Properties of SE Pacific stratocumulus using mm-wave radars and other remote sensors

Although marine stratocumulus cloud formation is regarded as one of the most significant regulators of the radiation budget over the eastern subtropical oceans, it is poorly represented in GCMs. Collaborative field deployments have taken place during the past few years (EPIC 2001, PACS Stratus 2003 and 2004) and more are scheduled to follow in the remote SE Pacific stratocumulus regime. The core instruments onboard the research vessels each year are millimeter cloud radars (MMCR's), supplemented by a broad range of remote sensors (e.g. C-Band radar, ceilometer, wind-profiler, and microwave radiometers) as well as instruments for surface meteorology, flux and aerosol measurements. This paper intends to present, evaluate and intercompare these unprecedented data sets, with an emphasis on stratocumulus-capped boundary layer structures and processes. Various techniques for retrieving macroscopic cloud properties using a combination of MMCR and other remote sensors data are investigated. Seasonal and regional climatology of these properties is developed. Their interannual variability and correlations with atmospheric thermodynamic structure and dynamical properties are examined.