Multi-sensor analysis of A-Train observations for investigating the warm cloud microphysical processes

In this presentation, we would like to highlight some recent attempts to combine the passive and active sensors of the A-Train satellite constellation, including the CloudSat space-borne cloud profiling radar, for investigating microphysical processes of warm rain formation. The differing sensitivities of these sensors to particle sizes are exploited to examine several key aspects of warm rain processes. We propose a combined analysis of CloudSat, MODIS and AMSR-E observations to diagnose the particle growth processes by condensation and coagulation in the context of the conservation of number and mass concentrations. We will also examine the drop collection process with the aid of a continuous collection model that defines a theoretical relationship between the observables of these sensors. The vertical cloud structure revealed from CloudSat is also combined with MODIS multi-wavelength analysis to obtain more detailed understandings of how the shortwave-derived information of particle size near the cloud top relates to the drizzle-to-rain formation processes throughout the entire cloud layer. We will present how these observational approaches can be applied to cloud-resolving models for evaluating the cloud physics parameterizations in such models.