A depolarisation lidar based method for the determination of liquid-cloud microphysical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Donovan, D. P.; Klein Baltink, H.; Henzing, J. S.; de Roode, S. R.; Siebesma, A. P.

2014-09-01

The fact that polarisation lidars measure a depolarisation signal in liquid clouds due to the occurrence of multiple-scattering is well-known. The degree of measured depolarisation depends on the lidar characteristics (e.g. wavelength and receiver field-of-view) as well as the cloud macrophysical (e.g. liquid water content) and microphysical (e.g. effective radius) properties. Efforts seeking to use depolarisation information in a quantitative manner to retrieve cloud properties have been undertaken with, arguably, limited practical success. In this work we present a retrieval procedure applicable to clouds with (quasi-)linear liquid water content (LWC) profiles and (quasi-)constant cloud droplet number density in the cloud base region. Thus limiting the applicability of the procedure allows us to reduce the cloud variables to two parameters (namely the derivative of the liquid water content with height and the extinction at a fixed distance above cloud-base). This simplification, in turn, allows us to employ a fast and robust optimal-estimation inversion using pre-computed look-up-tables produced using extensive lidar Monte-Carlo multiple-scattering simulations. In this paper, we describe the theory behind the inversion procedure and successfully apply it to simulated observations based on large-eddy simulation model output. The inversion procedure is then applied to actual depolarisation lidar data corresponding to a range of cases taken from the Cabauw measurement site in the central Netherlands. The lidar results were then used to predict the corresponding cloud-base region radar reflectivities. In non-drizzling condition, it was found that the lidar inversion results can be used to predict the observed radar reflectivities with an accuracy within the radar calibration uncertainty (2-3 dBZ). This result strongly supports the accuracy of the lidar inversion results. Results of a comparison between ground-based aerosol number concentration and lidar-derived cloud

CloudSat 2C-ICE product update with a new Ze parameterization in lidar-only region.

PubMed

Deng, Min; Mace, Gerald G; Wang, Zhien; Berry, Elizabeth

2015-12-16

The CloudSat 2C-ICE data product is derived from a synergetic ice cloud retrieval algorithm that takes as input a combination of CloudSat radar reflectivity ( Z e ) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation lidar attenuated backscatter profiles. The algorithm uses a variational method for retrieving profiles of visible extinction coefficient, ice water content, and ice particle effective radius in ice or mixed-phase clouds. Because of the nature of the measurements and to maintain consistency in the algorithm numerics, we choose to parameterize (with appropriately large specification of uncertainty) Z e and lidar attenuated backscatter in the regions of a cirrus layer where only the lidar provides data and where only the radar provides data, respectively. To improve the Z e parameterization in the lidar-only region, the relations among Z e , extinction, and temperature have been more thoroughly investigated using Atmospheric Radiation Measurement long-term millimeter cloud radar and Raman lidar measurements. This Z e parameterization provides a first-order estimation of Z e as a function extinction and temperature in the lidar-only regions of cirrus layers. The effects of this new parameterization have been evaluated for consistency using radiation closure methods where the radiative fluxes derived from retrieved cirrus profiles compare favorably with Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System measurements. Results will be made publicly available for the entire CloudSat record (since 2006) in the most recent product release known as R05.

Wyoming Cloud Lidar: instrument description and applications.

PubMed

Wang, Zhien; Wechsler, Perry; Kuestner, William; French, Jeffrey; Rodi, Alfred; Glover, Brent; Burkhart, Matthew; Lukens, Donal

2009-08-03

The Wyoming Cloud Lidar (WCL), a compact two-channel elastic lidar, was designed to obtain cloud measurements together with the Wyoming Cloud Radar (WCR) on the University of Wyoming King Air and the National Science Foundation/National Center of Atmospheric Research C-130 aircraft. The WCL has been deployed in four field projects under a variety of atmospheric and cloud conditions during the last two years. Throughout these campaigns, it has exhibited the needed reliability for turn-key operation from aircraft. We provide here an overview of the instrument and examples to illustrate the measurements capability of the WCL. Although the WCL as a standalone instrument can provide unique measurements for cloud and boundary layer aerosol studies, the synergy of WCL and WCR measurements coupled with in situ sampling from an aircraft provide a significant step forward in our ability to observe and understand cloud microphysical property evolution.

Lidar and radar measurements of the melting layer: observations of dark and bright band phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Girolamo, P.; Summa, D.; Cacciani, M.; Norton, E. G.; Peters, G.; Dufournet, Y.

2012-05-01

Multi-wavelength lidar measurements in the melting layer revealing the presence of dark and bright bands have been performed by the University of BASILicata Raman lidar system (BASIL) during a stratiform rain event. Simultaneously radar measurements have been also performed from the same site by the University of Hamburg cloud radar MIRA 36 (35.5 GHz), the University of Hamburg dual-polarization micro rain radar (24.15 GHz) and the University of Manchester UHF wind profiler (1.29 GHz). Measurements from BASIL and the radars are illustrated and discussed in this paper for a specific case study on 23 July 2007 during the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study (COPS). Simulations of the lidar dark and bright band based on the application of concentric/eccentric sphere Lorentz-Mie codes and a melting layer model are also provided. Lidar and radar measurements and model results are also compared with measurements from a disdrometer on ground and a two-dimensional cloud (2DC) probe on-board the ATR42 SAFIRE. Measurements and model results are found to confirm and support the conceptual microphysical/scattering model elaborated by Sassen et al. (2005).

A Variational Method to Retrieve the Extinction Profile in Liquid Clouds Using Multiple Field-of-View Lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pounder, Nicola L.; Hogan, Robin J.; Varnai, Tamas; Battaglia, Alessandro; Cahalan, Robert F.

2011-01-01

While liquid clouds playa very important role in the global radiation budget, it's been very difficult to remotely determine their internal cloud structure. Ordinary lidar instruments (similar to radars but using visible light pulses) receive strong signals from such clouds, but the information is limited to a thin layer near the cloud boundary. Multiple field-of-view (FOV) lidars offer some new hope as they are able to isolate photons that were scattered many times by cloud droplets and penetrated deep into a cloud before returning to the instrument. Their data contains new information on cloud structure, although the lack of fast simulation methods made it challenging to interpret the observations. This paper describes a fast new technique that can simulate multiple-FOV lidar signals and can even estimate the way the signals would change in response to changes in cloud properties-an ability that allows quick refinements in our initial guesses of cloud structure. Results for a hypothetical airborne three-FOV lidar suggest that this approach can help determine cloud structure for a deeper layer in clouds, and can reliably determine the optical thickness of even fairly thick liquid clouds. The algorithm is also applied to stratocumulus observations by the 8-FOV airborne "THOR" lidar. These tests demonstrate that the new method can determine the depth to which a lidar provides useful information on vertical cloud structure. This work opens the way to exploit data from spaceborne lidar and radar more rigorously than has been possible up to now.

THOR: Cloud Thickness from Off beam Lidar Returns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cahalan, Robert F.; McGill, Matthew; Kolasinski, John; Varnai, Tamas; Yetzer, Ken

2004-01-01

Conventional wisdom is that lidar pulses do not significantly penetrate clouds having optical thickness exceeding about tau = 2, and that no returns are detectable from more than a shallow skin depth. Yet optically thicker clouds of tau much greater than 2 reflect a larger fraction of visible photons, and account for much of Earth s global average albedo. As cloud layer thickness grows, an increasing fraction of reflected photons are scattered multiple times within the cloud, and return from a diffuse concentric halo that grows around the incident pulse, increasing in horizontal area with layer physical thickness. The reflected halo is largely undetected by narrow field-of-view (FoV) receivers commonly used in lidar applications. THOR - Thickness from Off-beam Returns - is an airborne wide-angle detection system with multiple FoVs, capable of observing the diffuse halo, detecting wide-angle signal from which physical thickness of optically thick clouds can be retrieved. In this paper we describe the THOR system, demonstrate that the halo signal is stronger for thicker clouds, and validate physical thickness retrievals for clouds having z > 20, from NASA P-3B flights over the Department of Energy/Atmospheric Radiation Measurement/Southern Great Plains site, using the lidar, radar and other ancillary ground-based data.

Ground-based microwave radar and optical lidar signatures of volcanic ash plumes: models, observations and retrievals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mereu, Luigi; Marzano, Frank; Mori, Saverio; Montopoli, Mario; Cimini, Domenico; Martucci, Giovanni

2013-04-01

The detection and quantitative retrieval of volcanic ash clouds is of significant interest due to its environmental, climatic and socio-economic effects. Real-time monitoring of such phenomena is crucial, also for the initialization of dispersion models. Satellite visible-infrared radiometric observations from geostationary platforms are usually exploited for long-range trajectory tracking and for measuring low level eruptions. Their imagery is available every 15-30 minutes and suffers from a relatively poor spatial resolution. Moreover, the field-of-view of geostationary radiometric measurements may be blocked by water and ice clouds at higher levels and their overall utility is reduced at night. Ground-based microwave radars may represent an important tool to detect and, to a certain extent, mitigate the hazard from the ash clouds. Ground-based weather radar systems can provide data for determining the ash volume, total mass and height of eruption clouds. Methodological studies have recently investigated the possibility of using ground-based single-polarization and dual-polarization radar system for the remote sensing of volcanic ash cloud. A microphysical characterization of volcanic ash was carried out in terms of dielectric properties, size distribution and terminal fall speed, assuming spherically-shaped particles. A prototype of volcanic ash radar retrieval (VARR) algorithm for single-polarization systems was proposed and applied to S-band and C-band weather radar data. The sensitivity of the ground-based radar measurements decreases as the ash cloud is farther so that for distances greater than about 50 kilometers fine ash might be not detected anymore by microwave radars. In this respect, radar observations can be complementary to satellite, lidar and aircraft observations. Active remote sensing retrieval from ground, in terms of detection, estimation and sensitivity, of volcanic ash plumes is not only dependent on the sensor specifications, but also on

Vertical transport of Kelut volcanic stratospheric aerosols observed by the equatorial lidar and the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nagasawa, C.; Abo, M.; Shibata, Y.

2017-12-01

The transport of substance between stratosphere and troposphere in the equatorial region makes an impact to the global climate change, but it has a lot of unknown behaviors. We have performed the lidar observations for survey of atmospheric structure of troposphere, stratosphere, and mesosphere over Kototabang (0.2S, 100.3E), Indonesia in the equatorial region since 2004. Kelut volcano (7.9S, 112.3E) in the Java island of Indonesia erupted on 13 February 2014. The CALIOP observed that the eruption cloud reached 26km above sea level in the tropical stratosphere, but most of the plume remained at 19-20 km over the tropopause. By CALIOP data analysis, aerosol clouds spread in the longitude direction with the lapse of time and arrived at equator in 5 days. After aerosol clouds reached equator, they moved towards the east along the equator by strong eastward equatorial wind of QBO. In June 2014 (4 months after the eruption), aerosol transport from the stratosphere to the troposphere were observed by the polarization lidar at Kototabang. At the same time, we can clearly see down phase structure of vertical wind velocity observed by EAR (Equatorial Atmosphere Radar) generated by the equatorial Kelvin wave. We investigate the transport of substance between stratosphere and troposphere in the equatorial region by data which have been collected by the polarization lidar at Kototabang and the EAR after Kelut volcano eruption. Using combination of ground based lidar, satellite based lidar, and atmosphere radar, we can get valuable evidence of equatorial transport of substance between the troposphere and the lower stratosphere. This work was supported by Collaborative Research based on MU Radar and Equatorial Atmosphere Radar.

Lidar and radar measurements of the melting layer in the frame of the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study: observations of dark and bright band phenomena

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Girolamo, P.; Summa, D.; Bhawar, R.; di Iorio, T.; Norton, E. G.; Peters, G.; Dufournet, Y.

2011-11-01

During the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study (COPS), lidar dark and bright bands were observed by the University of BASILicata Raman lidar system (BASIL) during several intensive (IOPs) and special (SOPs) observation periods (among others, 23 July, 15 August, and 17 August 2007). Lidar data were supported by measurements from the University of Hamburg cloud radar MIRA 36 (36 GHz), the University of Hamburg dual-polarization micro rain radars (24.1 GHz) and the University of Manchester UHF wind profiler (1.29 GHz). Results from BASIL and the radars for 23 July 2007 are illustrated and discussed to support the comprehension of the microphysical and scattering processes responsible for the appearance of the lidar and radar dark and bright bands. Simulations of the lidar dark and bright band based on the application of concentric/eccentric sphere Lorentz-Mie codes and a melting layer model are also provided. Lidar and radar measurements and model results are also compared with measurements from a disdrometer on ground and a two-dimensional cloud (2DC) probe on-board the ATR42 SAFIRE.

Lidar and Radar Measurements of the melting layer in the frame of the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Girolamo, Paolo; Summa, Donato; Bhawar, Rohini; Di Iorio, Tatiana; Vaughan, Geraint; Norton, Emily; Peters, Gerhard

2009-03-01

During the Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study (COPS), lidar dark bands were observed by the Univ. of BASILicata Raman lidar system (BASIL) on several IOPs and SOPs (among others, 23 July, 15 August, 17 August). Dark band signatures appear in the lidar measurements of particle backscattering at 355, 532 and 1064 nm and particle extinction at 355 and 532 nm, as well as in particle depolarization measurements. Lidar data are supported by measurements from the University of Hamburg cloud radar MIRA 36 (36 GHz), the University of Hamburg dual-polarization micro rain radars (24.1 GHz) and the University of Manchester Radio UHF clear air wind profiler (1.29 GHz). Results from BASIL and the radars are illustrated and discussed to support in the comprehension of the microphysical and scattering processes responsible for the appearance of the lidar dark band and radar bright band.

A Ground-Based Doppler Radar and Micropulse Lidar Forward Simulator for GCM Evaluation of Arctic Mixed-Phase Clouds: Moving Forward Towards an Apples-to-apples Comparison of Hydrometeor Phase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lamer, K.; Fridlind, A. M.; Ackerman, A. S.; Kollias, P.; Clothiaux, E. E.

2017-12-01

An important aspect of evaluating Artic cloud representation in a general circulation model (GCM) consists of using observational benchmarks which are as equivalent as possible to model output in order to avoid methodological bias and focus on correctly diagnosing model dynamical and microphysical misrepresentations. However, current cloud observing systems are known to suffer from biases such as limited sensitivity, and stronger response to large or small hydrometeors. Fortunately, while these observational biases cannot be corrected, they are often well understood and can be reproduced in forward simulations. Here a ground-based millimeter wavelength Doppler radar and micropulse lidar forward simulator able to interface with output from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) ModelE GCM is presented. ModelE stratiform hydrometeor fraction, mixing ratio, mass-weighted fall speed and effective radius are forward simulated to vertically-resolved profiles of radar reflectivity, Doppler velocity and spectrum width as well as lidar backscatter and depolarization ratio. These forward simulated fields are then compared to Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) North Slope of Alaska (NSA) ground-based observations to assess cloud vertical structure (CVS). Model evalution of Arctic mixed-phase cloud would also benefit from hydrometeor phase evaluation. While phase retrieval from synergetic observations often generates large uncertainties, the same retrieval algorithm can be applied to observed and forward-simulated radar-lidar fields, thereby producing retrieved hydrometeor properties with potentially the same uncertainties. Comparing hydrometeor properties retrieved in exactly the same way aims to produce the best apples-to-apples comparisons between GCM ouputs and observations. The use of a comprenhensive ground-based forward simulator coupled with a hydrometeor classification retrieval algorithm provides a new perspective for GCM evaluation of Arctic mixed

Retrieve Optically Thick Ice Cloud Microphysical Properties by Using Airborne Dual-Wavelength Radar Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Zhien; Heymsfield, Gerald M.; Li, Lihua; Heymsfield, Andrew J.

2005-01-01

An algorithm to retrieve optically thick ice cloud microphysical property profiles is developed by using the GSFC 9.6 GHz ER-2 Doppler Radar (EDOP) and the 94 GHz Cloud Radar System (CRS) measurements aboard the high-altitude ER-2 aircraft. In situ size distribution and total water content data from the CRYSTAL-FACE field campaign are used for the algorithm development. To reduce uncertainty in calculated radar reflectivity factors (Ze) at these wavelengths, coincident radar measurements and size distribution data are used to guide the selection of mass-length relationships and to deal with the density and non-spherical effects of ice crystals on the Ze calculations. The algorithm is able to retrieve microphysical property profiles of optically thick ice clouds, such as, deep convective and anvil clouds, which are very challenging for single frequency radar and lidar. Examples of retrieved microphysical properties for a deep convective clouds are presented, which show that EDOP and CRS measurements provide rich information to study cloud structure and evolution. Good agreement between IWPs derived from an independent submillimeter-wave radiometer, CoSSIR, and dual-wavelength radar measurements indicates accuracy of the IWC retrieved from the two-frequency radar algorithm.

Beyond Radar Backscatter: Estimating Forest Structure and Biomass with Radar Interferometry and Lidar Remote Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavalle, M.; Ahmed, R.

2014-12-01

Mapping forest structure and aboveground biomass globally is a major challenge that the remote sensing community has been facing for decades. Radar backscatter is sensitive to biomass only up to a certain amount (about 150 tons/ha at L-band and 300 tons/ha at P-band), whereas lidar remote sensing is strongly limited by poor spatial coverage. In recent years radar interferometry, including its extension to polarimetric radar interferometry (PolInSAR), has emerged as a new technique to overcome the limitations of radar backscatter. The idea of PolInSAR is to use jointly interferometric and polarimetric radar techniques to separate different scattering mechanisms and retrieve the vertical structure of forests. The advantage is to map ecosystem structure continuously over large areas and independently of cloud coverage. Experiments have shown that forest height - an important proxy for biomass - can be estimated using PolInSAR with accuracy between 15% and 20% at plot level. At AGU we will review the state-of-art of repeat-pass PolInSAR for biomass mapping, including its potential and limitations, and discuss how merging lidar data with PolInSAR data can be beneficial not only for product cross-validation but also for achieving better estimation of ecosystem properties over large areas. In particular, lidar data are expected to aid the inversion of PolInSAR models by providing (1) better identification of ground under the canopy, (2) approximate information of canopy structure in limited areas, and (3) maximum tree height useful for mapping PolInSAR temporal decorrelation. We will show our tree height and biomass maps using PolInSAR L-band JPL/UAVSAR data collected in tropical and temperate forests, and P-band ONERA/TROPISAR data acquired in French Guiana. LVIS lidar data will be used, as well as SRTM data, field measurements and inventory data to support our study. The use of two different radar frequencies and repeat-pass JPL UAVSAR data will offer also the

LIDAR and Millimeter-Wave Cloud RADAR (MWCR) techniques for joint observations of cirrus in Shouxian (32.56°N, 116.78°E), China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bu, Lingbing; Pan, Honglin; Kumar, K. Raghavendra; Huang, Xingyou; Gao, Haiyang; Qin, Yanqiu; Liu, Xinbo; Kim, Dukhyeon

2016-10-01

Cirrus plays an important role in the regulation of the Earth-atmosphere radiation budget. The joint observation using both the LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) and Millimeter-Wave Cloud RADAR (MWCR) was implemented in this study to obtain properties of cirrus at Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) mobile facility in Shouxian (32.56°N, 116.78°E, 21 m above sea level), China during May-December 2008. We chose the simultaneous measurements of LIDAR and MWCR with effective data days, and the days must with cirrus. Hence, the cirrus properties based on 37 days of data between October 18th and December 13th, 2008 were studied in the present work. By comparing the LIDAR data with the MWCR data, we analyzed the detection capabilities of both instruments quantitatively for measuring the cirrus. The LIDAR cannot penetrate through the thicker cirrus with optical depth (τ) of more than 1.5, while the MWCR cannot sense the clouds with an optical depth of less than 0.3. Statistical analysis showed that the mean cloud base height (CBH) and cloud thickness (CT) of cirrus were 6.5±0.8 km and 2.1±1.1 km, respectively. Furthermore, we investigated three existing inversion methods for deriving the ice water content (IWC) by using the separate LIDAR, MWCR, and the combination of both, respectively. Based on the comparative analysis, a novel joint method was provided to obtain more accurate IWC. In this joint method, cirrus was divided into three different categories according to the optical depth (τ≤0.3, τ≥1.5, and 0.3<τ<1.5). Based on the joint method used in this study, the mean IWC was calculated by means of the statistics, which showed that the mean IWC of cirrus was 0.011±0.008 g m-3.

Spaceborne lidar for cloud monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Werner, Christian; Krichbaumer, W.; Matvienko, Gennadii G.

1994-12-01

Results of laser cloud top measurements taken from space in 1982 (called PANTHER) are presented. Three sequences of land, water, and cloud data are selected. A comparison with airborne lidar data shows similarities. Using the single scattering lidar equation for these spaceborne lidar measurements one can misinterpret the data if one doesn't correct for multiple scattering.

Multistatic aerosol-cloud lidar in space: A theoretical perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishchenko, M. I.; Alexandrov, M. D.; Brian, C.; Travis, L. D.

2016-12-01

measurements. Although the specific subject of this Perspective is the multistatic lidar concept, all our conclusions equally apply to a multistatic radar system intended to study from space the global distribution of cloud and precipitation characteristics.

Multistatic Aerosol Cloud Lidar in Space: A Theoretical Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mishchenko, Michael I.; Alexandrov, Mikhail D.; Cairns, Brian; Travis, Larry D.

2016-01-01

measurements. Although the specific subject of this Perspective is the multistatic lidar concept, all our conclusions equally apply to a multistatic radar system intended to study from space the global distribution of cloud and precipitation characteristics.

