Monday, 15 July 2002: 5:00 PM
The total water budget of nocturnal stratocumulus
In-situ and remotely sensed data is used to evaluate the water budget
of nocturnal stratocumulus observed during DYCOMS-II. The in-situ
microphysical data are used to evaluate and calibrate radar
reflectivity/rainrate relationships. These relationships are then
used to enable us to (better) interpret radar data in area's where no
in-situ microphysical data is available, thus extending the use of the
radar data to an entire flight. Drizzle fluxes at cloud base and at
the surface are also compared to turbulent heat and water fluxes. In
addition to providing some of the first global estimates of the role
of drizzle in the dynamics of stratocumulus, we also examine its
spatial structure and temporal evolution. In accord with previous
work there is also evidence of pronounced drizzle variability on ten
kilometer scales. Overall these preliminary findings suggest that
drizzle was an important, and sometimes dominant, component of the
stratocumulus water budget during DYCOMS-II.
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