Scanning and Profiling Cloud Radar Observations of Marine Boundary Layer Clouds

The US Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program recently established a new fixed observational site in the Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) located on Graciosa Island in the Azores. The site features a second generation profiling K-band ARM Zenith Radar (KAZR2) and a second generation K/W Scanning ARM Cloud Radar (SACR2). The SACR2 provides off-zenith observations of stratiform and broken marine boundary layer clouds using a variety of scan strategies that utilize RHI and PPI scans. Of particular interest is the determination of the maximum range where SACR2 observations can be useful for the study of macroscopic (e.g., boundaries) and microphysical (e.g., drizzle rate) properties of marine boundary layer clouds. Also of importance is the use of scanning cloud radar observations to improve the interpretation of profiling observations. Here, we present some preliminary KAZR2/SACR2 observational results from ENA that highlight some of the new opportunities in cloud research using a combination of scanning and profiling cloud radar observations.