuating in the convective regions. For two thunderstorm cases (23 July 2002 and 28 July 2002), the upper-troposphere reflectivity and wind structure are derived from EDOP and CRS. Preliminary calculations of ice water content and particle sizes will be presented based on CRS, EDOP, and the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) on the ER-2. The relation between convective intensity (i.e., updrafts) and wind shear on the upper-level storm structure and cirrus generation will be discussed.
Session 4A, MM-wave radar observations on cloud and climate - I I
Thursday, 7 August 2003, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM
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