Cloud vertical distribution from combined surface and space radar-lidar observations at two Arctic atmospheric observatories

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Liu, Yinghui; Shupe, Matthew D.; Wang, Zhien

Detailed and accurate vertical distributions of cloud properties (such as cloud fraction, cloud phase, and cloud water content) and their changes are essential to accurately calculate the surface radiative flux and to depict the mean climate state. Surface and space-based active sensors including radar and lidar are ideal to provide this information because of their superior capability to detect clouds and retrieve cloud microphysical properties. In this study, we compare the annual cycles of cloud property vertical distributions from space-based active sensors and surface-based active sensors at two Arctic atmospheric observatories, Barrow and Eureka. Based on the comparisons, we identifymore » the sensors' respective strengths and limitations, and develop a blended cloud property vertical distribution by combining both sets of observations. Results show that surface-based observations offer a more complete cloud property vertical distribution from the surface up to 11 km above mean sea level (a.m.s.l.) with limitations in the middle and high altitudes; the annual mean total cloud fraction from space-based observations shows 25-40 % fewer clouds below 0.5 km than from surface-based observations, and space-based observations also show much fewer ice clouds and mixed-phase clouds, and slightly more liquid clouds, from the surface to 1 km. In general, space-based observations show comparable cloud fractions between 1 and 2 km a.m.s.l., and larger cloud fractions above 2 km a.m.s.l. than from surface-based observations. A blended product combines the strengths of both products to provide a more reliable annual cycle of cloud property vertical distributions from the surface to 11 km a.m.s.l. This information can be valuable for deriving an accurate surface radiative budget in the Arctic and for cloud parameterization evaluation in weather and climate models. Cloud annual cycles show similar evolutions in total cloud fraction and ice cloud fraction, and lower liquid

Cloud vertical distribution from combined surface and space radar-lidar observations at two Arctic atmospheric observatories

DOE PAGES

Liu, Yinghui; Shupe, Matthew D.; Wang, Zhien; ...

2017-05-16

Detailed and accurate vertical distributions of cloud properties (such as cloud fraction, cloud phase, and cloud water content) and their changes are essential to accurately calculate the surface radiative flux and to depict the mean climate state. Surface and space-based active sensors including radar and lidar are ideal to provide this information because of their superior capability to detect clouds and retrieve cloud microphysical properties. In this study, we compare the annual cycles of cloud property vertical distributions from space-based active sensors and surface-based active sensors at two Arctic atmospheric observatories, Barrow and Eureka. Based on the comparisons, we identifymore » the sensors' respective strengths and limitations, and develop a blended cloud property vertical distribution by combining both sets of observations. Results show that surface-based observations offer a more complete cloud property vertical distribution from the surface up to 11 km above mean sea level (a.m.s.l.) with limitations in the middle and high altitudes; the annual mean total cloud fraction from space-based observations shows 25-40 % fewer clouds below 0.5 km than from surface-based observations, and space-based observations also show much fewer ice clouds and mixed-phase clouds, and slightly more liquid clouds, from the surface to 1 km. In general, space-based observations show comparable cloud fractions between 1 and 2 km a.m.s.l., and larger cloud fractions above 2 km a.m.s.l. than from surface-based observations. A blended product combines the strengths of both products to provide a more reliable annual cycle of cloud property vertical distributions from the surface to 11 km a.m.s.l. This information can be valuable for deriving an accurate surface radiative budget in the Arctic and for cloud parameterization evaluation in weather and climate models. Cloud annual cycles show similar evolutions in total cloud fraction and ice cloud fraction, and lower liquid

Use of equivalent spheres to model the relation between radar reflectivity and optical extinction of ice cloud particles.

PubMed

Donovan, David Patrick; Quante, Markus; Schlimme, Ingo; Macke, Andreas

2004-09-01

The effect of ice crystal size and shape on the relation between radar reflectivity and optical extinction is examined. Discrete-dipole approximation calculations of 95-GHz radar reflectivity and ray-tracing calculations are applied to ice crystals of various habits and sizes. Ray tracing was used primarily to calculate optical extinction and to provide approximate information on the lidar backscatter cross section. The results of the combined calculations are compared with Mie calculations applied to collections of different types of equivalent spheres. Various equivalent sphere formulations are considered, including equivalent radar-lidar spheres; equivalent maximum dimension spheres; equivalent area spheres, and equivalent volume and equivalent effective radius spheres. Marked differences are found with respect to the accuracy of different formulations, and certain types of equivalent spheres can be used for useful prediction of both the radar reflectivity at 95 GHz and the optical extinction (but not lidar backscatter cross section) over a wide range of particle sizes. The implications of these results on combined lidar-radar ice cloud remote sensing are discussed.

A cloud masking algorithm for EARLINET lidar systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Binietoglou, Ioannis; Baars, Holger; D'Amico, Giuseppe; Nicolae, Doina

2015-04-01

Cloud masking is an important first step in any aerosol lidar processing chain as most data processing algorithms can only be applied on cloud free observations. Up to now, the selection of a cloud-free time interval for data processing is typically performed manually, and this is one of the outstanding problems for automatic processing of lidar data in networks such as EARLINET. In this contribution we present initial developments of a cloud masking algorithm that permits the selection of the appropriate time intervals for lidar data processing based on uncalibrated lidar signals. The algorithm is based on a signal normalization procedure using the range of observed values of lidar returns, designed to work with different lidar systems with minimal user input. This normalization procedure can be applied to measurement periods of only few hours, even if no suitable cloud-free interval exists, and thus can be used even when only a short period of lidar measurements is available. Clouds are detected based on a combination of criteria including the magnitude of the normalized lidar signal and time-space edge detection performed using the Sobel operator. In this way the algorithm avoids misclassification of strong aerosol layers as clouds. Cloud detection is performed using the highest available time and vertical resolution of the lidar signals, allowing the effective detection of low-level clouds (e.g. cumulus humilis). Special attention is given to suppress false cloud detection due to signal noise that can affect the algorithm's performance, especially during day-time. In this contribution we present the details of algorithm, the effect of lidar characteristics (space-time resolution, available wavelengths, signal-to-noise ratio) to detection performance, and highlight the current strengths and limitations of the algorithm using lidar scenes from different lidar systems in different locations across Europe.

Radar and Lidar Radar DEM

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liskovich, Diana; Simard, Marc

2011-01-01

Using radar and lidar data, the aim is to improve 3D rendering of terrain, including digital elevation models (DEM) and estimates of vegetation height and biomass in a variety of forest types and terrains. The 3D mapping of vegetation structure and the analysis are useful to determine the role of forest in climate change (carbon cycle), in providing habitat and as a provider of socio-economic services. This in turn will lead to potential for development of more effective land-use management. The first part of the project was to characterize the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM error with respect to ICESat/GLAS point estimates of elevation. We investigated potential trends with latitude, canopy height, signal to noise ratio (SNR), number of LiDAR waveform peaks, and maximum peak width. Scatter plots were produced for each variable and were fitted with 1st and 2nd degree polynomials. Higher order trends were visually inspected through filtering with a mean and median filter. We also assessed trends in the DEM error variance. Finally, a map showing how DEM error was geographically distributed globally was created.

Lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collis, R. T. H.

1969-01-01

Lidar is an optical radar technique employing laser energy. Variations in signal intensity as a function of range provide information on atmospheric constituents, even when these are too tenuous to be normally visible. The theoretical and technical basis of the technique is described and typical values of the atmospheric optical parameters given. The significance of these parameters to atmospheric and meteorological problems is discussed. While the basic technique can provide valuable information about clouds and other material in the atmosphere, it is not possible to determine particle size and number concentrations precisely. There are also inherent difficulties in evaluating lidar observations. Nevertheless, lidar can provide much useful information as is shown by illustrations. These include lidar observations of: cirrus cloud, showing mountain wave motions; stratification in clear air due to the thermal profile near the ground; determinations of low cloud and visibility along an air-field approach path; and finally the motion and internal structure of clouds of tracer materials (insecticide spray and explosion-caused dust) which demonstrate the use of lidar for studying transport and diffusion processes.

Forest Biomass Mapping From Lidar and Radar Synergies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sun, Guoqing; Ranson, K. Jon; Guo, Z.; Zhang, Z.; Montesano, P.; Kimes, D.

2011-01-01

The use of lidar and radar instruments to measure forest structure attributes such as height and biomass at global scales is being considered for a future Earth Observation satellite mission, DESDynI (Deformation, Ecosystem Structure, and Dynamics of Ice). Large footprint lidar makes a direct measurement of the heights of scatterers in the illuminated footprint and can yield accurate information about the vertical profile of the canopy within lidar footprint samples. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is known to sense the canopy volume, especially at longer wavelengths and provides image data. Methods for biomass mapping by a combination of lidar sampling and radar mapping need to be developed. In this study, several issues in this respect were investigated using aircraft borne lidar and SAR data in Howland, Maine, USA. The stepwise regression selected the height indices rh50 and rh75 of the Laser Vegetation Imaging Sensor (LVIS) data for predicting field measured biomass with a R(exp 2) of 0.71 and RMSE of 31.33 Mg/ha. The above-ground biomass map generated from this regression model was considered to represent the true biomass of the area and used as a reference map since no better biomass map exists for the area. Random samples were taken from the biomass map and the correlation between the sampled biomass and co-located SAR signature was studied. The best models were used to extend the biomass from lidar samples into all forested areas in the study area, which mimics a procedure that could be used for the future DESDYnI Mission. It was found that depending on the data types used (quad-pol or dual-pol) the SAR data can predict the lidar biomass samples with R2 of 0.63-0.71, RMSE of 32.0-28.2 Mg/ha up to biomass levels of 200-250 Mg/ha. The mean biomass of the study area calculated from the biomass maps generated by lidar- SAR synergy 63 was within 10% of the reference biomass map derived from LVIS data. The results from this study are preliminary, but do show the

Modeling Lidar Multiple Scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Kaori; Okamoto, Hajime; Ishimoto, Hiroshi

2016-06-01

A practical model to simulate multiply scattered lidar returns from inhomogeneous cloud layers are developed based on Backward Monte Carlo (BMC) simulations. The estimated time delay of the backscattered intensities returning from different vertical grids by the developed model agreed well with that directly obtained from BMC calculations. The method was applied to the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite data to improve the synergetic retrieval of cloud microphysics with CloudSat radar data at optically thick cloud grids. Preliminary results for retrieving mass fraction of co-existing cloud particles and drizzle size particles within lowlevel clouds are demonstrated.

Airborne LIDAR point cloud tower inclination judgment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

liang, Chen; zhengjun, Liu; jianguo, Qian

2016-11-01

Inclined transmission line towers for the safe operation of the line caused a great threat, how to effectively, quickly and accurately perform inclined judgment tower of power supply company safety and security of supply has played a key role. In recent years, with the development of unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with a laser scanner, GPS, inertial navigation is one of the high-precision 3D Remote Sensing System in the electricity sector more and more. By airborne radar scan point cloud to visually show the whole picture of the three-dimensional spatial information of the power line corridors, such as the line facilities and equipment, terrain and trees. Currently, LIDAR point cloud research in the field has not yet formed an algorithm to determine tower inclination, the paper through the existing power line corridor on the tower base extraction, through their own tower shape characteristic analysis, a vertical stratification the method of combining convex hull algorithm for point cloud tower scarce two cases using two different methods for the tower was Inclined to judge, and the results with high reliability.

A Wing Pod-based Millimeter Wave Cloud Radar on HIAPER

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vivekanandan, Jothiram; Tsai, Peisang; Ellis, Scott; Loew, Eric; Lee, Wen-Chau; Emmett, Joanthan

2014-05-01

, occupy minimum cabin space and maximize scan coverage, a pod-based configuration was adopted. Currently, the radar system is capable of collecting observations between zenith and nadir in a fixed scanning mode. Measurements are corrected for aircraft attitude changes. The near-nadir and zenith pointing observations minimize the cross-track Doppler contamination in the radial velocity measurements. An extensive engineering monitoring mechanism is built into the recording system status such as temperature, pressure, various electronic components' status and receiver characteristics. Status parameters are used for real-time system stability estimates and correcting radar system parameters. The pod based radar system is mounted on a modified Gulfstream V aircraft, which is operated and maintained by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) on behalf of the National Science Foundation (NSF). The aircraft is called the High-Performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research (HIAPER) (Laursen et al., 2006). It is also instrumented with high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) and an array of in situ and remote sensors for atmospheric research. As part of the instrument suite for HIAPER, the NSF funded the development of the HIAPER Cloud Radar (HCR). The HCR is an airborne, millimeter-wavelength, dual-polarization, Doppler radar that serves the atmospheric science community by providing cloud remote sensing capabilities for the NSF/NCAR G-V (HIAPER) aircraft. An optimal radar configuration that is capable of maximizing the accuracy of both qualitative and quantitative estimated cloud microphysical and dynamical properties is the most attractive option to the research community. The Technical specifications of cloud radar are optimized for realizing the desired scientific performance for the pod-based configuration. The radar was both ground and flight tested and preliminary measurements of Doppler and polarization measurements were collected. HCR

Lidar characterizations of atmospheric aerosols and clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferrare, R. A.; Hostetler, C. A.; Hair, J. W.; Burton, S. P.

2017-12-01

Knowledge of the vertical profile, composition, concentration, and size distribution of aerosols is required to quantify the impacts of aerosols on human health, global and regional climate, clouds and precipitation. In particular, radiative forcing due to anthropogenic aerosols is the most uncertain part of anthropogenic radiative forcing, with aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI) as the largest source of uncertainty in current estimates of global radiative forcing. Improving aerosol transport model predictions of the vertical profile of aerosol optical and microphysical characteristics is crucial for improving assessments of aerosol radiative forcing. Understanding how aerosols and clouds interact is essential for investigating the aerosol indirect effect and ACI. Through its ability to provide vertical profiles of aerosol and cloud distributions as well as important information regarding the optical and physical properties of aerosols and clouds, lidar is a crucial tool for addressing these science questions. This presentation describes how surface, airborne, and satellite lidar measurements have been used to address these questions, and in particular how High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) measurements provide profiles of aerosol properties (backscatter, extinction, depolarization, concentration, size) important for characterizing radiative forcing. By providing a direct measurement of aerosol extinction, HSRL provides more accurate aerosol measurement profiles and more accurate constraints for models than standard retrievals from elastic backscatter lidar, which loses accuracy and precision at lower altitudes due to attenuation from overlying layers. Information regarding particle size and abundance from advanced lidar retrievals provides better proxies for cloud-condensation-nuclei (CCN), which are required for assessing aerosol-cloud interactions. When combined with data from other sensors, advanced lidar measurements can provide information on aerosol and

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) From Space - Laser Altimeters

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sun, Xiaoli

2016-01-01

Light detection and ranging, or lidar, is like radar but atoptical wavelengths. The principle of operation and theirapplications in remote sensing are similar. Lidars havemany advantages over radars in instrument designs andapplications because of the much shorter laser wavelengthsand narrower beams. The lidar transmitters and receiveroptics are much smaller than radar antenna dishes. Thespatial resolution of lidar measurement is much finer thanthat of radar because of the much smaller footprint size onground. Lidar measurements usually give a better temporalresolution because the laser pulses can be much narrowerthan radio frequency (RF) signals. The major limitation oflidar is the ability to penetrate clouds and ground surfaces.

Liquid Water Cloud Measurements Using the Raman Lidar Technique: Current Understanding and Future Research Needs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tetsu, Sakai; Whiteman, David N.; Russo, Felicita; Turner, David D.; Veselovskii, Igor; Melfi, S. Harvey; Nagai, Tomohiro; Mano, Yuzo

2013-01-01

This paper describes recent work in the Raman lidar liquid water cloud measurement technique. The range-resolved spectral measurements at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center indicate that the Raman backscattering spectra measured in and below low clouds agree well with theoretical spectra for vapor and liquid water. The calibration coefficients of the liquid water measurement for the Raman lidar at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Southern Great Plains site of the U.S. Department of Energy were determined by comparison with the liquid water path (LWP) obtained with Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) and the liquid water content (LWC) obtained with the millimeter wavelength cloud radar and water vapor radiometer (MMCR-WVR) together. These comparisons were used to estimate the Raman liquid water cross-sectional value. The results indicate a bias consistent with an effective liquid water Raman cross-sectional value that is 28%-46% lower than published, which may be explained by the fact that the difference in the detectors' sensitivity has not been accounted for. The LWP of a thin altostratus cloud showed good qualitative agreement between lidar retrievals and AERI. However, the overall ensemble of comparisons of LWP showed considerable scatter, possibly because of the different fields of view of the instruments, the 350-m distance between the instruments, and the horizontal inhomogeneity of the clouds. The LWC profiles for a thick stratus cloud showed agreement between lidar retrievals andMMCR-WVR between the cloud base and 150m above that where the optical depth was less than 3. Areas requiring further research in this technique are discussed.

Cloud Optical Depth Retrievals from Solar Background "signal" of Micropulse Lidars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chiu, J. Christine; Marshak, A.; Wiscombe, W.; Valencia, S.; Welton, E. J.

2007-01-01

Pulsed lidars are commonly used to retrieve vertical distributions of cloud and aerosol layers. It is widely believed that lidar cloud retrievals (other than cloud base altitude) are limited to optically thin clouds. Here we demonstrate that lidars can retrieve optical depths of thick clouds using solar background light as a signal, rather than (as now) merely a noise to be subtracted. Validations against other instruments show that retrieved cloud optical depths agree within 10-15% for overcast stratus and broken clouds. In fact, for broken cloud situations one can retrieve not only the aerosol properties in clear-sky periods using lidar signals, but also the optical depth of thick clouds in cloudy periods using solar background signals. This indicates that, in general, it may be possible to retrieve both aerosol and cloud properties using a single lidar. Thus, lidar observations have great untapped potential to study interactions between clouds and aerosols.

Cloud fraction and cloud base measurements from scanning Doppler lidar during WFIP-2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonin, T.; Long, C.; Lantz, K. O.; Choukulkar, A.; Pichugina, Y. L.; McCarty, B.; Banta, R. M.; Brewer, A.; Marquis, M.

2017-12-01

The second Wind Forecast Improvement Project (WFIP-2) consisted of an 18-month field deployment of a variety of instrumentation with the principle objective of validating and improving NWP forecasts for wind energy applications in complex terrain. As a part of the set of instrumentation, several scanning Doppler lidars were installed across the study domain to primarily measure profiles of the mean wind and turbulence at high-resolution within the planetary boundary layer. In addition to these measurements, Doppler lidar observations can be used to directly quantify the cloud fraction and cloud base, since clouds appear as a high backscatter return. These supplementary measurements of clouds can then be used to validate cloud cover and other properties in NWP output. Herein, statistics of the cloud fraction and cloud base height from the duration of WFIP-2 are presented. Additionally, these cloud fraction estimates from Doppler lidar are compared with similar measurements from a Total Sky Imager and Radiative Flux Analysis (RadFlux) retrievals at the Wasco site. During mostly cloudy to overcast conditions, estimates of the cloud radiating temperature from the RadFlux methodology are also compared with Doppler lidar measured cloud base height.

Lidar Penetration Depth Observations for Constraining Cloud Longwave Feedbacks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaillant de Guelis, T.; Chepfer, H.; Noel, V.; Guzman, R.; Winker, D. M.; Kay, J. E.; Bonazzola, M.

2017-12-01

Satellite-borne active remote sensing Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations [CALIPSO; Winker et al., 2010] and CloudSat [Stephens et al., 2002] provide direct measurements of the cloud vertical distribution, with a very high vertical resolution. The penetration depth of the laser of the lidar Z_Opaque is directly linked to the LongWave (LW) Cloud Radiative Effect (CRE) at Top Of Atmosphere (TOA) [Vaillant de Guélis et al., in review]. In addition, this measurement is extremely stable in time making it an excellent observational candidate to verify and constrain the cloud LW feedback mechanism [Chepfer et al., 2014]. In this work, we present a method to decompose the variations of the LW CRE at TOA using cloud properties observed by lidar [GOCCP v3.0; Guzman et al., 2017]. We decompose these variations into contributions due to changes in five cloud properties: opaque cloud cover, opaque cloud altitude, thin cloud cover, thin cloud altitude, and thin cloud emissivity [Vaillant de Guélis et al., in review]. We apply this method, in the real world, to the CRE variations of CALIPSO 2008-2015 record, and, in climate model, to LMDZ6 and CESM simulations of the CRE variations of 2008-2015 period and of the CRE difference between a warm climate and the current climate. In climate model simulations, the same cloud properties as those observed by CALIOP are extracted from the CFMIP Observation Simulator Package (COSP) [Bodas-Salcedo et al., 2011] lidar simulator [Chepfer et al., 2008], which mimics the observations that would be performed by the lidar on board CALIPSO satellite. This method, when applied on multi-model simulations of current and future climate, could reveal the altitude of cloud opacity level observed by lidar as a strong constrain for cloud LW feedback, since the altitude feedback mechanism is physically explainable and the altitude of cloud opacity accurately observed by lidar.

A methodology for cloud masking uncalibrated lidar signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Binietoglou, Ioannis; D'Amico, Giuseppe; Baars, Holger; Belegante, Livio; Marinou, Eleni

2018-04-01

Most lidar processing algorithms, such as those included in EARLINET's Single Calculus Chain, can be applied only to cloud-free atmospheric scenes. In this paper, we present a methodology for masking clouds in uncalibrated lidar signals. First, we construct a reference dataset based on manual inspection and then train a classifier to separate clouds and cloud-free regions. Here we present details of this approach together with an example cloud masks from an EARLINET station.

New Cloud Science from the New ARM Cloud Radar Systems (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiscombe, W. J.

