Mixed Phase Clouds Observed During the Canadian CloudSat/CALIPSO Validation Project

Led by NASA's Aqua satellite, the Afternoon or "A-Train" satellite constellation consists of four additional satellites (NASA's CloudSat, CALIPSO and Aura satellites and CNES' PARASOL satellite) that together sample the atmosphere with an unprecedented suite of instruments. Spanning from November, 2006 through February, 2007, the Canadian CloudSat/CALIPSO Validation Project targeted A-Train overpasses of cold season clouds and precipitation over the southern Ontario region of Canada. Using an unparalleled set of in-situ microphysical probes and remote sensing instruments, including cloud radar and lidar, onboard the National Research Council of Canada's Convair-580 research aircraft, several mixed phase cloud fields were sampled during A-Train overpasses. Preliminary results from these concurrent observations will be presented with a special emphasis on structural and microphysical inferences from space-based (CloudSat) and aircraft-based cloud radar.