Unmanned Aircraft for Cloud Physics Measurements: Comparison to WSR-88D Observations

The National Science Foundation-sponsored Collaboration Leading Operational UAS Development for Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics (CLOUD-MAP) project brings together researchers from four universities to develop methods of collecting atmospheric physics measurements, using small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS). One component of this project is the cloud microphysics task, in which we are attempting to develop a fundamental understanding of how SUAS might be used to collect measurements of microphysical properties, and to derive variables relevant for answering cloud microphysics questions. The primary objectives driving our cloud microphysics research include: (1) Use of disdrometer measurements to derive estimates of parameters related to characteristics of the drop size distribution and the polarimetric radar variables; (2) Use of liquid water content (LWC) sensor measurements to accomplish similar estimates; (3) Comparison of disdrometer-derived and LWC sensor-derived estimates of the polarimetric radar variables to Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) measurements in different precipitation regimes; and (4) Measurement of cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) concentration in convective inflow and comparison of these measurements to radar observations. This presentation will focus on comparisons of initial cloud physics measurements to WSR-88D polarimetric radar data, and on initial comparisons of CCN measurements to WSR-88D observations of convection.