2010-12-01

The DOE ARM Program is deploying over $30M worth of scanning polarimetric Doppler radars at its four fixed and two mobile sites, with the object of advancing cloud lifecycle science, and cloud-aerosol-precipitation interaction science, by a quantum leap. As of 2011, there will be 13 scanning radar systems to complement its existing array of profiling cloud radars: C-band for precipitation, X-band for drizzle and precipitation, and two-frequency radars for cloud droplets and drizzle. This will make ARM the world’s largest science user of, and largest provider of data from, ground-based cloud radars. The philosophy behind this leap is actually quite simple, to wit: dimensionality really does matter. Just as 2D turbulence is fundamentally different from 3D turbulence, so observing clouds only at zenith provides a dimensionally starved, and sometimes misleading, picture of real clouds. In particular, the zenith view can say little or nothing about cloud lifecycle and the second indirect effect, nor about aerosol-precipitation interactions. It is not even particularly good at retrieving the cloud fraction (no matter how that slippery quantity is defined). This talk will review the history that led to this development and then discuss the aspirations for how this will propel cloud-aerosol-precipitation science forward. The step by step plan for translating raw radar data into information that is useful to cloud and aerosol scientists and climate modelers will be laid out, with examples from ARM’s recent scanning cloud radar deployments in the Azores and Oklahoma . In the end, the new systems should allow cloud systems to be understood as 4D coherent entities rather than dimensionally crippled 2D or 3D entities such as observed by satellites and zenith-pointing radars.

Lidar Cloud Detection with Fully Convolutional Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cromwell, E.; Flynn, D.

2017-12-01

The vertical distribution of clouds from active remote sensing instrumentation is a widely used data product from global atmospheric measuring sites. The presence of clouds can be expressed as a binary cloud mask and is a primary input for climate modeling efforts and cloud formation studies. Current cloud detection algorithms producing these masks do not accurately identify the cloud boundaries and tend to oversample or over-represent the cloud. This translates as uncertainty for assessing the radiative impact of clouds and tracking changes in cloud climatologies. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program has over 20 years of micro-pulse lidar (MPL) and High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) instrument data and companion automated cloud mask product at the mid-latitude Southern Great Plains (SGP) and the polar North Slope of Alaska (NSA) atmospheric observatory. Using this data, we train a fully convolutional network (FCN) with semi-supervised learning to segment lidar imagery into geometric time-height cloud locations for the SGP site and MPL instrument. We then use transfer learning to train a FCN for (1) the MPL instrument at the NSA site and (2) for the HSRL. In our semi-supervised approach, we pre-train the classification layers of the FCN with weakly labeled lidar data. Then, we facilitate end-to-end unsupervised pre-training and transition to fully supervised learning with ground truth labeled data. Our goal is to improve the cloud mask accuracy and precision for the MPL instrument to 95% and 80%, respectively, compared to the current cloud mask algorithms of 89% and 50%. For the transfer learning based FCN for the HSRL instrument, our goal is to achieve a cloud mask accuracy of 90% and a precision of 80%.

Lidar cloud studies for FIRE and ECLIPS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sassen, Kenneth; Grund, Christian J.; Spinhirne, James D.; Hardesty, Michael; Alvarez, James

1990-01-01

Optical remote sensing measurements of cirrus cloud properties were collected by one airborne and four ground-based lidar systems over a 32 h period during this case study from the First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program) Regional Experiment (FIRE) Intensive Field Observation (IFO) program. The lidar systems were variously equipped to collect linear depolarization, intrinsically calibrated backscatter, and Doppler velocity information. Data presented describe the temporal evolution and spatial distribution of cirrus clouds over an area encompassing southern and central Wisconsin. The cirrus cloud types include: dissipating subvisual and thin fibrous cirrus cloud bands, an isolated mesoscale uncinus complex (MUC), a large-scale deep cloud that developed into an organized cirrus structure within the lidar array, and a series of intensifying mesoscale cirrus cloud masses. Although the cirrus frequently developed in the vertical from particle fall-streaks emanating from generating regions at or near cloud tops, glaciating supercooled (-30 to -35 C) altocumulus clouds contributed to the production of ice mass at the base of the deep cirrus cloud, apparently even through riming, and other mechanisms involving evaporation, wave motions, and radiative effects are indicated. The generating regions ranged in scale from approximately 1.0 km cirrus uncinus cells, to organized MUC structures up to approximately 120 km across.

Using Lidar and Radar measurements to constrain predictions of forest ecosystem structure and function.

PubMed

Antonarakis, Alexander S; Saatchi, Sassan S; Chazdon, Robin L; Moorcroft, Paul R

2011-06-01

Insights into vegetation and aboveground biomass dynamics within terrestrial ecosystems have come almost exclusively from ground-based forest inventories that are limited in their spatial extent. Lidar and synthetic-aperture Radar are promising remote-sensing-based techniques for obtaining comprehensive measurements of forest structure at regional to global scales. In this study we investigate how Lidar-derived forest heights and Radar-derived aboveground biomass can be used to constrain the dynamics of the ED2 terrestrial biosphere model. Four-year simulations initialized with Lidar and Radar structure variables were compared against simulations initialized from forest-inventory data and output from a long-term potential-vegtation simulation. Both height and biomass initializations from Lidar and Radar measurements significantly improved the representation of forest structure within the model, eliminating the bias of too many large trees that arose in the potential-vegtation-initialized simulation. The Lidar and Radar initializations decreased the proportion of larger trees estimated by the potential vegetation by approximately 20-30%, matching the forest inventory. This resulted in improved predictions of ecosystem-scale carbon fluxes and structural dynamics compared to predictions from the potential-vegtation simulation. The Radar initialization produced biomass values that were 75% closer to the forest inventory, with Lidar initializations producing canopy height values closest to the forest inventory. Net primary production values for the Radar and Lidar initializations were around 6-8% closer to the forest inventory. Correcting the Lidar and Radar initializations for forest composition resulted in improved biomass and basal-area dynamics as well as leaf-area index. Correcting the Lidar and Radar initializations for forest composition and fine-scale structure by combining the remote-sensing measurements with ground-based inventory data further improved

Cloud Size Distributions from Multi-sensor Observations of Shallow Cumulus Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kleiss, J.; Riley, E.; Kassianov, E.; Long, C. N.; Riihimaki, L.; Berg, L. K.

2017-12-01

Combined radar-lidar observations have been used for almost two decades to document temporal changes of shallow cumulus clouds at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Facility's Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma, USA. Since the ARM zenith-pointed radars and lidars have a narrow field-of-view (FOV), the documented cloud statistics, such as distributions of cloud chord length (or horizontal length scale), represent only a slice along the wind direction of a region surrounding the SGP site, and thus may not be representative for this region. To investigate this impact, we compare cloud statistics obtained from wide-FOV sky images collected by ground-based observations at the SGP site to those from the narrow FOV active sensors. The main wide-FOV cloud statistics considered are cloud area distributions of shallow cumulus clouds, which are frequently required to evaluate model performance, such as routine large eddy simulation (LES) currently being conducted by the ARM LASSO (LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation) project. We obtain complementary macrophysical properties of shallow cumulus clouds, such as cloud chord length, base height and thickness, from the combined radar-lidar observations. To better understand the broader observational context where these narrow FOV cloud statistics occur, we compare them to collocated and coincident cloud area distributions from wide-FOV sky images and high-resolution satellite images. We discuss the comparison results and illustrate the possibility to generate a long-term climatology of cloud size distributions from multi-sensor observations at the SGP site.

Phase-partitioning in mixed-phase clouds - An approach to characterize the entire vertical column

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalesse, H.; Luke, E. P.; Seifert, P.

2017-12-01

The characterization of the entire vertical profile of phase-partitioning in mixed-phase clouds is a challenge which can be addressed by synergistic profiling measurements with ground-based polarization lidars and cloud radars. While lidars are sensitive to small particles and can thus detect supercooled liquid (SCL) layers, cloud radar returns are dominated by larger particles (like ice crystals). The maximum lidar observation height is determined by complete signal attenuation at a penetrated optical depth of about three. In contrast, cloud radars are able to penetrate multiple liquid layers and can thus be used to expand the identification of cloud phase to the entire vertical column beyond the lidar extinction height, if morphological features in the radar Doppler spectrum can be related to the existence of SCL. Relevant spectral signatures such as bimodalities and spectral skewness can be related to cloud phase by training a neural network appropriately in a supervised learning scheme, with lidar measurements functioning as supervisor. The neural network output (prediction of SCL location) derived using cloud radar Doppler spectra can be evaluated with several parameters such as liquid water path (LWP) detected by microwave radiometer (MWR) and (liquid) cloud base detected by ceilometer or Raman lidar. The technique has been previously tested on data from Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) instruments in Barrow, Alaska and is in this study utilized for observations from the Leipzig Aerosol and Cloud Remote Observations System (LACROS) during the Analysis of the Composition of Clouds with Extended Polarization Techniques (ACCEPT) field experiment in Cabauw, Netherlands in Fall 2014. Comparisons to supercooled-liquid layers as classified by CLOUDNET are provided.

Parameterization of cloud lidar backscattering profiles by means of asymmetrical Gaussians

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

del Guasta, Massimo; Morandi, Marco; Stefanutti, Leopoldo

1995-06-01

A fitting procedure for cloud lidar data processing is shown that is based on the computation of the first three moments of the vertical-backscattering (or -extinction) profile. Single-peak clouds or single cloud layers are approximated to asymmetrical Gaussians. The algorithm is particularly stable with respect to noise and processing errors, and it is much faster than the equivalent least-squares approach. Multilayer clouds can easily be treated as a sum of single asymmetrical Gaussian peaks. The method is suitable for cloud-shape parametrization in noisy lidar signatures (like those expected from satellite lidars). It also permits an improvement of cloud radiative-property computations that are based on huge lidar data sets for which storage and careful examination of single lidar profiles can't be carried out.

First observations of tracking clouds using scanning ARM cloud radars

DOE PAGES

Borque, Paloma; Giangrande, Scott; Kollias, Pavlos

2014-12-01

Tracking clouds using scanning cloud radars can help to document the temporal evolution of cloud properties well before large drop formation (‘‘first echo’’). These measurements complement cloud and precipitation tracking using geostationary satellites and weather radars. Here, two-dimensional (2-D) Along-Wind Range Height Indicator (AW-RHI) observations of a population of shallow cumuli (with and without precipitation) from the 35-GHz scanning ARM cloud radar (SACR) at the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) program Southern Great Plains (SGP) site are presented. Observations from the ARM SGP network of scanning precipitation radars are used to provide the larger scale context of the cloud fieldmore » and to highlight the advantages of the SACR to detect the numerous, small, non-precipitating cloud elements. A new Cloud Identification and Tracking Algorithm (CITA) is developed to track cloud elements. In CITA, a cloud element is identified as a region having a contiguous set of pixels exceeding a preset reflectivity and size threshold. The high temporal resolution of the SACR 2-D observations (30 sec) allows for an area superposition criteria algorithm to match cloud elements at consecutive times. Following CITA, the temporal evolution of cloud element properties (number, size, and maximum reflectivity) is presented. The vast majority of the designated elements during this cumulus event were short-lived non-precipitating clouds having an apparent life cycle shorter than 15 minutes. The advantages and disadvantages of cloud tracking using an SACR are discussed.« less

First observations of tracking clouds using scanning ARM cloud radars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Borque, Paloma; Giangrande, Scott; Kollias, Pavlos

Tracking clouds using scanning cloud radars can help to document the temporal evolution of cloud properties well before large drop formation (‘‘first echo’’). These measurements complement cloud and precipitation tracking using geostationary satellites and weather radars. Here, two-dimensional (2-D) Along-Wind Range Height Indicator (AW-RHI) observations of a population of shallow cumuli (with and without precipitation) from the 35-GHz scanning ARM cloud radar (SACR) at the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) program Southern Great Plains (SGP) site are presented. Observations from the ARM SGP network of scanning precipitation radars are used to provide the larger scale context of the cloud fieldmore » and to highlight the advantages of the SACR to detect the numerous, small, non-precipitating cloud elements. A new Cloud Identification and Tracking Algorithm (CITA) is developed to track cloud elements. In CITA, a cloud element is identified as a region having a contiguous set of pixels exceeding a preset reflectivity and size threshold. The high temporal resolution of the SACR 2-D observations (30 sec) allows for an area superposition criteria algorithm to match cloud elements at consecutive times. Following CITA, the temporal evolution of cloud element properties (number, size, and maximum reflectivity) is presented. The vast majority of the designated elements during this cumulus event were short-lived non-precipitating clouds having an apparent life cycle shorter than 15 minutes. The advantages and disadvantages of cloud tracking using an SACR are discussed.« less

Determining Cloud Thermodynamic Phase from Micropulse Lidar Network Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewis, Jasper R.; Campbell, James; Lolli, Simone; Tan, Ivy; Welton, Ellsworth J.

2017-01-01

Determining cloud thermodynamic phase is a critical factor in studies of Earth's radiation budget. Here we use observations from the NASA Micro Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) and thermodynamic profiles from the Goddard Earth Observing System, version 5 (GEOS-5) to distinguish liquid water, mixed-phase, and ice water clouds. The MPLNET provides sparse global, autonomous, and continuous measurements of clouds and aerosols which have been used in a number of scientific investigations to date. The use of a standardized instrument and a common suite of data processing algorithms with thorough uncertainty characterization allows for straightforward comparisons between sites. Lidars with polarization capabilities have recently been incorporated into the MPLNET project which allows, for the first time, the ability to infer a cloud thermodynamic phase. This presentation will look specifically at the occurrence of ice and mixed phase clouds in the temperature region of -10 C to -40 C for different climatological regions and seasons. We compare MPLNET occurrences of mixed-phase clouds to an historical climatology based on observations from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument aboard the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) spacecraft.

Determining cloud thermodynamic phase from Micropulse Lidar Network data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, J. R.; Campbell, J. R.; Lolli, S.; Tan, I.; Welton, E. J.

2017-12-01

Determining cloud thermodynamic phase is a critical factor in studies of Earth's radiation budget. Here we use observations from the NASA Micropulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) and thermodynamic profiles from the Goddard Earth Observing System, version 5 (GEOS-5) to distinguish liquid water, mixed-phase, and ice water clouds. The MPLNET provides sparse global, autonomous, and continuous measurements of clouds and aerosols which have been used in a number of scientific investigations to date. The use of a standardized instrument and a common suite of data processing algorithms with thorough uncertainty characterization allows for straightforward comparisons between sites. Lidars with polarization capabilities have recently been incorporated into the MPLNET project which allows, for the first time, the ability to infer a cloud thermodynamic phase. This presentation will look specifically at the occurrence of ice and mixed phase clouds in the temperature region of 0 °C to -40 °C for different climatological regions and seasons. We compare MPLNET occurrences of mixed-phase clouds to an historical climatology based on observations from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) instrument aboard the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) spacecraft.

Simulation Studies of Forest Structure using 3D Lidar and Radar Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sun, Guoqing; Ranson, K. Jon; Koetz, Benjamin; Liu, Dawei

2007-01-01

The use of lidars and radars to measure forest structure attributes such as height and biomass are being considered for future Earth Observation missions. Large footprint lidar makes a direct measurement of the heights of scatterers in the illuminated footprint and can yield information about the vertical profile of the canopy. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) is known to sense the canopy volume, especially at longer wavelengths and is useful for estimating biomass. Interferometric SAR (InSAR) has been shown to yield forest canopy height information. For example, the height of scattering phase retrieved from InSAR data is considered to be correlated with the three height and the spatial structure of the forest stand. There is much interest in exploiting these technologies separately and together to get important information for carbon cycle and ecosystem science. More detailed information of the electromagnetic radiation interactions within forest canopies is needed. And backscattering models can be of much utility here. As part of a NASA funded project to explore data fusion, a three-dimensional (3D) coherent radar backscattering model and a 3D lidar backscatter models were used to investigate the use of large footprint lidar, SAR and InSAR for characterizing realistic forest scenes. For this paper, we use stem maps and other forest measurements to develop a realistic spatial structure of a spruce-hemlock forest canopy found in Maine, USA. The radar and lidar models used measurements of the 3D forest scene as input and simulated the coherent radar backscattering signature and 1064nm energy backscatter, respectively. The relationships of backscatter derived forest structure were compared with field measurements. In addition, we also had detailed airborne lidar (Laser Imaging Vegetation Sensor, LVIS) data available over the stem map sites that was used to study the accuracies of tree height derived from modeled SAR backscatter and the scattering phase center retrieved

Development of lidar sensor for cloud-based measurements during convective conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vishnu, R.; Bhavani Kumar, Y.; Rao, T. Narayana; Nair, Anish Kumar M.; Jayaraman, A.

2016-05-01

Atmospheric convection is a natural phenomena associated with heat transport. Convection is strong during daylight periods and rigorous in summer months. Severe ground heating associated with strong winds experienced during these periods. Tropics are considered as the source regions for strong convection. Formation of thunder storm clouds is common during this period. Location of cloud base and its associated dynamics is important to understand the influence of convection on the atmosphere. Lidars are sensitive to Mie scattering and are the suitable instruments for locating clouds in the atmosphere than instruments utilizing the radio frequency spectrum. Thunder storm clouds are composed of hydrometers and strongly scatter the laser light. Recently, a lidar technique was developed at National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), a Department of Space (DOS) unit, located at Gadanki near Tirupati. The lidar technique employs slant path operation and provides high resolution measurements on cloud base location in real-time. The laser based remote sensing technique allows measurement of atmosphere for every second at 7.5 m range resolution. The high resolution data permits assessment of updrafts at the cloud base. The lidar also provides real-time convective boundary layer height using aerosols as the tracers of atmospheric dynamics. The developed lidar sensor is planned for up-gradation with scanning facility to understand the cloud dynamics in the spatial direction. In this presentation, we present the lidar sensor technology and utilization of its technology for high resolution cloud base measurements during convective conditions over lidar site, Gadanki.

Frequency-agile dual-frequency lidar for integrated coherent radar-lidar architectures.

PubMed

Vercesi, Valeria; Onori, Daniel; Laghezza, Francesco; Scotti, Filippo; Bogoni, Antonella; Scaffardi, Mirco

2015-04-01

We propose a novel architecture for implementing a dual-frequency lidar (DFL) exploiting differential Doppler shift measurement. The two frequency tones, needed for target velocity measurements, are selected from the spectrum of a mode-locked laser operating in the C-band. The tones' separation is easily controlled by using a programmable wavelength selective switch, thus allowing for a dynamic trade-off among robustness to atmospheric turbulence and sensitivity. Speed measurements for different tone separations equal to 10, 40, 80, and 160 GHz are demonstrated, proving the system's capability of working in different configurations. Thanks to the acquisition system based on an analog-to-digital converter and digital-signal processing, real-time velocity measurements are demonstrated. The MLL-based proposed architecture enables the integration of the DFL with a photonic-based radar that exploits the same laser for generating and receiving radio-frequency signal with high performance, thus allowing for simultaneous or complementary target observations by exploiting the advantages of both radar and lidar.

The first observed cloud echoes and microphysical parameter retrievals by China's 94-GHz cloud radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Juxiu; Wei, Ming; Hang, Xin; Zhou, Jie; Zhang, Peichang; Li, Nan

2014-06-01

By using the cloud echoes first successfully observed by China's indigenous 94-GHz SKY cloud radar, the macrostructure and microphysical properties of drizzling stratocumulus clouds in Anhui Province on 8 June 2013 are analyzed, and the detection capability of this cloud radar is discussed. The results are as follows. (1) The cloud radar is able to observe the time-varying macroscopic and microphysical parameters of clouds, and it can reveal the microscopic structure and small-scale changes of clouds. (2) The velocity spectral width of cloud droplets is small, but the spectral width of the cloud containing both cloud droplets and drizzle is large. When the spectral width is more than 0.4 m s-1, the radar reflectivity factor is larger (over -10 dBZ). (3) The radar's sensitivity is comparatively higher because the minimum radar reflectivity factor is about -35 dBZ in this experiment, which exceeds the threshold for detecting the linear depolarized ratio (LDR) of stratocumulus (commonly -11 to -14 dBZ; decreases with increasing turbulence). (4) After distinguishing of cloud droplets from drizzle, cloud liquid water content and particle effective radius are retrieved. The liquid water content of drizzle is lower than that of cloud droplets at the same radar reflectivity factor.

Applicability Analysis of Cloth Simulation Filtering Algorithm for Mobile LIDAR Point Cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cai, S.; Zhang, W.; Qi, J.; Wan, P.; Shao, J.; Shen, A.

2018-04-01

Classifying the original point clouds into ground and non-ground points is a key step in LiDAR (light detection and ranging) data post-processing. Cloth simulation filtering (CSF) algorithm, which based on a physical process, has been validated to be an accurate, automatic and easy-to-use algorithm for airborne LiDAR point cloud. As a new technique of three-dimensional data collection, the mobile laser scanning (MLS) has been gradually applied in various fields, such as reconstruction of digital terrain models (DTM), 3D building modeling and forest inventory and management. Compared with airborne LiDAR point cloud, there are some different features (such as point density feature, distribution feature and complexity feature) for mobile LiDAR point cloud. Some filtering algorithms for airborne LiDAR data were directly used in mobile LiDAR point cloud, but it did not give satisfactory results. In this paper, we explore the ability of the CSF algorithm for mobile LiDAR point cloud. Three samples with different shape of the terrain are selected to test the performance of this algorithm, which respectively yields total errors of 0.44 %, 0.77 % and1.20 %. Additionally, large area dataset is also tested to further validate the effectiveness of this algorithm, and results show that it can quickly and accurately separate point clouds into ground and non-ground points. In summary, this algorithm is efficient and reliable for mobile LiDAR point cloud.

