Comparison of NEXRAD and GOES Identification of Overshooting Convection

Many studies have been completed on tropopause-penetrating convection with the ultimate goal of understanding the associated processes and environments in which it occurs. This is motivated by the fact that this phenomenon can facilitate the transport of atmospheric particles across the tropopause to the lower stratosphere, changing the chemical and radiative properties of this region. These changes have implications for climate, both on a local and global scale. Overshooting cloud tops (OT) can be detected in a number of ways; both satellite- and radar-based methods have been employed to determine patterns of occurrence. Different results have been achieved with each method, however. This study compares two particular OT detection studies—one using Geostationary Environmental Satellite (GOES) data, and the other using Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD) data—and strives to provide reasoning for their differing results. Data analysis is completed between the two methods to reveal when and how they disagree. Two case studies of distinct convective events are performed, and basic statistics are computed using data from both methods. Matching data in space and time is a recurring issue, but it is clear that there is disagreement in OT detections between the methods. Analysis of storm structure suggests that there is more agreement between the methods when cloud tops are wide and convection is deep, and also when particular OTs are especially protruding relative to cloud tops in the immediate area (as opposed to being only slightly above them).