Lidar cirrus cloud retrieval - methodology and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larroza, Eliane; Keckhut, Philippe; Nakaema, Walter; Brogniez, Gérard; Dubuisson, Philippe; Pelon, Jacques; Duflot, Valentin; Marquestaut, Nicolas; Payen, Guillaume

2016-04-01

In the last decades numerical modeling has experimented sensitive improvements on accuracy and capability for climate predictions. In the same time it has demanded the reduction of uncertainties related with the respective input parameters. In this context, high altitude clouds (cirrus) have attracted special attention for their role as radiative forcing. Also such clouds are associated with the vertical transport of water vapor from the surface to upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (URLS) in form of ice crystals with variability of concentration and morphology. Still cirrus formation can occur spatially and temporally in great part of the globe due to horizontal motion of air masses and circulations. Determining accurately the physical properties of cirrus clouds still represents a challenge. Especially the so-called subvisible cirrus clouds (optical depth inferior to 0.03) are invisible for space-based passive observations. On the other hand, ground based active remote sensing as lidar can be used to suppress such deficiency. Lidar signal can provide spatial and temporal high resolution to characterize physically (height, geometric thickness, mean temperature) and optically (optical depth, extinction-to-scattering ratio or lidar ratio, depolarization ratio) the cirrus clouds. This report describes the evolution of the methodology initially adopted to retrieval systematically the lidar ratio and the subsequent application on case studies and climatology on the tropical sites of the globe - São Paulo, Brazil (23.33 S, 46.44 W) and OPAR observatory at Ille de La Réunion (21.07 S, 55.38 W). Also is attempting a synergy between different instrumentations and lidar measurements: a infrared radiometer to estimate the kind of ice crystals compounding the clouds; CALIPSO satellite observations and trajectory model (HYSPLIT) for tracking air masses potentially responsible for the horizontal displacement of cirrus. This last approach is particularly interesting to

Lidar measurements of boundary layers, aerosol scattering and clouds during project FIFE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eloranta, Edwin W. (Principal Investigator)

1995-01-01

A detailed account of progress achieved under this grant funding is contained in five journal papers. The titles of these papers are: The calculation of area-averaged vertical profiles of the horizontal wind velocity using volume imaging lidar data; Volume imaging lidar observation of the convective structure surrounding the flight path of an instrumented aircraft; Convective boundary layer mean depths, cloud base altitudes, cloud top altitudes, cloud coverages, and cloud shadows obtained from Volume Imaging Lidar data; An accuracy analysis of the wind profiles calculated from Volume Imaging Lidar data; and Calculation of divergence and vertical motion from volume-imaging lidar data. Copies of these papers form the body of this report.

Aircraft-Induced Hole Punch and Canal Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heymsfield, A. J.; Kennedy, P.; Massie, S. T.; Schmitt, C. G.; Wang, Z.; Haimov, S.; Rangno, A.

2009-12-01

The production of holes and channels in altocumulus clouds by two commercial turboprop aircraft is documented for the first time. An unprecedented data set combining in situ measurements from microphysical probes with remote sensing measurements from cloud radar and lidar, all operating from the NSF/NCAR C130 aircraft, as well as ground-based NOAA and CSU radars, is used to describe the radar/lidar properties of a hole punch cloud and channel and the ensuing ice microphysical properties and structure of the ice column that subsequently developed. Ice particle production by commercial turboprop aircraft climbing through clouds much warmer than the regions where contrails are produced has the potential to modify significantly the cloud microphysical properties and effectively seed them under some conditions. Jet aircraft may also be producing hole punch clouds when flying through altocumulus with supercooled droplets at heights lower than their normal cruise altitudes where contrails can form. Commercial aircraft therefore can generate ice and affect the clouds at temperatures as much as 30°C warmer than the -40°C contrail formation threshold temperature.

Cloud Type Classification (cldtype) Value-Added Product

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Flynn, Donna; Shi, Yan; Lim, K-S

The Cloud Type (cldtype) value-added product (VAP) provides an automated cloud type classification based on macrophysical quantities derived from vertically pointing lidar and radar. Up to 10 layers of clouds are classified into seven cloud types based on predetermined and site-specific thresholds of cloud top, base and thickness. Examples of thresholds for selected U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility sites are provided in Tables 1 and 2. Inputs for the cldtype VAP include lidar and radar cloud boundaries obtained from the Active Remotely Sensed Cloud Location (ARSCL) and Surface Meteorological Systems (MET) data. Rainmore » rates from MET are used to determine when radar signal attenuation precludes accurate cloud detection. Temporal resolution and vertical resolution for cldtype are 1 minute and 30 m respectively and match the resolution of ARSCL. The cldtype classification is an initial step for further categorization of clouds. It was developed for use by the Shallow Cumulus VAP to identify potential periods of interest to the LASSO model and is intended to find clouds of interest for a variety of users.« less

Using Radar, Lidar and Radiometer Data from NSA and SHEBA to Quantify Cloud Property Effects on the Surface Heat Budget in the Arctic

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Janet Intrieri; Mathhew Shupe

2005-01-01

Cloud and radiation data from two distinctly different Arctic areas are analyzed to study the differences between coastal Alaskan and open Arctic Ocean region clouds and their respective influence on the surface radiation budget. The cloud and radiation datasets were obtained from (1) the DOE North Slope of Alaska (NSA) facility in the coastal town of Barrow, Alaska, and (2) the SHEBA field program, which was conducted from an icebreaker frozen in, and drifting with, the sea-ice for one year in the Western Arctic Ocean. Radar, lidar, radiometer, and sounding measurements from both locations were used to produce annual cyclesmore » of cloud occurrence and height, atmospheric temperature and humidity, surface longwave and shortwave broadband fluxes, surface albedo, and cloud radiative forcing. In general, both regions revealed a similar annual trend of cloud occurrence fraction with minimum values in winter (60-75%) and maximum values during spring, summer and fall (80-90%). However, the annual average cloud occurrence fraction for SHEBA (76%) was lower than the 6-year average cloud occurrence at NSA (92%). Both Arctic areas also showed similar annual cycle trends of cloud forcing with clouds warming the surface through most of the year and a period of surface cooling during the summer, when cloud shading effects overwhelm cloud greenhouse effects. The greatest difference between the two regions was observed in the magnitude of the cloud cooling effect (i.e., shortwave cloud forcing), which was significantly stronger at NSA and lasted for a longer period of time than at SHEBA. This is predominantly due to the longer and stronger melt season at NSA (i.e., albedo values that are much lower coupled with Sun angles that are somewhat higher) than the melt season observed over the ice pack at SHEBA. Longwave cloud forcing values were comparable between the two sites indicating a general similarity in cloudiness and atmospheric temperature and humidity structure between

Fractal properties and denoising of lidar signals from cirrus clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van den Heuvel, J. C.; Driesenaar, M. L.; Lerou, R. J. L.

2000-02-01

Airborne lidar signals of cirrus clouds are analyzed to determine the cloud structure. Climate modeling and numerical weather prediction benefit from accurate modeling of cirrus clouds. Airborne lidar measurements of the European Lidar in Space Technology Experiment (ELITE) campaign were analyzed by combining shots to obtain the backscatter at constant altitude. The signal at high altitude was analyzed for horizontal structure of cirrus clouds. The power spectrum and the structure function show straight lines on a double logarithmic plot. This behavior is characteristic for a Brownian fractal. Wavelet analysis using the Haar wavelet confirms the fractal aspects. It is shown that the horizontal structure of cirrus can be described by a fractal with a dimension of 1.8 over length scales that vary 4 orders of magnitude. We use the fractal properties in a new denoising method. Denoising is required for future lidar measurements from space that have a low signal to noise ratio. Our wavelet denoising is based on the Haar wavelet and uses the statistical fractal properties of cirrus clouds in a method based on the maximum a posteriori (MAP) probability. This denoising based on wavelets is tested on airborne lidar signals from ELITE using added Gaussian noise. Superior results with respect to averaging are obtained.

Validating Lidar Depolorization Calibration using Solar Radiation Scattered by Ice Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Zhao-Yang; McGill, Matthew; Hu, Yong-Xiang; Hostetter, Chris; Winker, David; Vaughan, Mark

2004-01-01

This letter proposes the use of solar background radiation scattered by ice clouds for validating space lidar depolarization calibration. The method takes advantage of the fact that the background light scattered by ice clouds is almost entirely unpolarized. The theory is examined with Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) background light measurements.

Cloud Coverage and Height Distribution from the GLAS Polar Orbiting Lidar: Comparison to Passive Cloud Retrievals

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spinhime, J. D.; Palm, S. P.; Hlavka, D. L.; Hart, W. D.; Mahesh, A.

2004-01-01

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) began full on orbit operations in September 2003. A main application of the two-wavelength GLAS lidar is highly accurate detection and profiling of global cloud cover. Initial analysis indicates that cloud and aerosol layers are consistently detected on a global basis to cross-sections down to 10(exp -6) per meter. Images of the lidar data dramatically and accurately show the vertical structure of cloud and aerosol to the limit of signal attenuation. The GLAS lidar has made the most accurate measurement of global cloud coverage and height to date. In addition to the calibrated lidar signal, GLAS data products include multi level boundaries and optical depth of all transmissive layers. Processing includes a multi-variable separation of cloud and aerosol layers. An initial application of the data results is to compare monthly cloud means from several months of GLAS observations in 2003 to existing cloud climatologies from other satellite measurement. In some cases direct comparison to passive cloud retrievals is possible. A limitation of the lidar measurements is nadir only sampling. However monthly means exhibit reasonably good global statistics and coverage results, at other than polar regions, compare well with other measurements but show significant differences in height distribution. For polar regions where passive cloud retrievals are problematic and where orbit track density is greatest, the GLAS results are particularly an advance in cloud cover information. Direct comparison to MODIS retrievals show a better than 90% agreement in cloud detection for daytime, but less than 60% at night. Height retrievals are in much less agreement. GLAS is a part of the NASA EOS project and data products are thus openly available to the science community (see http://glo.gsfc.nasa.gov).

Airborne lidar and radiometric observations of PBL- and low clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flamant, P. H.; Valentin, R.; Pelon, J.

1992-01-01

Boundary layer- and low altitude clouds over open ocean and continent areas have been studied during several field campaigns since mid-1990 using the French airborne backscatter lidar LEANDRE in conjunction with on-board IR and visible radiometers. LEANDRE is an automatic system, and a modification of the instrumental parameters, when airborne, is computer controlled through an operator keyboard. The vertical range squared lidar signals and instrument status are displayed in real time on two dedicated monitors. The lidar is used either down- or up-looking while the aircraft is flying above or below clouds. A switching of the viewing configuration takes about a minute. The lidar measurements provide a high resolution description of cloud morphology and holes in cloud layers. The flights were conducted during various meteorological conditions on single or multilayer stratocumulus and cumulus decks. Analysis on a single shot basis of cloud top (or bottom) altitude and a plot of the corresponding histogram allows one to determine a probability density function (PDF). The preliminary results show the PDFs for cloud top are not Gaussian and symmetric about the mean value. The skewness varies with atmospheric conditions. An example of results recorded over the Atlantic ocean near Biarritz is displayed, showing: (1) the range squared lidar signals as a function of time (here 100 s corresponds to about 8 km, 60 shots are averaged on horizontal); the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) - up to 600 m - is observed at the beginning of the leg as well as on surface returns, giving an indication of the porosity; (2) the cloud top altitude variation between 2.4 to 2.8 km during the 150 to 320 s section; and (3) the corresponding PDF. Similar results are obtained on stratocumulus over land. Single shot measurements can be used also to determine an optical porosity at a small scale as well as a fractional cloudiness at a larger scale. A comparison of cloud top altitude retrieved from

Amplification of radar and lidar signatures using quantum sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lanzagorta, Marco

2013-05-01

One of the major scientific thrusts from recent years has been to try to harness quantum phenomena to dramat­ ically increase the performance of a wide variety of classical devices. These advances in quantum information science have had a considerable impact on the development of photonic-based quantum sensors. Even though quantum radar and quantum lidar remain theoretical proposals, preliminary results suggest that these sensors have the potential of becoming disruptive technologies able to revolutionize reconnaissance systems. In this paper we will discuss how quantum entanglement can be exploited to increase the radar and lidar signature of rectangular targets. In particular, we will show how the effective visibility of the target is increased if observed with an entangled multi-photon quantum sensor.

Ice Cloud Optical Thickness and Extinction Estimates from Radar Measurements.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matrosov, Sergey Y.; Shupe, Matthew D.; Heymsfield, Andrew J.; Zuidema, Paquita

2003-11-01

A remote sensing method is proposed to derive vertical profiles of the visible extinction coefficients in ice clouds from measurements of the radar reflectivity and Doppler velocity taken by a vertically pointing 35-GHz cloud radar. The extinction coefficient and its vertical integral, optical thickness τ, are among the fundamental cloud optical parameters that, to a large extent, determine the radiative impact of clouds. The results obtained with this method could be used as input for different climate and radiation models and for comparisons with parameterizations that relate cloud microphysical parameters and optical properties. An important advantage of the proposed method is its potential applicability to multicloud situations and mixed-phase conditions. In the latter case, it might be able to provide the information on the ice component of mixed-phase clouds if the radar moments are dominated by this component. The uncertainties of radar-based retrievals of cloud visible optical thickness are estimated by comparing retrieval results with optical thicknesses obtained independently from radiometric measurements during the yearlong Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) field experiment. The radiometric measurements provide a robust way to estimate τ but are applicable only to optically thin ice clouds without intervening liquid layers. The comparisons of cloud optical thicknesses retrieved from radar and from radiometer measurements indicate an uncertainty of about 77% and a bias of about -14% in the radar estimates of τ relative to radiometric retrievals. One possible explanation of the negative bias is an inherently low sensitivity of radar measurements to smaller cloud particles that still contribute noticeably to the cloud extinction. This estimate of the uncertainty is in line with simple theoretical considerations, and the associated retrieval accuracy should be considered good for a nonoptical instrument, such as radar. This paper also

The Experimental Cloud Lidar Pilot Study (ECLIPS) for cloud-radiation research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Platt, C. M.; Young, S. A.; Carswell, A. I.; Pal, S. R.; Mccormick, M. P.; Winker, D. M.; Delguasta, M.; Stefanutti, L.; Eberhard, W. L.; Hardesty, M.

1994-01-01

The Experimental Cloud Lidar Pilot Study (ECLIPS) was initiated to obtain statistics on cloud-base height, extinction, optical depth, cloud brokenness, and surface fluxes. Two observational phases have taken place, in October-December 1989 and April-July 1991, with intensive 30-day periods being selected within the two time intervals. Data are being archived at NASA Langley Research Center and, once there, are readily available to the international scientific community. This article describes the scale of the study in terms of its international involvement and in the range of data being recorded. Lidar observations of cloud height and backscatter coefficient have been taken from a number of ground-based stations spread around the globe. Solar shortwave and infrared longwave fluxes and infrared beam radiance have been measured at the surface wherever possible. The observations have been tailored to occur around the overpass times of the NOAA weather satellites. This article describes in some detail the various retrieval methods used to obtain results on cloud-base height, extinction coefficient, and infrared emittance, paying particular attention to the uncertainties involved.

LiDAR Point Cloud and Stereo Image Point Cloud Fusion

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

LiDAR point cloud (right) highlighting linear edge features ideal for automatic registration...point cloud (right) highlighting linear edge features ideal for automatic registration. Areas where topography is being derived, unfortunately, do...with the least amount of automatic correlation errors was used. The following graphic (Figure 12) shows the coverage of the WV1 stereo triplet as

Report on the Radar/PIREP Cloud Top Discrepancy Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wheeler, Mark M.

1997-01-01

This report documents the results of the Applied Meteorology Unit's (AMU) investigation of inconsistencies between pilot reported cloud top heights and weather radar indicated echo top heights (assumed to be cloud tops) as identified by the 45 Weather Squadron (45WS). The objective for this study is to document and understand the differences in echo top characteristics as displayed on both the WSR-88D and WSR-74C radars and cloud top heights reported by the contract weather aircraft in support of space launch operations at Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS), Florida. These inconsistencies are of operational concern since various Launch Commit Criteria (LCC) and Flight Rules (FR) in part describe safe and unsafe conditions as a function of cloud thickness. Some background radar information was presented. Scan strategies for the WSR-74C and WSR-88D were reviewed along with a description of normal radar beam propagation influenced by the Effective Earth Radius Model. Atmospheric conditions prior to and leading up to both launch operations were detailed. Through the analysis of rawinsonde and radar data, atmospheric refraction or bending of the radar beam was identified as the cause of the discrepancies between reported cloud top heights by the contract weather aircraft and those as identified by both radars. The atmospheric refraction caused the radar beam to be further bent toward the Earth than normal. This radar beam bending causes the radar target to be displayed erroneously, with higher cloud top heights and a very blocky or skewed appearance.

Cloud and Aerosol 1064nm Lidar Ratio Retrievals from the CATS Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pauly, R.; Yorks, J. E.; McGill, M. J.; Hlavka, D. L.; Midzak, N.

2017-12-01

The extinction to backscatter ratio or lidar ratio is an essential value in order to derive the optical properties of cloud and aerosol layers from standard elastic backscatter lidar data. For these instruments, the lidar ratio can sometimes be determined from lidar data utilizing the transmission loss or "constrained" technique. The best situations for deploying this technique involve clearly defined layers with clear sky underneath for 1-3 km. In situations where the lidar ratio cannot be calculated, look-up tables exist for various cloud and aerosol types. There is a vast data record of derived lidar ratios for various cloud and aerosol types using 532nm from an array of instruments (i.e. HSRL, CALIOP, CPL, Aeronet, MPLNET). To date, because the 1064nm molecular signal is so small, lidar ratios at 1064nm have been mostly determined from 532nm lidar ratios using angstrom exponents, color ratios and ground based non-lidar measurements, as HSRL measurements at that wavelength do not exist. Due to the better signal quality at 1064nm compared to the 532nm signal, the CATS laser was thermally tuned to increase the 1064nm output energy. Therefore, the 1064nm channel is used in nearly all CATS layer data processing, making the accurate determination of 1064nm lidar ratio imperative. The CATS 1064nm signal allows for the unique capability to determine 1064nm lidar ratios better than previous instruments. The statistical and case study results of the CATS derived smoke and dust lidar ratios will be presented. Results have shown that the previously assumed 1064nm lidar ratios for dust need to be lowered. In addition to 1064nm lidar ratio results from the traditional transmission loss technique, results for aerosol layers above opaque water clouds from a method utilizing the depolarization ratio of the opaque cloud will be discussed. Incorporating this method into the CATS algorithms should increase the number of aerosol layers with constrained lidar ratio.

Space-Based Lidar Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sun, Xiaoli

2012-01-01

An overview of space-based lidar systems is presented. from the first laser altimeter on APOLLO 15 mission in 1971 to the Mercury Laser Altimeter on MESSENGER mission currently in orbit, and those currently under development. Lidar, which stands for Light Detection And Ranging, is a powerful tool in remote sensing from space. Compared to radars, lidars operate at a much shorter wavelength with a much narrower beam and much smaller transmitter and receiver. Compared to passive remote sensing instruments. lidars carry their own light sources and can continue measuring day and night. and over polar regions. There are mainly two types of lidars depending on the types of measurements. lidars that are designed to measure the distance and properties of hard targets are often called laser rangers or laser altimeters. They are used to obtain the surface elevation and global shape of a planet from the laser pulse time-of-night and the spacecraft orbit position. lidars that are designed to measure the backscattering and absorption of a volume scatter, such as clouds and aerosols, are often just called lidars and categorized by their measurements. such as cloud and aerosol lidar, wind lidar, CO2 lidar, and so on. The advantages of space-based lidar systems over ground based lidars are the abilities of global coverage and continuous measurements.

Study of atmospheric parameters measurements using MM-wave radar in synergy with LITE-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Andrawis, Madeleine Y.

1994-01-01

The Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment, (LITE), has been developed, designed, and built by NASA Langley Research Center, to be flown on the space shuttle 'Discovery' on September 9, 1994. Lidar, which stands for light detecting and ranging, is a radar system that uses short pulses of laser light instead of radio waves in the case of the common radar. This space-based lidar offers atmospheric measurements of stratospheric and tropospheric aerosols, the planetary boundary layer, cloud top heights, and atmospheric temperature and density in the 10-40 km altitude range. A study is being done on the use, advantages, and limitations of a millimeterwave radar to be utilized in synergy with the Lidar system, for the LITE-2 experiment to be flown on a future space shuttle mission. The lower atmospheric attenuation, compared to infrared and optical frequencies, permits the millimeter-wave signals to penetrate through the clouds and measure multi-layered clouds, cloud thickness, and cloud-base height. These measurements would provide a useful input to radiation computations used in the operational numerical weather prediction models, and for forecasting. High power levels, optimum modulation, data processing, and high antenna gain are used to increase the operating range, while space environment, radar tradeoffs, and power availability are considered. Preliminary, numerical calculations are made, using the specifications of an experimental system constructed at Georgia Tech. The noncoherent 94 GHz millimeter-wave radar system has a pulsed output with peak value of 1 kW. The backscatter cross section of the particles to be measured, that are present in the volume covered by the beam footprint, is also studied.

A High Resolution Hydrometer Phase Classifier Based on Analysis of Cloud Radar Doppler Spectra.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Luke,E.; Kollias, P.

2007-08-06

The lifecycle and radiative properties of clouds are highly sensitive to the phase of their hydrometeors (i.e., liquid or ice). Knowledge of cloud phase is essential for specifying the optical properties of clouds, or else, large errors can be introduced in the calculation of the cloud radiative fluxes. Current parameterizations of cloud water partition in liquid and ice based on temperature are characterized by large uncertainty (Curry et al., 1996; Hobbs and Rangno, 1998; Intriery et al., 2002). This is particularly important in high geographical latitudes and temperature ranges where both liquid droplets and ice crystal phases can exist (mixed-phasemore » cloud). The mixture of phases has a large effect on cloud radiative properties, and the parameterization of mixed-phase clouds has a large impact on climate simulations (e.g., Gregory and Morris, 1996). Furthermore, the presence of both ice and liquid affects the macroscopic properties of clouds, including their propensity to precipitate. Despite their importance, mixed-phase clouds are severely understudied compared to the arguably simpler single-phase clouds. In-situ measurements in mixed-phase clouds are hindered due to aircraft icing, difficulties distinguishing hydrometeor phase, and discrepancies in methods for deriving physical quantities (Wendisch et al. 1996, Lawson et al. 2001). Satellite-based retrievals of cloud phase in high latitudes are often hindered by the highly reflecting ice-covered ground and persistent temperature inversions. From the ground, the retrieval of mixed-phase cloud properties has been the subject of extensive research over the past 20 years using polarization lidars (e.g., Sassen et al. 1990), dual radar wavelengths (e.g., Gosset and Sauvageot 1992; Sekelsky and McIntosh, 1996), and recently radar Doppler spectra (Shupe et al. 2004). Millimeter-wavelength radars have substantially improved our ability to observe non-precipitating clouds (Kollias et al., 2007) due to their

Potential New Lidar Observations for Cloud Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winker, Dave; Hu, Yong; Narir, Amin; Cai, Xia

2015-01-01

The response of clouds to global warming represents a major uncertainty in estimating climate sensitivity. These uncertainties have been tracked to shallow marine clouds in the tropics and subtropics. CALIOP observations have already been used extensively to evaluate model predictions of shallow cloud fraction and top height (Leahy et al. 2013; Nam et al 2012). Tools are needed to probe the lowest levels of the troposphere. The large footprint of satellite lidars gives large multiple scattering from clouds which presents new possibilities for cloud retrievals to constrain model predictions.

Radar Evaluation of Optical Cloud Constraints to Space Launch Operations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merceret, Francis J.; Short, David A.; Ward, Jennifer G.

2005-01-01

Weather constraints to launching space vehicles are designed to prevent loss of the vehicle or mission due to weather hazards (See, e.g., Ref 1). Constraints include Lightning Launch Commit Criteria (LLCC) designed to avoid natural and triggered lightning. The LLCC currently in use at most American launch sites including the Eastern Range and Kennedy Space Center require the Launch Weather Officer to determine the height of cloud bases and tops, the location of cloud edges, and cloud transparency. The preferred method of making these determinations is visual observation, but when that isn't possible due to darkness or obscured vision, it is permissible to use radar. This note examines the relationship between visual and radar observations in three ways: A theoretical consideration of the relationship between radar reflectivity and optical transparency. An observational study relating radar reflectivity to cloud edge determined from in-situ measurements of cloud particle concentrations that determine the visible cloud edge. An observational study relating standard radar products to anvil cloud transparency. It is shown that these three approaches yield results consistent with each other and with the radar threshold specified in Reference 2 for LLCC evaluation.

ARM Cloud Radar Simulator Package for Global Climate Models Value-Added Product

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Yuying; Xie, Shaocheng

It has been challenging to directly compare U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility ground-based cloud radar measurements with climate model output because of limitations or features of the observing processes and the spatial gap between model and the single-point measurements. To facilitate the use of ARM radar data in numerical models, an ARM cloud radar simulator was developed to converts model data into pseudo-ARM cloud radar observations that mimic the instrument view of a narrow atmospheric column (as compared to a large global climate model [GCM] grid-cell), thus allowing meaningful comparison between model outputmore » and ARM cloud observations. The ARM cloud radar simulator value-added product (VAP) was developed based on the CloudSat simulator contained in the community satellite simulator package, the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulator Package (COSP) (Bodas-Salcedo et al., 2011), which has been widely used in climate model evaluation with satellite data (Klein et al., 2013, Zhang et al., 2010). The essential part of the CloudSat simulator is the QuickBeam radar simulator that is used to produce CloudSat-like radar reflectivity, but is capable of simulating reflectivity for other radars (Marchand et al., 2009; Haynes et al., 2007). Adapting QuickBeam to the ARM cloud radar simulator within COSP required two primary changes: one was to set the frequency to 35 GHz for the ARM Ka-band cloud radar, as opposed to 94 GHz used for the CloudSat W-band radar, and the second was to invert the view from the ground to space so as to attenuate the beam correctly. In addition, the ARM cloud radar simulator uses a finer vertical resolution (100 m compared to 500 m for CloudSat) to resolve the more detailed structure of clouds captured by the ARM radars. The ARM simulator has been developed following the COSP workflow (Figure 1) and using the capabilities available in

Aerosol and Cloud Interaction Observed From High Spectral Resolution Lidar Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Su, Wenying; Schuster, Gregory L.; Loeb, Norman G.; Rogers, Raymond R.; Ferrare, Richard A.; Hostetler, Chris A.; Hair, Johnathan W.; Obland, Michael D.

2008-01-01

Recent studies utilizing satellite retrievals have shown a strong correlation between aerosol optical depth (AOD) and cloud cover. However, these retrievals from passive sensors are subject to many limitations, including cloud adjacency (or 3D) effects, possible cloud contamination, uncertainty in the AOD retrieval. Some of these limitations do not exist in High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) observations; for instance, HSRL observations are not a ected by cloud adjacency effects, are less prone to cloud contamination, and offer accurate aerosol property measurements (backscatter coefficient, extinction coefficient, lidar ratio, backscatter Angstrom exponent,and aerosol optical depth) at a neospatial resolution (less than 100 m) in the vicinity of clouds. Hence, the HSRL provides an important dataset for studying aerosol and cloud interaction. In this study, we statistically analyze aircraft-based HSRL profiles according to their distance from the nearest cloud, assuring that all profile comparisons are subject to the same large-scale meteorological conditions. Our results indicate that AODs from HSRL are about 17% higher in the proximity of clouds (approximately 100 m) than far away from clouds (4.5 km), which is much smaller than the reported cloud 3D effect on AOD retrievals. The backscatter and extinction coefficients also systematically increase in the vicinity of clouds, which can be explained by aerosol swelling in the high relative humidity (RH) environment and/or aerosol growth through in cloud processing (albeit not conclusively). On the other hand, we do not observe a systematic trend in lidar ratio; we hypothesize that this is caused by the opposite effects of aerosol swelling and aerosol in-cloud processing on the lidar ratio. Finally, the observed backscatter Angstrom exponent (BAE) does not show a consistent trend because of the complicated relationship between BAE and RH. We demonstrate that BAE should not be used as a surrogate for Angstrom

Nineteenth International Laser Radar Conference. Part 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Upendra N. (Editor); Ismail, Syed (Editor); Schwemmer, Geary K. (Editor)

1998-01-01

This publication contains extended abstracts of papers presented at the Nineteenth International Laser Radar Conference, held at Annapolis, Maryland, July 6-10, 1998; 260 papers were presented in both oral and poster sessions. The topics of the conference sessions were Aerosol Clouds, Multiple Scattering; Tropospheric Profiling, Stratospheric/Mesospheric Profiling; Wind Profiling; New Lidar Technology and Techniques; Lidar Applications, Including Altimetry and Marine; Space and Future Lidar; and Lidar Commercialization/Eye Safety. This conference reflects the breadth of research activities being conducted in the lidar field. These abstracts address subjects from lidar-based atmospheric investigations, development of new lasers and lidar system technology, and current and future space-based lidar systems.

Nineteenth International Laser Radar Conference. Part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Upendra N. (Editor); Ismail, Syed (Editor); Schwemmer, Geary K. (Editor)

1998-01-01

This publication contains extended abstracts of papers presented at the Nineteenth International Laser Radar Conference, held at Annapolis, Maryland, July 6-10, 1998; 260 papers were presented in both oral and poster sessions. The topics of the conference sessions were Aerosol Clouds, Multiple Scattering; Tropospheric Profiling; Stratospheric/Mesospheric Profiling; Wind Profiling; New Lidar Technology and Techniques; Lidar Applications, including Altimetry and Marine; Space and Future Lidar; and Lidar Commercialization/Eye Safety. This conference reflects the breadth of research activities being conducted in the lidar field. These abstracts address subjects from lidar-based atmospheric investigations, development of new lasers and lidar system technology, and current and future space-based lidar systems.

Assessment of virtual towers performed with scanning wind lidars and Ka-band radars during the XPIA experiment

DOE PAGES

Debnath, Mithu; Iungo, Giacomo Valerio; Brewer, W. Alan; ...

2017-03-29

During the eXperimental Planetary boundary layer Instrumentation Assessment (XPIA) campaign, which was carried out at the Boulder Atmospheric Observatory (BAO) in spring 2015, multiple-Doppler scanning strategies were carried out with scanning wind lidars and Ka-band radars. Specifically, step–stare measurements were collected simultaneously with three scanning Doppler lidars, while two scanning Ka-band radars carried out simultaneous range height indicator (RHI) scans. The XPIA experiment provided the unique opportunity to compare directly virtual-tower measurements performed simultaneously with Ka-band radars and Doppler wind lidars. Furthermore, multiple-Doppler measurements were assessed against sonic anemometer data acquired from the meteorological tower (met-tower) present at the BAOmore » site and a lidar wind profiler. As a result, this survey shows that – despite the different technologies, measurement volumes and sampling periods used for the lidar and radar measurements – a very good accuracy is achieved for both remote-sensing techniques for probing horizontal wind speed and wind direction with the virtual-tower scanning technique.« less

Cloud Properties and Radiative Heating Rates for TWP

DOE Data Explorer

Comstock, Jennifer

2013-11-07

A cloud properties and radiative heating rates dataset is presented where cloud properties retrieved using lidar and radar observations are input into a radiative transfer model to compute radiative fluxes and heating rates at three ARM sites located in the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) region. The cloud properties retrieval is a conditional retrieval that applies various retrieval techniques depending on the available data, that is if lidar, radar or both instruments detect cloud. This Combined Remote Sensor Retrieval Algorithm (CombRet) produces vertical profiles of liquid or ice water content (LWC or IWC), droplet effective radius (re), ice crystal generalized effective size (Dge), cloud phase, and cloud boundaries. The algorithm was compared with 3 other independent algorithms to help estimate the uncertainty in the cloud properties, fluxes, and heating rates (Comstock et al. 2013). The dataset is provided at 2 min temporal and 90 m vertical resolution. The current dataset is applied to time periods when the MMCR (Millimeter Cloud Radar) version of the ARSCL (Active Remotely-Sensed Cloud Locations) Value Added Product (VAP) is available. The MERGESONDE VAP is utilized where temperature and humidity profiles are required. Future additions to this dataset will utilize the new KAZR instrument and its associated VAPs.

Estimation of Cloud Fraction Profile in Shallow Convection Using a Scanning Cloud Radar

DOE PAGES

Oue, Mariko; Kollias, Pavlos; North, Kirk W.; ...

2016-10-18

Large spatial heterogeneities in shallow convection result in uncertainties in estimations of domain-averaged cloud fraction profiles (CFP). This issue is addressed using large eddy simulations of shallow convection over land coupled with a radar simulator. Results indicate that zenith profiling observations are inadequate to provide reliable CFP estimates. Use of Scanning Cloud Radar (SCR), performing a sequence of cross-wind horizon-to-horizon scans, is not straightforward due to the strong dependence of radar sensitivity to target distance. An objective method for estimating domain-averaged CFP is proposed that uses observed statistics of SCR hydrometeor detection with height to estimate optimum sampling regions. Thismore » method shows good agreement with the model CFP. Results indicate that CFP estimates require more than 35 min of SCR scans to converge on the model domain average. Lastly, the proposed technique is expected to improve our ability to compare model output with cloud radar observations in shallow cumulus cloud conditions.« less

Tropical cloud and precipitation regimes as seen from near-simultaneous TRMM, CloudSat, and CALIPSO observations and comparison with ISCCP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Zhengzhao Johnny; Anderson, Ricardo C.; Rossow, William B.; Takahashi, Hanii

2017-06-01

Although Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and CloudSat/CALIPSO fly in different orbits, they frequently cross each other so that for the period between 2006 and 2010, a total of 15,986 intersect lines occurred within 20 min of each other from 30°S to 30°N, providing a rare opportunity to study tropical cloud and precipitation regimes and their internal vertical structure from near-simultaneous measurements by these active sensors. A k-means cluster analysis of TRMM and CloudSat matchups identifies three tropical cloud and precipitation regimes: the first two regimes correspond to, respectively, organized deep convection with heavy rain and cirrus anvils with moderate rain; the third regime is a convectively suppressed regime that can be further divided into three subregimes, which correspond to, respectively, stratocumulus clouds with drizzle, cirrus overlying low clouds, and nonprecipitating cumulus. Inclusion of CALIPSO data adds to the dynamic range of cloud properties and identifies one more cluster; subcluster analysis further identifies a thin, midlevel cloud regime associated with tropical mountain ranges. The radar-lidar cloud regimes are compared with the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) weather states (WSs) for the extended tropics. Focus is placed on the four convectively active WSs, namely, WS1-WS4. ISCCP WS1 and WS2 are found to be counterparts of Regime 1 and Regime 2 in radar-lidar observations, respectively. ISCCP WS3 and WS4, which are mainly isolated convection and broken, detached cirrus, do not have a strong association with any individual radar and lidar regimes, a likely effect of the different sampling strategies between ISCCP and active sensors and patchy cloudiness of these WSs.

Autonomous, Full-Time Cloud Profiling at Arm Sites with Micro Pulse Lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spinhirne, James D.; Campbell, James R.; Hlavka, Dennis L.; Scott, V. Stanley; Flynn, Connor J.

2000-01-01

Since the early 1990's technology advances permit ground based lidar to operate full time and profile all significant aerosol and cloud structure of the atmosphere up to the limit of signal attenuation. These systems are known as Micro Pulse Lidars (MPL), as referenced by Spinhirne (1993), and were first in operation at DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites. The objective of the ARM program is to improve the predictability of climate change, particularly as it relates to cloud-climate feedback. The fundamental application of the MPL systems is towards the detection of all significant hydrometeor layers, to the limit of signal attenuation. The heating and cooling of the atmosphere are effected by the distribution and characteristics of clouds and aerosol concentration. Aerosol and cloud retrievals in several important areas can only be adequately obtained with active remote sensing by lidar. For cloud cover, the height and related emissivity of thin clouds and the distribution of base height for all clouds are basic parameters for the surface radiation budget, and lidar is essetial for accurate measurements. The ARM MPL observing network represents the first long-term, global lidar study known within the community. MPL systems are now operational at four ARM sites. A six year data set has been obtained at the original Oklahoma site, and there are several years of observations at tropical and artic sites. Observational results include cloud base height distributions and aerosol profiles. These expanding data sets offer a significant new resource for cloud, aerosol and atmospheric radiation analysis. The nature of the data sets, data processing algorithms, derived parameters and application results are presented.

Mie Lidar for Aerosols and Clouds Monitoring at Otlica Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, F.; Stanič, S.; Bergant, K.; Filipčič, A.; Veberič, D.; Forte, B.

2009-04-01

Aerosol and cloud densities are the most important atmospheric parameters, which significantly influence the atmospheric conditions. The study of their spatial and temporal properties can provide detailed information about the transport processes of the air masses. In recent years, lidar techniques for remote sensing of the atmospheric parameters have been greatly improved. Like the lidar systems of the Pierre Auger Observatory in Argentina (35.2S, 69.1W, 1400 m a.s.l.), the Mie lidar built at Otlica Observatory (45.93N, 13.91E, 945 m a.s.l.) in Slovenia employs the same hardware, including the transmitter, the receiver, and the DAQ system. Due to its high-power laser, large-diameter telescope, and photon-counting data-acquisition technique, the Mie lidar has the potential ability to measure the tropospheric and stratospheric atmospheric conditions, and is suitable for monitoring the changes of the cirrus clouds and atmospheric boundary layer. We have been performing routine atmospheric monitoring experiments with the Otlica Mie lidar since September 2008. Using the techniques of event-averaging, noise-elimination, and data-gluing, the far end of lidar probing range is extended from 30 km up to 40 km. The extinction profiles are calculated using the Klett method and the time-height-intensity plots were made. They clearly show the evolution of atmospheric conditions, especially the motion of the cirrus clouds above Otlica.

DC-8 scanning lidar characterization of aircraft contrails and cirrus clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nielsen, Norman B.; Uthe, Edward E. (Principal Investigator)

1996-01-01

A Subsonic Assessment (SASS) element of the overall Atmospheric Effects of Aviation Project (AEAP) was initiated by NASA to assess the atmospheric impact of subsonic aircraft. SRI was awarded a project to develop and test a scanning backscatter lidar for installation on the NASA DC-8 (year 1), participate in the Subsonic Aircraft: Contrail and Cloud Effects Special Study (SUCCESS) field program (year 2), and conduct a comprehensive analysis of field data (year 3). A scanning mirror pod attached to the DC-8 aircraft provides for scanning lidar observations ahead of the DC-8 and fixed-angle upward or downward observations. The lidar system installed within the DC-8 transmits 275 MJ at 1.06 gm wavelength or about 130 mJ at 1.06 and 0.53 gm simultaneously. Range-resolved aerosol backscatter is displayed in real time in terms of cloud/contrail spatial distributions. The objectives of the project are to map contrail/cloud vertical distributions ahead of DC-8; provide DC-8 guidance into enhanced scattering layers; document DC-8 flight path intersection of contrail and cloud geometries (in-situ measurement positions relative to cloud/contrail shape and an extension of in-situ measurements into the vertical -- integrated contrail/cloud properties); analyze contrail/cloud radiative properties with LIRAD (combined lidar and radiometry) technique; evaluate mean particle sizes of aircraft emissions from two-wavelength observations; study contrail/cloud interactions, diffusion, and mass decay/growth; and make observations in the near-field of aircraft engine emissions. The scanning mirror pod may also provide a scanning capability for other remote sensing instruments.

Cloud and Aerosol Retrieval for the 2001 GLAS Satellite Lidar Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, William D.; Palm, Stephen P.; Spinhirne, James D.

2000-01-01

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is scheduled for launch in July of 2001 aboard the Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESAT). In addition to being a precision altimeter for mapping the height of the Earth's icesheets, GLAS will be an atmospheric lidar, sensitive enough to detect gaseous, aerosol, and cloud backscatter signals, at horizontal and vertical resolutions of 175 and 75m, respectively. GLAS will be the first lidar to produce temporally continuous atmospheric backscatter profiles with nearly global coverage (94-degree orbital inclination). With a projected operational lifetime of five years, GLAS will collect approximately six billion lidar return profiles. The large volume of data dictates that operational analysis algorithms, which need to keep pace with the data yield of the instrument, must be efficient. So, we need to evaluate the ability of operational algorithms to detect atmospheric constituents that affect global climate. We have to quantify, in a statistical manner, the accuracy and precision of GLAS cloud and aerosol observations. Our poster presentation will show the results of modeling studies that are designed to reveal the effectiveness and sensitivity of GLAS in detecting various atmospheric cloud and aerosol features. The studies consist of analyzing simulated lidar returns. Simulation cases are constructed either from idealized renditions of atmospheric cloud and aerosol layers or from data obtained by the NASA ER-2 Cloud Lidar System (CLS). The fabricated renditions permit quantitative evaluations of operational algorithms to retrieve cloud and aerosol parameters. The use of observational data permits the evaluations of performance for actual atmospheric conditions. The intended outcome of the presentation is that climatology community will be able to use the results of these studies to evaluate and quantify the impact of GLAS data upon atmospheric modeling efforts.

The Earthcare Cloud Profiling Radar, its PFM development status (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakatsuka, Hirotaka; Tomita, Eichi; Aida, Yoshihisa; Seki, Yoshihiro; Okada, Kazuyuki; Maruyama, Kenta; Ishii, Yasuyuki; Tomiyama, Nobuhiro; Ohno, Yuichi; Horie, Hiroaki; Sato, Kenji

2016-10-01

The Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) mission is joint mission between Europe and Japan for the launch year of 2018. Mission objective is to improve scientific understanding of cloud-aerosol-radiation interactions that is one of the biggest uncertain factors for numerical climate and weather predictions. The EarthCARE spacecraft equips four instruments such as an ultra violet lidar (ATLID), a cloud profiling radar (CPR), a broadband radiometer (BBR), and a multi-spectral imager (MSI) and perform complete synergy observation to observe aerosols, clouds and their interactions simultaneously from the orbit. Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is responsible for development of the CPR in this EarthCARE mission and the CPR will be the first space-borne W-band Doppler radar. The CPR is defined with minimum radar sensitivity of -35dBz (6dB better than current space-borne cloud radar, i.e. CloudSat, NASA), radiometric accuracy of 2.7 dB, and Doppler velocity measurement accuracy of less than 1.3 m/s. These specifications require highly accurate pointing technique in orbit and high power source with large antenna dish. JAXA and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) have been jointly developed this CPR to meet these strict requirements so far and then achieved the development such as new CFRP flex-core structure, long life extended interaction klystron, low loss quasi optical feed technique, and so on. Through these development successes, CPR development phase has been progressed to critical design phase. In addition, new ground calibration technique is also being progressed for launch of EarthCARE/CPR. The unique feature of EarthCARE CPR is vertical Doppler velocity measurement capability. Vertical Doppler velocity measurement is very attractive function from the science point of view, because vertical motions of cloud particles are related with cloud microphysics and dynamics. However, from engineering point of

Application of a multiple scattering model to estimate optical depth, lidar ratio and ice crystal effective radius of cirrus clouds observed with lidar.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gouveia, Diego; Baars, Holger; Seifert, Patric; Wandinger, Ulla; Barbosa, Henrique; Barja, Boris; Artaxo, Paulo; Lopes, Fabio; Landulfo, Eduardo; Ansmann, Albert

2018-04-01

Lidar measurements of cirrus clouds are highly influenced by multiple scattering (MS). We therefore developed an iterative approach to correct elastic backscatter lidar signals for multiple scattering to obtain best estimates of single-scattering cloud optical depth and lidar ratio as well as of the ice crystal effective radius. The approach is based on the exploration of the effect of MS on the molecular backscatter signal returned from above cloud top.

Processing Uav and LIDAR Point Clouds in Grass GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petras, V.; Petrasova, A.; Jeziorska, J.; Mitasova, H.

2016-06-01

Today's methods of acquiring Earth surface data, namely lidar and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery, non-selectively collect or generate large amounts of points. Point clouds from different sources vary in their properties such as number of returns, density, or quality. We present a set of tools with applications for different types of points clouds obtained by a lidar scanner, structure from motion technique (SfM), and a low-cost 3D scanner. To take advantage of the vertical structure of multiple return lidar point clouds, we demonstrate tools to process them using 3D raster techniques which allow, for example, the development of custom vegetation classification methods. Dense point clouds obtained from UAV imagery, often containing redundant points, can be decimated using various techniques before further processing. We implemented and compared several decimation techniques in regard to their performance and the final digital surface model (DSM). Finally, we will describe the processing of a point cloud from a low-cost 3D scanner, namely Microsoft Kinect, and its application for interaction with physical models. All the presented tools are open source and integrated in GRASS GIS, a multi-purpose open source GIS with remote sensing capabilities. The tools integrate with other open source projects, specifically Point Data Abstraction Library (PDAL), Point Cloud Library (PCL), and OpenKinect libfreenect2 library to benefit from the open source point cloud ecosystem. The implementation in GRASS GIS ensures long term maintenance and reproducibility by the scientific community but also by the original authors themselves.

A 3D Cloud-Construction Algorithm for the EarthCARE Satellite Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barker, H. W.; Jerg, M. P.; Wehr, T.; Kato, S.; Donovan, D. P.; Hogan, R. J.

2011-01-01

This article presents and assesses an algorithm that constructs 3D distributions of cloud from passive satellite imagery and collocated 2D nadir profiles of cloud properties inferred synergistically from lidar, cloud radar and imager data.

Lidar Observations of the Optical Properties and 3-Dimensional Structure of Cirrus Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eloranta, E. W.

1996-01-01

The scientific research conducted under this grant have been reported in a series of journal articles, dissertations, and conference proceedings. This report consists of a compilation of these publications in the following areas: development and operation of a High Spectral Resolution Lidar, cloud physics and cloud formation, mesoscale observations of cloud phenomena, ground-based and satellite cloud cover observations, impact of volcanic aerosols on cloud formation, visible and infrared radiative relationships as measured by satellites and lidar, and scattering cross sections.

Active sensor synergy for arctic cloud microphysics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sato, Kaori; Okamoto, Hajime; Katagiri, Shuichiro; Shiobara, Masataka; Yabuki, Masanori; Takano, Toshiaki

2018-04-01

In this study, we focus on the retrieval of liquid and ice-phase cloud microphysics from spaceborne and ground-based lidar-cloud radar synergy. As an application of the cloud retrieval algorithm developed for the EarthCARE satellite mission (JAXA-ESA) [1], the derived statistics of cloud microphysical properties in high latitudes and their relation to the Arctic climate are investigated.

Lidars for smoke and dust cloud diagnostics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujimura, S. F.; Warren, R. E.; Lutomirski, R. F.

1980-11-01

An algorithm that integrates a time-resolved lidar signature for use in estimating transmittance, extinction coefficient, mass concentration, and CL values generated under battlefield conditions is applied to lidar signatures measured during the DIRT-I tests. Estimates are given for the dependence of the inferred transmittance and extinction coefficient on uncertainties in parameters such as the obscurant backscatter-to-extinction ratio. The enhanced reliability in estimating transmittance through use of a target behind the obscurant cloud is discussed. It is found that the inversion algorithm can produce reliable estimates of smoke or dust transmittance and extinction from all points within the cloud for which a resolvable signal can be detected, and that a single point calibration measurement can convert the extinction values to mass concentration for each resolvable signal point.

The structure and phase of cloud tops as observed by polarization lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spinhirne, J. D.; Hansen, M. Z.; Simpson, J.

1983-01-01

High-resolution observations of the structure of cloud tops have been obtained with polarization lidar operated from a high altitude aircraft. Case studies of measurements acquired from cumuliform cloud systems are presented, two from September 1979 observations in the area of Florida and adjacent waters and a third during the May 1981 CCOPE experiment in southeast Montana. Accurate cloud top height structure and relative density of hydrometers are obtained from the lidar return signal intensity. Correlation between the signal return intensity and active updrafts was noted. Thin cirrus overlying developing turrets was observed in some cases. Typical values of the observed backscatter cross section were 0.1-5 (km/sr) for cumulonimbus tops. The depolarization ratio of the lidar signals was a function of the thermodynamic phase of cloud top areas. An increase of the cloud top depolarization with decreasing temperature was found for temperatures above and below -40 C.

The occurrence of ice production in slightly supercooled Arctic stratiform clouds as observed by ground-based remote sensors at the ARM NSA site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Damao; Wang, Zhien; Luo, Tao; Yin, Yan; Flynn, Connor

2017-03-01

Ice particle formation in slightly supercooled stratiform clouds is not well documented or understood. In this study, 4 years of combined lidar depolarization and radar reflectivity (Ze) measurements are analyzed to distinguish between cold drizzle and ice crystal formations in slightly supercooled Arctic stratiform clouds over the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Climate Research Facility North Slope of Alaska Utqiaġvik ("Barrow") site. Ice particles are detected and statistically shown to be responsible for the strong precipitation in slightly supercooled Arctic stratiform clouds at cloud top temperatures as high as -4°C. For ice precipitating Arctic stratiform clouds, the lidar particulate linear depolarization ratio (δpar_lin) correlates well with radar Ze at each temperature range, but the δpar_lin-Ze relationship varies with temperature ranges. In addition, lidar depolarization and radar Ze observations of ice generation characteristics in Arctic stratiform clouds are consistent with laboratory-measured temperature-dependent ice growth habits.

Simulations of the observation of clouds and aerosols with the Experimental Lidar in Space Equipment system.

PubMed

Liu, Z; Voelger, P; Sugimoto, N

2000-06-20

We carried out a simulation study for the observation of clouds and aerosols with the Japanese Experimental Lidar in Space Equipment (ELISE), which is a two-wavelength backscatter lidar with three detection channels. The National Space Development Agency of Japan plans to launch the ELISE on the Mission Demonstrate Satellite 2 (MDS-2). In the simulations, the lidar return signals for the ELISE are calculated for an artificial, two-dimensional atmospheric model including different types of clouds and aerosols. The signal detection processes are simulated realistically by inclusion of various sources of noise. The lidar signals that are generated are then used as input for simulations of data analysis with inversion algorithms to investigate retrieval of the optical properties of clouds and aerosols. The results demonstrate that the ELISE can provide global data on the structures and optical properties of clouds and aerosols. We also conducted an analysis of the effects of cloud inhomogeneity on retrievals from averaged lidar profiles. We show that the effects are significant for space lidar observations of optically thick broken clouds.

Evaluation of Passive Multilayer Cloud Detection Using Preliminary CloudSat and CALIPSO Cloud Profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minnis, P.; Sun-Mack, S.; Chang, F.; Huang, J.; Nguyen, L.; Ayers, J. K.; Spangenberg, D. A.; Yi, Y.; Trepte, C. R.

2006-12-01

During the last few years, several algorithms have been developed to detect and retrieve multilayered clouds using passive satellite data. Assessing these techniques has been difficult due to the need for active sensors such as cloud radars and lidars that can "see" through different layers of clouds. Such sensors have been available only at a few surface sites and on aircraft during field programs. With the launch of the CALIPSO and CloudSat satellites on April 28, 2006, it is now possible to observe multilayered systems all over the globe using collocated cloud radar and lidar data. As part of the A- Train, these new active sensors are also matched in time ad space with passive measurements from the Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - EOS (AMSR-E). The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) has been developing and testing algorithms to detect ice-over-water overlapping cloud systems and to retrieve the cloud liquid path (LWP) and ice water path (IWP) for those systems. One technique uses a combination of the CERES cloud retrieval algorithm applied to MODIS data and a microwave retrieval method applied to AMSR-E data. The combination of a CO2-slicing cloud retireval technique with the CERES algorithms applied to MODIS data (Chang et al., 2005) is used to detect and analyze such overlapped systems that contain thin ice clouds. A third technique uses brightness temperature differences and the CERES algorithms to detect similar overlapped methods. This paper uses preliminary CloudSat and CALIPSO data to begin a global scale assessment of these different methods. The long-term goals are to assess and refine the algorithms to aid the development of an optimal combination of the techniques to better monitor ice 9and liquid water clouds in overlapped conditions.

Evaluation of Passive Multilayer Cloud Detection Using Preliminary CloudSat and CALIPSO Cloud Profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minnis, P.; Sun-Mack, S.; Chang, F.; Huang, J.; Nguyen, L.; Ayers, J. K.; Spangenberg, D. A.; Yi, Y.; Trepte, C. R.

2005-05-01

During the last few years, several algorithms have been developed to detect and retrieve multilayered clouds using passive satellite data. Assessing these techniques has been difficult due to the need for active sensors such as cloud radars and lidars that can "see" through different layers of clouds. Such sensors have been available only at a few surface sites and on aircraft during field programs. With the launch of the CALIPSO and CloudSat satellites on April 28, 2006, it is now possible to observe multilayered systems all over the globe using collocated cloud radar and lidar data. As part of the A- Train, these new active sensors are also matched in time ad space with passive measurements from the Aqua Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer - EOS (AMSR-E). The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) has been developing and testing algorithms to detect ice-over-water overlapping cloud systems and to retrieve the cloud liquid path (LWP) and ice water path (IWP) for those systems. One technique uses a combination of the CERES cloud retrieval algorithm applied to MODIS data and a microwave retrieval method applied to AMSR-E data. The combination of a CO2-slicing cloud retireval technique with the CERES algorithms applied to MODIS data (Chang et al., 2005) is used to detect and analyze such overlapped systems that contain thin ice clouds. A third technique uses brightness temperature differences and the CERES algorithms to detect similar overlapped methods. This paper uses preliminary CloudSat and CALIPSO data to begin a global scale assessment of these different methods. The long-term goals are to assess and refine the algorithms to aid the development of an optimal combination of the techniques to better monitor ice 9and liquid water clouds in overlapped conditions.

UV Raman lidar measurements of relative humidity for the characterization of cirrus cloud microphysical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Girolamo, P.; Summa, D.; Lin, R.-F.; Maestri, T.; Rizzi, R.; Masiello, G.

2009-11-01

Raman lidar measurements performed in Potenza by the Raman lidar system BASIL in the presence of cirrus clouds are discussed. Measurements were performed on 6 September 2004 in the frame of the Italian phase of the EAQUATE Experiment. The major feature of BASIL is represented by its capability to perform high-resolution and accurate measurements of atmospheric temperature and water vapour, and consequently relative humidity, both in daytime and night-time, based on the application of the rotational and vibrational Raman lidar techniques in the UV. BASIL is also capable to provide measurements of the particle backscatter and extinction coefficient, and consequently lidar ratio (at the time of these measurements, only at one wavelength), which are fundamental to infer geometrical and microphysical properties of clouds. A case study is discussed in order to assess the capability of Raman lidars to measure humidity in presence of cirrus clouds, both below and inside the cloud. While air inside the cloud layers is observed to be always under-saturated with respect to water, both ice super-saturation and under-saturation conditions are found inside these clouds. Upper tropospheric moistening is observed below the lower cloud layer. The synergic use of the data derived from the ground based Raman Lidar and of spectral radiances measured by the NAST-I Airborne Spectrometer allows the determination of the temporal evolution of the atmospheric cooling/heating rates due to the presence of the cirrus cloud. Lidar measurements beneath the cirrus cloud layer have been interpreted using a 1-D cirrus cloud model with explicit microphysics. The 1-D simulations indicate that sedimentation-moistening has contributed significantly to the moist anomaly, but other mechanisms are also contributing. This result supports the hypothesis that the observed mid-tropospheric humidification is a real feature which is strongly influenced by the sublimation of precipitating ice crystals. Results

UV Raman lidar measurements of relative humidity for the characterization of cirrus cloud microphysical properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

di Girolamo, P.; Summa, D.; Lin, R.-F.; Maestri, T.; Rizzi, R.; Masiello, G.

2009-07-01

Raman lidar measurements performed in Potenza by the Raman lidar system BASIL in the presence of cirrus clouds are discussed. Measurements were performed on 6 September 2004 in the frame of Italian phase of the EAQUATE Experiment. The major feature of BASIL is represented by its capability to perform high-resolution and accurate measurements of atmospheric temperature and water vapour, and consequently relative humidity, both in daytime and night-time, based on the application of the rotational and vibrational Raman lidar techniques in the UV. BASIL is also capable to provide measurements of the particle backscatter and extinction coefficient, and consequently lidar ratio (at the time of these measurements only at one wavelength), which are fundamental to infer geometrical and microphysical properties of clouds. A case study is discussed in order to assess the capability of Raman lidars to measure humidity in presence of cirrus clouds, both below and inside the cloud. While air inside the cloud layers is observed to be always under-saturated with respect to water, both ice super-saturation and under-saturation conditions are found inside these clouds. Upper tropospheric moistening is observed below the lower cloud layer. The synergic use of the data derived from the ground based Raman Lidar and of spectral radiances measured by the NAST-I Airborne Spectrometer allows to determine the temporal evolution of the atmospheric cooling/heating rates due to the presence of the cirrus cloud anvil. Lidar measurements beneath the cirrus cloud layer have been interpreted using a 1-D cirrus cloud model with explicit microphysics. The 1-D simulations indicates that sedimentation-moistening has contributed significantly to the moist anomaly, but other mechanisms are also contributing. This result supports the hypothesis that the observed mid-tropospheric humidification is a real feature which is strongly influenced by the sublimation of precipitating ice crystals. Results

Solid-State Cloud Radar System (CRS) Upgrade and Deployment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McLinden, Matt; Heymsfield, Gerald; Li, Lihua; Racette, Paul; Coon, Michael; Venkatesh, Vijay

2015-01-01

The recent decade has brought rapid development in solid-state power amplifier (SSPA) technology. This has enabled the use of solid-state precipitation radar in place of high-power and high-voltage systems such as those that use Klystron or Magnetron transmitters. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has recently completed a comprehensive redesign of the 94 gigahertz Cloud Radar System (CRS) to incorporate a solid-state transmitter. It is the first cloud radar to achieve sensitivity comparable to that of a high-voltage transmitter using solid-state. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Cloud Radar System (CRS) is a 94 gigahertz Doppler radar that flies on the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. The upgraded CRS system utilizes a state-of-the-art solid-state 94 gigahertz power amplifier with a peak transmit power of 30 watts. The modernized CRS system is detailed here with data results from its deployment during the 2014 Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Experiment (IPHEX).

Investigation of tropical cirrus cloud properties using ground based lidar measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhaman, Reji K.; Satyanarayana, Malladi; Krishnakumar, V.; Mahadevan Pillai, V. P.; Jayeshlal, G. S.; Raghunath, K.; Venkat Ratnam, M.

2016-05-01

Cirrus clouds play a significant role in the Earths radiation budget. Therefore, knowledge of geometrical and optical properties of cirrus cloud is essential for the climate modeling. In this paper, the cirrus clouds microphysical and optical properties are made by using a ground based lidar measurements over an inland tropical station Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E), Andhra Pradesh, India. The variation of cirrus microphysical and optical properties with mid cloud temperature is also studied. The cirrus clouds mean height is generally observed in the range of 9-17km with a peak occurrence at 13- 14km. The cirrus mid cloud temperature ranges from -81°C to -46°C. The cirrus geometrical thickness ranges from 0.9- 4.5km. During the cirrus occurrence days sub-visual, thin and dense cirrus were at 37.5%, 50% and 12.5% respectively. The monthly cirrus optical depth ranges from 0.01-0.47, but most (<80%) of the cirrus have values less than 0.1. Optical depth shows a strong dependence with cirrus geometrical thickness and mid-cloud height. The monthly mean cirrus extinction ranges from 2.8E-06 to 8E-05 and depolarization ratio and lidar ratio varies from 0.13 to 0.77 and 2 to 52 sr respectively. A positive correlation exists for both optical depth and extinction with the mid-cloud temperature. The lidar ratio shows a scattered behavior with mid-cloud temperature.

Atmospheric CO2 Concentration Measurements with Clouds from an Airborne Lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, J.; Abshire, J. B.; Kawa, S. R.; Riris, H.; Allan, G. R.; Hasselbrack, W. E.; Numata, K.; Chen, J. R.; Sun, X.; DiGangi, J. P.; Choi, Y.

2017-12-01

Globally distributed atmospheric CO2 concentration measurements with high precision, low bias and full seasonal sampling are crucial to advance carbon cycle sciences. However, two thirds of the Earth's surface is typically covered by clouds, and passive remote sensing approaches from space are limited to cloud-free scenes. NASA Goddard is developing a pulsed, integrated-path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar approach to measure atmospheric column CO2 concentrations, XCO2, from space as a candidate for NASA's ASCENDS mission. Measurements of time-resolved laser backscatter profiles from the atmosphere also allow this technique to estimate XCO2 and range to cloud tops in addition to those to the ground with precise knowledge of the photon path-length. We demonstrate this measurement capability using airborne lidar measurements from summer 2017 ASCENDS airborne science campaign in Alaska. We show retrievals of XCO2 to ground and to a variety of cloud tops. We will also demonstrate how the partial column XCO2 to cloud tops and cloud slicing approach help resolving vertical and horizontal gradient of CO2 in cloudy conditions. The XCO2 retrievals from the lidar are validated against in situ measurements and compared to the Goddard Parameterized Chemistry Transport Model (PCTM) simulations. Adding this measurement capability to the future lidar mission for XCO2 will provide full global and seasonal data coverage and some information about vertical structure of CO2. This unique facility is expected to benefit atmospheric transport process studies, carbon data assimilation in models, and global and regional carbon flux estimation.

The Influence of Cloud Field Uniformity on Observed Cloud Amount

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riley, E.; Kleiss, J.; Kassianov, E.; Long, C. N.; Riihimaki, L.; Berg, L. K.

2017-12-01

Two ground-based measurements of cloud amount include cloud fraction (CF) obtained from time series of zenith-pointing radar-lidar observations and fractional sky cover (FSC) acquired from a Total Sky Imager (TSI). In comparison with the radars and lidars, the TSI has a considerably larger field of view (FOV 100° vs. 0.2°) and therefore is expected to have a different sensitivity to inhomogeneity in a cloud field. Radiative transfer calculations based on cloud properties retrieved from narrow-FOV overhead cloud observations may differ from shortwave and longwave flux observations due to spatial variability in local cloud cover. This bias will impede radiative closure for sampling reasons rather than the accuracy of cloud microphysics retrievals or radiative transfer calculations. Furthermore, the comparison between observed and modeled cloud amount from large eddy simulations (LES) models may be affected by cloud field inhomogeneity. The main goal of our study is to estimate the anticipated impact of cloud field inhomogeneity on the level of agreement between CF and FSC. We focus on shallow cumulus clouds observed at the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Facility's Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma, USA. Our analysis identifies cloud field inhomogeneity using a novel metric that quantifies the spatial and temporal uniformity of FSC over 100-degree FOV TSI images. We demonstrate that (1) large differences between CF and FSC are partly attributable to increases in inhomogeneity and (2) using the uniformity metric can provide a meaningful assessment of uncertainties in observed cloud amount to aide in comparing ground-based measurements to radiative transfer or LES model outputs at SGP.

Macrophysical and optical properties of midlatitude high-altitude clouds from 4 ground-based lidars and collocated CALIOP observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dupont, J. C.; Haeffelin, M.; Morille, Y.; Noel, V.; Keckhut, P.; Comstock, J.; Winker, D.; Chervet, P.; Roblin, A.

2009-04-01

Cirrus clouds not only play a major role in the energy budget of the Earth-Atmosphere system, but are also important in the hydrological cycle [Stephens et al., 1990; Webster, 1994]. According to satellite passive remote sensing, high-altitude clouds cover as much as 40% of the earth's surface on average (Liou 1986; Stubenrauch et al., 2006) and can reach 70% of cloud cover over the Tropics (Wang et al., 1996; Nazaryan et al., 2008). Hence, given their very large cloud cover, they have a major role in the climate system (Lynch et al. 2001). Cirrus clouds can be classified into three distinct families according to their optical thickness, namely subvisible clouds (OD<0.03), semi-transparent clouds (0.03clouds (0.3Lidar measurements however show that subvisible and semi-transparent clouds represent 50% or more of cirrus cloud population. The radiative effects of cirrus clouds are found to be significant by many studies both at the top of the atmosphere and surface. The contribution of the subvisible and semi-transparent classes is strongly affected by levels of other scatterers in the atmosphere (gases, aerosols). This makes them quite an important topic of study at the global scale. In the present work, we applied the cloud structure analysis algorithm STRAT to long time series of lidar backscatter profiles from multiple locations around the world. Our goal was to establish a Mid-Latitude climatology of cirrus clouds macrophysical properties based on active remote sensing: ground-based lidars at four mid-latitude observatories and the spaceborne instrument CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization). Lidar sampling, macrophysical (cloud base height, cloud top height, cloud thickness) and optical (cloud optical thickness) properties statistics are then evaluated and compared between the four observatories ground-based lidar measurements and quasi-simultaneously CALIOP overpasses. We note an overall good

Validation of CERES-MODIS Arctic cloud properties using CloudSat/CALIPSO and ARM NSA observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giannecchini, K.; Dong, X.; Xi, B.; Minnis, P.; Kato, S.

2011-12-01

The traditional passive satellite studies of cloud properties in the Arctic are often affected by the complex surface features present across the region. Nominal visual and thermal contrast exists between Arctic clouds and the snow- and ice-covered surfaces beneath them, which can lead to difficulties in satellite retrievals of cloud properties. However, the addition of active sensors to the A-Train constellation of satellites has increased the availability of validation sources for cloud properties derived from passive sensors in the data-sparse high-latitude regions. In this study, Arctic cloud fraction and cloud heights derived from the NASA CERES team (CERES-MODIS) have been compared with CloudSat/CALIPSO and DOE ARM NSA radar-lidar observations over Barrow, AK, for the two-year period from 2007 to 2008. An Arctic-wide comparison of cloud fraction and height between CERES-MODIS and CloudSat/CALIPSO was then conducted for the same time period. The CERES-MODIS cloud properties, which include cloud fraction and cloud effective heights, were retrieved using the 4-channel VISST (Visible Infrared Solar-Infrared Split-window Technique) [Minnis et al.,1995]. CloudSat/CALIPSO cloud fraction and cloud-base and -top heights were from version RelB1 data products determined by both the 94 GHz radar onboard CloudSat and the lidar on CALIPSO with a vertical resolution of 30 m below 8.2 km and 60 m above. To match the surface and satellite observations/retrievals, the ARM surface observations were averaged into 3-hour intervals centered at the time of the satellite overpass, while satellite observations were averaged within a 3°x3° grid box centered on the Barrow site. The preliminary results have shown that all observed CFs have peaks during April-May and September-October, and dips during winter months (January-February) and summer months (June-July) during the study period of 2007-2008. ARM radar-lidar and CloudSat/CALIPSO show generally good agreement in CF (0.79 vs. 0

D Land Cover Classification Based on Multispectral LIDAR Point Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Xiaoliang; Zhao, Guihua; Li, Jonathan; Yang, Yuanxi; Fang, Yong

2016-06-01

Multispectral Lidar System can emit simultaneous laser pulses at the different wavelengths. The reflected multispectral energy is captured through a receiver of the sensor, and the return signal together with the position and orientation information of sensor is recorded. These recorded data are solved with GNSS/IMU data for further post-processing, forming high density multispectral 3D point clouds. As the first commercial multispectral airborne Lidar sensor, Optech Titan system is capable of collecting point clouds data from all three channels at 532nm visible (Green), at 1064 nm near infrared (NIR) and at 1550nm intermediate infrared (IR). It has become a new source of data for 3D land cover classification. The paper presents an Object Based Image Analysis (OBIA) approach to only use multispectral Lidar point clouds datasets for 3D land cover classification. The approach consists of three steps. Firstly, multispectral intensity images are segmented into image objects on the basis of multi-resolution segmentation integrating different scale parameters. Secondly, intensity objects are classified into nine categories by using the customized features of classification indexes and a combination the multispectral reflectance with the vertical distribution of object features. Finally, accuracy assessment is conducted via comparing random reference samples points from google imagery tiles with the classification results. The classification results show higher overall accuracy for most of the land cover types. Over 90% of overall accuracy is achieved via using multispectral Lidar point clouds for 3D land cover classification.

Constructing a Merged Cloud-Precipitation Radar Dataset for Tropical Convective Clouds during the DYNAMO/AMIE Experiment at Addu Atoll

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feng, Zhe; McFarlane, Sally A.; Schumacher, Courtney

2014-05-16

To improve understanding of the convective processes key to the Madden-Julian-Oscillation (MJO) initiation, the Dynamics of the MJO (DYNAMO) and Atmospheric Radiation Measurement MJO Investigation Experiment (AMIE) collected four months of observations from three radars, the S-band Polarization Radar (S-Pol), the C-band Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research & Teaching Radar (SMART-R), and Ka-band Zenith Radar (KAZR) on Addu Atoll in the tropical Indian Ocean. This study compares the measurements from the S-Pol and SMART-R to those from the more sensitive KAZR in order to characterize the hydrometeor detection capabilities of the two scanning precipitation radars. Frequency comparisons for precipitating convective cloudsmore » and non-precipitating high clouds agree much better than non-precipitating low clouds for both scanning radars due to issues in ground clutter. On average, SMART-R underestimates convective and high cloud tops by 0.3 to 1.1 km, while S-Pol underestimates cloud tops by less than 0.4 km for these cloud types. S-Pol shows excellent dynamic range in detecting various types of clouds and therefore its data are well suited for characterizing the evolution of the 3D cloud structures, complementing the profiling KAZR measurements. For detecting non-precipitating low clouds and thin cirrus clouds, KAZR remains the most reliable instrument. However, KAZR is attenuated in heavy precipitation and underestimates cloud top height due to rainfall attenuation 4.3% of the time during DYNAMO/AMIE. An empirical method to correct the KAZR cloud top heights is described, and a merged radar dataset is produced to provide improved cloud boundary estimates, microphysics and radiative heating retrievals.« less

The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS): a New Lidar for Aerosol and Cloud Profiling from the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welton, Ellsworth J.; McGill, Matthew J.; Yorks, John E.; Hlavka, Dennis L.; Hart, William D.; Palm, Stephen P.; Colarco, Peter R.

2011-01-01

Spaceborne lidar profiling of aerosol and cloud layers has been successfully implemented during a number of prior missions, including LITE, ICESat, and CALIPSO. Each successive mission has added increased capability and further expanded the role of these unique measurements in wide variety of applications ranging from climate, to air quality, to special event monitoring (ie, volcanic plumes). Many researchers have come to rely on the availability of profile data from CALIPSO, especially data coincident with measurements from other A-Train sensors. The CALIOP lidar on CALIPSO continues to operate well as it enters its fifth year of operations. However, active instruments have more limited lifetimes than their passive counterparts, and we are faced with a potential gap in lidar profiling from space if the CALIOP lidar fails before a new mission is operational. The ATLID lidar on EarthCARE is not expected to launch until 2015 or later, and the lidar component of NASA's proposed Aerosols, Clouds, and Ecosystems (ACE) mission would not be until after 2020. Here we present a new aerosol and cloud lidar that was recently selected to provide profiling data from the International Space Station (ISS) starting in 2013. The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) is a three wavelength (1064, 532, 355 nm) elastic backscatter lidar with HSRL capability at 532 nm. Depolarization measurements will be made at all wavelengths. The primary objective of CATS is to continue the CALIPSO aerosol and cloud profile data record, ideally with overlap between both missions and EarthCARE. In addition, the near real time data capability of the ISS will enable CATS to support operational applications such as air quality and special event monitoring. The HSRL channel will provide a demonstration of technology and a data testbed for direct extinction retrievals in support of ACE mission development. An overview of the instrument and mission will be provided, along with a summary of the science

The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS): A New Lidar for Aerosol and Cloud Profiling from the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welton, Ellsworth J.; McGill, Mathew J.; Yorks. John E.; Hlavka, Dennis L.; Hart, William D.; Palm, Stephen P.; Colarco, Peter R.

2012-01-01

Spaceborne lidar profiling of aerosol and cloud layers has been successfully implemented during a number of prior missions, including LITE, ICESat, and CALIPSO. Each successive mission has added increased capability and further expanded the role of these unique measurements in wide variety of applications ranging from climate, to air quality, to special event monitoring (ie, volcanic plumes). Many researchers have come to rely on the availability of profile data from CALIPSO, especially data coincident with measurements from other A-Train sensors. The CALIOP lidar on CALIPSO continues to operate well as it enters its fifth year of operations. However, active instruments have more limited lifetimes than their passive counterparts, and we are faced with a potential gap in lidar profiling from space if the CALIOP lidar fails before a new mission is operational. The ATLID lidar on EarthCARE is not expected to launch until 2015 or later, and the lidar component of NASA's proposed Aerosols, Clouds, and Ecosystems (ACE) mission would not be until after 2020. Here we present a new aerosol and cloud lidar that was recently selected to provide profiling data from the International Space Station (ISS) starting in 2013. The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) is a three wavelength (1064,532,355 nm) elastic backscatter lidar with HSRL capability at 532 nm. Depolarization measurements will be made at all wavelengths. The primary objective of CATS is to continue the CALIPSO aerosol and cloud profile data record, ideally with overlap between both missions and EarthCARE. In addition, the near real time (NRT) data capability ofthe ISS will enable CATS to support operational applications such as aerosol and air quality forecasting and special event monitoring. The HSRL channel will provide a demonstration of technology and a data testbed for direct extinction retrievals in support of ACE mission development. An overview of the instrument and mission will be provided, along with a

Scanning Cloud Radar Observations at the ARM sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kollias, P.; Clothiaux, E. E.; Shupe, M.; Widener, K.; Bharadwaj, N.; Miller, M. A.; Verlinde, H.; Luke, E. P.; Johnson, K. L.; Jo, I.; Tatarevic, A.; Lamer, K.

2012-12-01

Recently, the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program upgraded its fixed and mobile facilities with the acquisition of state-of-the-art scanning, dual-wavelength, polarimetric, Doppler cloud radars. The scanning ARM cloud radars (SACR's) are the most expensive and significant radar systems at all ARM sites and eight SACR systems will be operational at ARM sites by the end of 2013. The SACR's are the primary instruments for the detection of 3D cloud properties (boundaries, volume cloud fractional coverage, liquid water content, dynamics, etc.) beyond the soda-straw (profiling) limited view. Having scanning capabilities with two frequencies and polarization allows more accurate probing of a variety of cloud systems (e.g., drizzle and shallow, warm rain), better correction for attenuation, use of attenuation for liquid water content retrievals, and polarimetric and dual-wavelength ratio characterization of non-spherical particles for improved ice crystal habit identification. Examples of SACR observations from four ARM sites are presented here: the fixed sites at Southern Great Plains (SGP) and North Slope of Alaska (NSA), and the mobile facility deployments at Graciosa Island, Azores and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The 3D cloud structure is investigated both at the macro-scale (20-50 km) and cloud-scale (100-500 m). Doppler velocity measurements are corrected for velocity folding and are used either to describe the in-cloud horizontal wind profile or the 3D vertical air motions.

A new retrieval method for the ice water content of cirrus using data from the CloudSat and CALIPSO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Honglin; Bu, Lingbing; Kumar, K. Raghavendra; Gao, Haiyang; Huang, Xingyou; Zhang, Wentao

2017-08-01

The CloudSat and CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) are the members of satellite observation system of A-train to achieve the quasi-synchronization observation on the same orbit. With the help of active (CALIOP and CPR) and passive payloads from these two satellites, respectively, unprecedented detailed information of microphysical properties of ice cloud can be retrieved. The ice water content (IWC) is regarded as one of the most important microphysical characteristics of cirrus for its prominent role in cloud radiative forcing. In this paper, we proposed a new joint (Combination) retrieval method using the full advantages of different well established retrieval methods, namely the LIDAR method (for the region Lidar-only), the MWCR method (for the region Radar-only), and Wang method (for the region Lidar-Radar) proposed by Wang et al. (2002). In retrieval of cirrus IWC, empirical formulas of the exponential type were used for both thinner cirrus (detected by Lidar-only), thicker cirrus (detected by radar-only), and the part of cirrus detected by both, respectively. In the present study, the comparison of various methods verified that our proposed new joint method is more comprehensive, rational and reliable. Further, the retrieval information of cirrus is complete and accurate for the region that Lidar cannot penetrate and Radar is insensitive. On the whole, the retrieval results of IWC showed certain differences retrieved from the joint method, Ca&Cl, and ICARE which can be interpreted from the different hypothesis of microphysical characteristics and parameters used in the retrieval method. In addition, our joint method only uses the extinction coefficient and the radar reflectivity factor to calculate the IWC, which is simpler and reduces to some extent the accumulative error. In future studies, we will not only compare the value of IWC but also explore the detailed macrophysical and microphysical characteristics of

Cloud Physics Lidar Measurements During the SAFARI-2000 Field Campaign

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGill, Matthew; Hlavka, Dennis; Hart, William; Spinhirne, James; Scott, Stan; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

A new remote sensing instrument, the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) has been built for use on the ER-2 aircraft. The first deployment for CPL was the SAFARI-2000 field campaign during August-September 2000. The CPL is a three-wavelength lidar designed for studies of cirrus, subvisual cirrus, and boundary layer aerosols. The CPL utilizes a high repetition rate, low pulse energy laser with photon counting detectors. A brief description of the CPL instrument will be given, followed by examples of CPL data products. In particular, examples of aerosol backscatter, including boundary layer smoke and cirrus clouds will be shown. Resulting optical depth estimates derived from the aerosol measurements will be shown. Comparisons of the CPL optical depth and optical depth derived from microPulse Lidar and the AATS-14 sunphotomer will be shown.

Raster Vs. Point Cloud LiDAR Data Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Ashmawy, N.; Shaker, A.

2014-09-01

Airborne Laser Scanning systems with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology is one of the fast and accurate 3D point data acquisition techniques. Generating accurate digital terrain and/or surface models (DTM/DSM) is the main application of collecting LiDAR range data. Recently, LiDAR range and intensity data have been used for land cover classification applications. Data range and Intensity, (strength of the backscattered signals measured by the LiDAR systems), are affected by the flying height, the ground elevation, scanning angle and the physical characteristics of the objects surface. These effects may lead to uneven distribution of point cloud or some gaps that may affect the classification process. Researchers have investigated the conversion of LiDAR range point data to raster image for terrain modelling. Interpolation techniques have been used to achieve the best representation of surfaces, and to fill the gaps between the LiDAR footprints. Interpolation methods are also investigated to generate LiDAR range and intensity image data for land cover classification applications. In this paper, different approach has been followed to classifying the LiDAR data (range and intensity) for land cover mapping. The methodology relies on the classification of the point cloud data based on their range and intensity and then converted the classified points into raster image. The gaps in the data are filled based on the classes of the nearest neighbour. Land cover maps are produced using two approaches using: (a) the conventional raster image data based on point interpolation; and (b) the proposed point data classification. A study area covering an urban district in Burnaby, British Colombia, Canada, is selected to compare the results of the two approaches. Five different land cover classes can be distinguished in that area: buildings, roads and parking areas, trees, low vegetation (grass), and bare soil. The results show that an improvement of around 10 % in the

Synergistic Measurement of Ice Cloud Microphysics using C- and Ka-Band Radars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ewald, F.; Gross, S.; Hagen, M.; Li, Q.; Zinner, T.

2017-12-01

Ice clouds play an essential role in the climate system since they have a large effect on the Earth's radiation budget. Uncertainties associated with their spatial and temporal distribution as well as their optical and microphysical properties still account for large uncertainties in climate change predictions. Substantial improvement of our understanding of ice clouds was achieved with the advent of cloud radars into the field of ice cloud remote sensing. Here, highly variable ice crystal size distributions are one of the key issues remaining to be resolved. With radar reflectivity scaling with the sixth moment of the particle size, the assumed ice crystal size distribution has a large impact on the results of microphysical retrievals. Different ice crystal sizes distributions can, however, be distinguished, when cloud radars of different wavelength are used simultaneously.For this study, synchronous RHI scans were performed for a common measurement range of about 30 km between two radar instruments using different wavelengths: the dual-polarization C-band radar POLDIRAD operated at DLR and the Mira-36 Ka-band cloud radar operated at the University of Munich. For a measurement period over several months, the overlapping region for ice clouds turned out to be quite large. This gives evidence on the presence of moderate-sized ice crystals for which the backscatter is sufficient high to be visible in the C-band as well. In the range between -10 to +10 dBz, reflectivity measurements from both radars agreed quite well indicating the absence of large ice crystals. For reflectivities above +10 dBz, we observed differences with smaller values at the Ka-band due to Mie scattering effects at larger ice crystals.In this presentation, we will show how this differential reflectivity can be used to gain insight into ice cloud microphysics on the basis of electromagnetic scattering calculations. We will further explore ice cloud microphysics using the full polarization agility

Optically pre-amplified lidar-radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morvan, Loic; Dolfi, Daniel; Huignard, Jean-Pierre

2001-09-01

We present the concept of an optically pre-amplified intensity modulated lidar, where the modulation frequency is in the microwave domain (1-10 GHz). Such a system permits to combine directivity of laser beams with mature radar processing. As an intensity modulated or dual-frequency laser beam is directed on a target, the backscattered intensity is collected by an optical system, pass through an optical preamplifier, and is detected on a high speed photodiode in a direct detection scheme. A radar type processing permits then to extract range, speed and identification information. The association of spatially multimode amplifier and direct detection allows low sensitivity to atmospheric turbulence and large field of view. We demonstrated theoretically that optical pre-amplification can greatly enhance sensitivity, even in spatially multimode amplifiers, such as free-space amplifier or multimode doped fiber. Computed range estimates based on this concept are presented. Laboratory demonstrations using 1 to 3 GHz modulated laser sources and >20 dB gain in multimode amplifiers are detailed. Preliminary experimental results on range and speed measurements and possible use for large amplitude vibrometry will be presented.

Giant aerosol observations with cloud radar: methodology and effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guma Claramunt, Pilar; Madonna, Fabio; Amodeo, Aldo; Bauer-Pfundstein, Matthias; Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos; Pappalardo, Gelsomina

2017-04-01

Giant aerosol particles can act as Giant Cloud Condensation Nuclei (GCCN), and determine the droplet concentration at the cloud formation, the clouds albedo and lifetime, and the precipitation formation. In addition, depending on their composition, they can also act as IN. It is not yet clear if they can also expedite rain processes. The main techniques used nowadays in measuring aerosols, which are lidar and sun photometer, cannot retrieve aerosol microphysical properties for particles bigger than a few microns, which means that they do not account for giant aerosols. Therefore, the distribution and impact in the atmosphere and climate of these particles is not well known and the aerosol transport models largely underestimate them. Recent studies have demonstrated that cloud radars are able to detect ultragiant volcanic aerosols also at a large distance from the source. In this study, an innovative methodology for the observation of giant aerosols using the millimeter wavelength radar has been developed and applied to 6 years of measurements carried out at CNR-IMAA Atmospheric Observatory (CIAO), in Potenza, South Italy, finding more than 40 giant aerosol events per year and a good agreement with the aerosol climatologic data. Besides, the effects of giant aerosols in the local and regional meteorology have been studied by correlating several atmospheric variables in the time period following the observation of giant particles. The meteorological situation has been assessed through the data classification into cases characterized by different pressure vertical velocities at the upper atmosphere (400 hPa), Giant aerosols are correlated to lower values of the Cloud Optical Depth (COD) in presence of stable or unstable atmospheric conditions while higher values are found for an intermediate stability. The giant aerosols effects on the Liquid Water Path (LWP) are closely linked to those in the Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOD). The highest increases in the LWP occurs

Deriving Cloud Droplet Number Concentration from Combined Airborne Lidar and Polarimeter Measurements from the NAAMES Mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hair, J. W.; Hostetler, C. A.; Brian, C.; Ziemba, L. D.; Alexandrov, M. D.; Hu, Y.; Crosbie, E.; Scarino, A. J.; Butler, C. F.; Moore, R.; Berkoff, T.; Harper, D. B.; Cook, A. L.; Hare, R. J.; Lee, J.; Anderson, B. E.

2017-12-01

The NASA Langley High Spectral Resolution lidar (HSRL) and the NASA GISS Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) were deployed onboard the NASA C-130 during two field campaigns as part of the NASA's Earth Venture-Suborbital (EVS) North Atlantic Aerosol and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) during November 2015 and May 2016. The main objectives of NAAMES are to study the phases of the North Atlantic annual plankton cycle and to investigate remote marine aerosols and their impact on boundary layer clouds. Lidar retrievals of the cloud-top extinction and lidar ratio (extinction/backscatter ratio) of boundary layer clouds are presented. These retrievals are unique and are enabled by two characteristics of the lidar: employment of the high-spectral-resolution lidar technique and the high-vertical-resolution (1.25 m) the Langley HSRL instrument. The HSRL lidar ratio retrievals are compared to estimates derived from Research Scanning Polarimeter data to assess consistency between the two remote sensors. The measurements of effective size and variance from RSP are combined with the HSRL cloud top extinction to retrieve the cloud droplet number concentrations (CDNC). The lidar+polarimeter CDNC estimates are compared to those from the Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP) that is part of the NASA Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE) instrument suite. Histograms of the CNDC measurements from remote sensors are shown to highlight the observed differences in CDNC between the November and May deployments.

A Multi-Frequency Wide-Swath Spaceborne Cloud and Precipitation Imaging Radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Lihua; Racette, Paul; Heymsfield, Gary; McLinden, Matthew; Venkatesh, Vijay; Coon, Michael; Perrine, Martin; Park, Richard; Cooley, Michael; Stenger, Pete;

Impacts of Mass-dimension and Area-dimension relationships on retrieval ice particle effective radius from radar and lidar measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ham, S. H.; Kato, S.; Rose, F. G.

2016-12-01

In the retrieval of ice clouds from Radar and Lidar Measurements, mass-Dimension (m-D) and Area-Dimension (A-D) relationships are often used to describe nonspherical ice particle shapes. This study analytically investigates how the assumption of m-D and A-D relationships affects retrieval of ice effective radius. We use gamma and lognormal particle distributions and integrate optical parameters over the size distribution. The effective radius is expressed as a function of radar reflectivity factor, visible extinction coefficient, and parameters describing m-D and A-D relationships. The analytic expressions are used for converting effective radius retrieved from one set of m-D and A-D relationships into that with another set of m-D and A-D, including plates, solid columns, bullets, and mixture of different habits. The conversion method can be used for consistent radiative transfer simulation with cloud retrieval algorithms. In addition, when we want to merge cloud effective radii retrieved from different m-D and A-D, the conversion method can be efficiently used to remove undesired biases caused by m-D and A-D assumptions. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the effective radius to m-D and A-D relationships can be quantified by taking the first derivative of the effective radius with respect to parameters expressing the m-D and A-D relationships.

Airborne lidar/radiometric measurements of cirrus cloud parameters and their application to LOWTRAN radiance evaluations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uthe, Edward E.

1990-01-01

SRI has assembled an airborne lidar/radiometric instrumentation suite for mapping cirrus cloud distribution and analyzing cirrus cloud optical properties. Operation of upward viewing infrared radiometers from an airborne platform provides the optimum method of measuring high altitude cold cloud radiative properties with minimum interference from the thermal emission by the earth's surface and lower atmospheric components. Airborne installed sensors can also operate over large regional areas including water, urban, and mountain surfaces and above lower atmospheric convective clouds and haze layers. Currently available sensors installed on the SRI Queen Air aircraft are illustrated. Lidar and radiometric data records are processed for real time viewing on a color video screen. A cirrus cloud data example is presented as a black and white reproduction of a color display of data at the aircraft altitude of 12,000 ft, the 8 to 14 micron atmospheric radiation background was equivalent to a blackbody temperature of about -60 C and, therefore, the radiometer did not respond strongly to low density cirrus cloud concentrations detected by the lidar. Cloud blackbody temperatures (observed by radiometer) are shown plotted against midcloud temperatures (derived from lidar observed cloud heights and supporting temperature profiles) for data collected on 30 June and 28 July.

The variability of tropical ice cloud properties as a function of the large-scale context from ground-based radar-lidar observations over Darwin, Australia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Protat, A.; Delanoë, J.; May, P. T.; Haynes, J.; Jakob, C.; O'Connor, E.; Pope, M.; Wheeler, M. C.

2011-08-01

The high complexity of cloud parameterizations now held in models puts more pressure on observational studies to provide useful means to evaluate them. One approach to the problem put forth in the modelling community is to evaluate under what atmospheric conditions the parameterizations fail to simulate the cloud properties and under what conditions they do a good job. It is the ambition of this paper to characterize the variability of the statistical properties of tropical ice clouds in different tropical "regimes" recently identified in the literature to aid the development of better process-oriented parameterizations in models. For this purpose, the statistical properties of non-precipitating tropical ice clouds over Darwin, Australia are characterized using ground-based radar-lidar observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program. The ice cloud properties analysed are the frequency of ice cloud occurrence, the morphological properties (cloud top height and thickness), and the microphysical and radiative properties (ice water content, visible extinction, effective radius, and total concentration). The variability of these tropical ice cloud properties is then studied as a function of the large-scale cloud regimes derived from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP), the amplitude and phase of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), and the large-scale atmospheric regime as derived from a long-term record of radiosonde observations over Darwin. The vertical variability of ice cloud occurrence and microphysical properties is largest in all regimes (1.5 order of magnitude for ice water content and extinction, a factor 3 in effective radius, and three orders of magnitude in concentration, typically). 98 % of ice clouds in our dataset are characterized by either a small cloud fraction (smaller than 0.3) or a very large cloud fraction (larger than 0.9). In the ice part of the troposphere three distinct layers characterized by

Evaluation of wind field statistics near and inside clouds using a coherent Doppler lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lottman, Brian Todd

1998-09-01

This work proposes advanced techniques for measuring the spatial wind field statistics near and inside clouds using a vertically pointing solid state coherent Doppler lidar on a fixed ground based platform. The coherent Doppler lidar is an ideal instrument for high spatial and temporal resolution velocity estimates. The basic parameters of lidar are discussed, including a complete statistical description of the Doppler lidar signal. This description is extended to cases with simple functional forms for aerosol backscatter and velocity. An estimate for the mean velocity over a sensing volume is produced by estimating the mean spectra. There are many traditional spectral estimators, which are useful for conditions with slowly varying velocity and backscatter. A new class of estimators (novel) is introduced that produces reliable velocity estimates for conditions with large variations in aerosol backscatter and velocity with range, such as cloud conditions. Performance of traditional and novel estimators is computed for a variety of deterministic atmospheric conditions using computer simulated data. Wind field statistics are produced for actual data for a cloud deck, and for multi- layer clouds. Unique results include detection of possible spectral signatures for rain, estimates for the structure function inside a cloud deck, reliable velocity estimation techniques near and inside thin clouds, and estimates for simple wind field statistics between cloud layers.

Analysis of airborne Doppler lidar, Doppler radar and tall tower measurements of atmospheric flows in quiescent and stormy weather

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bluestein, H. B.; Doviak, R. J.; Eilts, M. D.; Mccaul, E. W.; Rabin, R.; Sundara-Rajan, A.; Zrnic, D. S.

1986-01-01

The first experiment to combine airborne Doppler Lidar and ground-based dual Doppler Radar measurements of wind to detail the lower tropospheric flows in quiescent and stormy weather was conducted in central Oklahoma during four days in June-July 1981. Data from these unique remote sensing instruments, coupled with data from conventional in-situ facilities, i.e., 500-m meteorological tower, rawinsonde, and surface based sensors, were analyzed to enhance understanding of wind, waves and turbulence. The purposes of the study were to: (1) compare winds mapped by ground-based dual Doppler radars, airborne Doppler lidar, and anemometers on a tower; (2) compare measured atmospheric boundary layer flow with flows predicted by theoretical models; (3) investigate the kinematic structure of air mass boundaries that precede the development of severe storms; and (4) study the kinematic structure of thunderstorm phenomena (downdrafts, gust fronts, etc.) that produce wind shear and turbulence hazardous to aircraft operations. The report consists of three parts: Part 1, Intercomparison of Wind Data from Airborne Lidar, Ground-Based Radars and Instrumented 444 m Tower; Part 2, The Structure of the Convective Atmospheric Boundary Layer as Revealed by Lidar and Doppler Radars; and Part 3, Doppler Lidar Observations in Thunderstorm Environments.

Aerosol and cloud observations from the Lidar In-space Technology Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winker, D. M.

1995-01-01

The Lidar In-Space Technology Experiment (LITE) is a backscatter lidar built by NASA Langley Research Center to fly on the Space Shuttle. The purpose of the program was to develop the engineering processes required for space lidar and to demonstrate applications of space lidar to remote sensing of the atmosphere. The instrument was flown on Discovery in September 1994. Global observations of clouds and aerosols were made between the latitudes of 57 deg N and 57 deg S during 10 days of the mission.

DC-8 Scanning Lidar Characterization of Aircraft Contrails and Cirrus Clouds

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uthe, Edward E.; Nielsen, Norman B.; Oseberg, Terje E.

1998-01-01

An angular-scanning large-aperture (36 cm) backscatter lidar was developed and deployed on the NASA DC-8 research aircraft as part of the SUCCESS (Subsonic Aircraft: Contrail and Cloud Effects Special Study) program. The lidar viewing direction could be scanned continuously during aircraft flight from vertically upward to forward to vertically downward, or the viewing could be at fixed angles. Real-time pictorial displays generated from the lidar signatures were broadcast on the DC-8 video network and used to locate clouds and contrails above, ahead of, and below the DC-8 to depict their spatial structure and to help select DC-8 altitudes for achieving optimum sampling by onboard in situ sensors. Several lidar receiver systems and real-time data displays were evaluated to help extend in situ data into vertical dimensions and to help establish possible lidar configurations and applications on future missions. Digital lidar signatures were recorded on 8 mm Exabyte tape and generated real-time displays were recorded on 8mm video tape. The digital records were transcribed in a common format to compact disks to facilitate data analysis and delivery to SUCCESS participants. Data selected from the real-time display video recordings were processed for publication-quality displays incorporating several standard lidar data corrections. Data examples are presented that illustrate: (1) correlation with particulate, gas, and radiometric measurements made by onboard sensors, (2) discrimination and identification between contrails observed by onboard sensors, (3) high-altitude (13 km) scattering layer that exhibits greatly enhanced vertical backscatter relative to off-vertical backscatter, and (4) mapping of vertical distributions of individual precipitating ice crystals and their capture by cloud layers. An angular scan plotting program was developed that accounts for DC-8 pitch and velocity.

Detection scheme for a partially occluded pedestrian based on occluded depth in lidar-radar sensor fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Seong Kyung; Hyun, Eugin; Lee, Jin-Hee; Lee, Jonghun; Son, Sang Hyuk

2017-11-01

Object detections are critical technologies for the safety of pedestrians and drivers in autonomous vehicles. Above all, occluded pedestrian detection is still a challenging topic. We propose a new detection scheme for occluded pedestrian detection by means of lidar-radar sensor fusion. In the proposed method, the lidar and radar regions of interest (RoIs) have been selected based on the respective sensor measurement. Occluded depth is a new means to determine whether an occluded target exists or not. The occluded depth is a region projected out by expanding the longitudinal distance with maintaining the angle formed by the outermost two end points of the lidar RoI. The occlusion RoI is the overlapped region made by superimposing the radar RoI and the occluded depth. The object within the occlusion RoI is detected by the radar measurement information and the occluded object is estimated as a pedestrian based on human Doppler distribution. Additionally, various experiments are performed in detecting a partially occluded pedestrian in outdoor as well as indoor environments. According to experimental results, the proposed sensor fusion scheme has much better detection performance compared to the case without our proposed method.

A study on the use of radar and lidar for characterizing ultragiant aerosol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Madonna, F.; Amodeo, A.; D'Amico, G.; Pappalardo, G.

2013-09-01

19 April to 19 May 2010, volcanic aerosol layers originating from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano were observed at the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis of the National Research Council of Italy Atmospheric Observatory, named CIAO (40.60°N, 15.72°E, 760 m above sea level), in Southern Italy with a multiwavelength Raman lidar. During this period, ultragiant aerosols were also observed at CIAO using a colocated 8.45 mm wavelength Doppler radar. The Ka-band radar signatures observed in four separate days (19 April and 7, 10, and 13 May) are consistent with the observation of nonspherical ultragiant aerosols characterized by values of linear depolarization ratio (LDR) higher than -4 dB. Air mass back trajectory analysis suggests a volcanic origin of the ultragiant aerosols observed by the radar. The observed values of the radar reflectivity (Ze) are consistent with a particle effective radius (r) larger than 50-75 µm. Scattering simulations based on the T-matrix approach show that the high LDR values can be explained if the observed particles have an absolute aspect ratio larger than 3.0 and consist of an internal aerosol core and external ice shell, with a variable radius ratio ranging between 0.2 and 0.7 depending on the shape and aspect ratio. Comparisons between daytime vertical profiles of aerosol backscatter coefficient (β) as measured by lidar and radar LDR reveal a decrease of β where ultragiant particles are observed. Scattering simulations based on Mie theory show how the lidar capability in typing ultragiant aerosols could be limited by low number concentrations or by the presence of an external ice shell covering the aerosol particles. Preferential vertical alignment of the particles is discussed as another possible reason for the decrease of β.

Exploring Stratocumulus Cloud-Top Entrainment Processes and Parameterizations by Using Doppler Cloud Radar Observations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Albrecht, Bruce; Fang, Ming; Ghate, Virendra

2016-02-01

Observations from an upward-pointing Doppler cloud radar are used to examine cloud-top entrainment processes and parameterizations in a non-precipitating continental stratocumulus cloud deck maintained by time varying surface buoyancy fluxes and cloud-top radiative cooling. Radar and ancillary observations were made at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM)’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site located near Lamont, Oklahoma of unbroken, non-precipitating stratocumulus clouds observed for a 14-hour period starting 0900 Central Standard Time on 25 March 2005. The vertical velocity variance and energy dissipation rate (EDR) terms in a parameterized turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) budget of the entrainment zone are estimated using themore » radar vertical velocity and the radar spectrum width observations from the upward-pointing millimeter cloud radar (MMCR) operating at the SGP site. Hourly averages of the vertical velocity variance term in the TKE entrainment formulation correlates strongly (r=0.72) to the dissipation rate term in the entrainment zone. However, the ratio of the variance term to the dissipation decreases at night due to decoupling of the boundary layer. When the night -time decoupling is accounted for, the correlation between the variance and the EDR term increases (r=0.92). To obtain bulk coefficients for the entrainment parameterizations derived from the TKE budget, independent estimate of entrainment were obtained from an inversion height budget using ARM SGP observations of the local time derivative and the horizontal advection of the cloud-top height. The large-scale vertical velocity at the inversion needed for this budget from EMWF reanalysis. This budget gives a mean entrainment rate for the observing period of 0.76±0.15 cm/s. This mean value is applied to the TKE budget parameterizations to obtain the bulk coefficients needed in these parameterizations. These bulk coefficients are compared with those from previous and are used to in

A simple biota removal algorithm for 35 GHz cloud radar measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalapureddy, Madhu Chandra R.; Sukanya, Patra; Das, Subrata K.; Deshpande, Sachin M.; Pandithurai, Govindan; Pazamany, Andrew L.; Ambuj K., Jha; Chakravarty, Kaustav; Kalekar, Prasad; Krishna Devisetty, Hari; Annam, Sreenivas

2018-03-01

Cloud radar reflectivity profiles can be an important measurement for the investigation of cloud vertical structure (CVS). However, extracting intended meteorological cloud content from the measurement often demands an effective technique or algorithm that can reduce error and observational uncertainties in the recorded data. In this work, a technique is proposed to identify and separate cloud and non-hydrometeor echoes using the radar Doppler spectral moments profile measurements. The point and volume target-based theoretical radar sensitivity curves are used for removing the receiver noise floor and identified radar echoes are scrutinized according to the signal decorrelation period. Here, it is hypothesized that cloud echoes are observed to be temporally more coherent and homogenous and have a longer correlation period than biota. That can be checked statistically using ˜ 4 s sliding mean and standard deviation value of reflectivity profiles. The above step helps in screen out clouds critically by filtering out the biota. The final important step strives for the retrieval of cloud height. The proposed algorithm potentially identifies cloud height solely through the systematic characterization of Z variability using the local atmospheric vertical structure knowledge besides to the theoretical, statistical and echo tracing tools. Thus, characterization of high-resolution cloud radar reflectivity profile measurements has been done with the theoretical echo sensitivity curves and observed echo statistics for the true cloud height tracking (TEST). TEST showed superior performance in screening out clouds and filtering out isolated insects. TEST constrained with polarimetric measurements was found to be more promising under high-density biota whereas TEST combined with linear depolarization ratio and spectral width perform potentially to filter out biota within the highly turbulent shallow cumulus clouds in the convective boundary layer (CBL). This TEST technique is

An Automated Cloud-edge Detection Algorithm Using Cloud Physics and Radar Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ward, Jennifer G.; Merceret, Francis J.; Grainger, Cedric A.

2003-01-01

An automated cloud edge detection algorithm was developed and extensively tested. The algorithm uses in-situ cloud physics data measured by a research aircraft coupled with ground-based weather radar measurements to determine whether the aircraft is in or out of cloud. Cloud edges are determined when the in/out state changes, subject to a hysteresis constraint. The hysteresis constraint prevents isolated transient cloud puffs or data dropouts from being identified as cloud boundaries. The algorithm was verified by detailed manual examination of the data set in comparison to the results from application of the automated algorithm.

Twomey Effect in Subtropical Stratocumulus Clouds from UV Depolarization LIDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Graaf, Martin; Brown, Jessica; Donovan, David

2018-04-01

Marine stratocumulus clouds are important climate regulators, reflecting sunlight over a dark ocean background. A UV-depolarization lidar on Ascension, a small remote island in the south Atlantic, measured cloud droplet sizes and number concentration using an inversion method based on Monte Carlo (MC) modelling of multiple scattering in idealised semiadiabatic clouds. The droplet size and number concentration weremodulated due to smoke from the African continent, measured by the same instrument.

Reconciling Ground-Based and Space-Based Estimates of the Frequency of Occurrence and Radiative Effect of Clouds around Darwin, Australia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Protat, Alain; Young, Stuart; McFarlane, Sally A.

2014-02-01

The objective of this paper is to investigate whether estimates of the cloud frequency of occurrence and associated cloud radiative forcing as derived from ground-based and satellite active remote sensing and radiative transfer calculations can be reconciled over a well instrumented active remote sensing site located in Darwin, Australia, despite the very different viewing geometry and instrument characteristics. It is found that the ground-based radar-lidar combination at Darwin does not detect most of the cirrus clouds above 10 km (due to limited lidar detection capability and signal obscuration by low-level clouds) and that the CloudSat radar - Cloud-Aerosol Lidar withmore » Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) combination underreports the hydrometeor frequency of occurrence below 2 km height, due to instrument limitations at these heights. The radiative impact associated with these differences in cloud frequency of occurrence is large on the surface downwelling shortwave fluxes (ground and satellite) and the top-of atmosphere upwelling shortwave and longwave fluxes (ground). Good agreement is found for other radiative fluxes. Large differences in radiative heating rate as derived from ground and satellite radar-lidar instruments and RT calculations are also found above 10 km (up to 0.35 Kday-1 for the shortwave and 0.8 Kday-1 for the longwave). Given that the ground-based and satellite estimates of cloud frequency of occurrence and radiative impact cannot be fully reconciled over Darwin, caution should be exercised when evaluating the representation of clouds and cloud-radiation interactions in large-scale models and limitations of each set of instrumentation should be considered when interpreting model-observations differences.« less

Verifying Air Force Weather Passive Satellite Derived Cloud Analysis Products

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nobis, T. E.

2017-12-01

Air Force Weather (AFW) has developed an hourly World-Wide Merged Cloud Analysis (WWMCA) using imager data from 16 geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites. The analysis product contains information on cloud fraction, height, type and various optical properties including optical depth and integrated water path. All of these products are derived using a suite of algorithms which rely exclusively on passively sensed data from short, mid and long wave imager data. The system integrates satellites with a wide-range of capabilities, from the relatively simple two-channel OLS imager to the 16 channel ABI/AHI to create a seamless global analysis in real time. Over the last couple of years, AFW has started utilizing independent verification data from active sensed cloud measurements to better understand the performance limitations of the WWMCA. Sources utilized include space based lidars (CALIPSO, CATS) and radar (CloudSat) as well as ground based lidars from the Department of Energy ARM sites and several European cloud radars. This work will present findings from our efforts to compare active and passive sensed cloud information including comparison techniques/limitations as well as performance of the passive derived cloud information against the active.

Aerosol and Cloud Observations and Data Products by the GLAS Polar Orbiting Lidar Instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spinhirne, J. D.; Palm, S. P.; Hlavka, D. L.; Hart, W. D.; Mahesh, A.; Welton, E. J.

2005-01-01

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) launched in 2003 is the first polar orbiting satellite lidar. The instrument was designed for high performance observations of the distribution and optical scattering cross sections of clouds and aerosol. The backscatter lidar operates at two wavelengths, 532 and 1064 nm. Both receiver channels meet and exceed their design goals, and beginning with a two month period through October and November 2003, an excellent global lidar data set now exists. The data products for atmospheric observations include the calibrated, attenuated backscatter cross section for cloud and aerosol; height detection for multiple cloud layers; planetary boundary layer height; cirrus and aerosol optical depth and the height distribution of aerosol and cloud scattering cross section profiles. The data sets are now in open release through the NASA data distribution system. The initial results on global statistics for cloud and aerosol distribution has been produced and in some cases compared to other satellite observations. The sensitivity of the cloud measurements is such that the 70% global cloud coverage result should be the most accurate to date. Results on the global distribution of aerosol are the first that produce the true height distribution for model inter-comparison.

The 94 GHz Cloud Radar System on a NASA ER-2 Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Lihua; Heymsfield, Gerald M.; Racette, Paul E.; Tian, Lin; Zenker, Ed

2003-01-01

The 94-GHz (W-band) Cloud Radar System (CRS) has been developed and flown on a NASA ER-2 high-altitude (20 km) aircraft. The CRS is a fully coherent, polarimeteric Doppler radar that is capable of detecting clouds and precipitation from the surface up to the aircraft altitude in the lower stratosphere. The radar is especially well suited for cirrus cloud studies because of its high sensitivity and fine spatial resolution. This paper describes the CRS motivation, instrument design, specifications, calibration, and preliminary data &om NASA s Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers - Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE) field campaign. The unique combination of CRS with other sensors on the ER-2 provides an unprecedented opportunity to study cloud radiative effects on the global energy budget. CRS observations are being used to improve our knowledge of atmospheric scattering and attenuation characteristics at 94 GHz, and to provide datasets for algorithm implementation and validation for the upcoming NASA CloudSat mission that will use a 94-GHz spaceborne cloud radar to provide the first direct global survey of the vertical structure of cloud systems.

The behavior of the radar parameters of cumulonimbus clouds during cloud seeding with AgI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vujović, D.; Protić, M.

2017-06-01

Deep convection yielding severe weather phenomena (hail, flash floods, thunder) is frequent in Serbia during the warmer part of the year, i.e. April to September. As an effort to mitigate any potential damage to material goods, agricultural crops and vegetation from larger hailstones, cloud seeding is performed. In this paper, we analyzed 29 severe hailstorms seeded by silver iodide. From these, we chose five intense summer thunderstorm cells to analyze in detail the influence of silver-iodide cloud seeding on the radar parameters. Four of them were seeded and one was not. We also used data from firing stations (hail fall occurrence, the size of the hailstones). The most sensitive radar parameter in seeding was the height where maximum reflectivity in the cloud was observed. Its cascade appeared in every case of seeding, but was absent from the non-seeded case. In the case of the supercell, increase and decrease of the height where maximum reflectivity in the cloud was observed occurred in almost regular intervals, 12 to 15 min. The most inert parameter in seeding was maximum radar reflectivity. It changed one to two dBz during one cycle. The height of the top of the cloud and the height of the zone exhibiting enhanced radar echo both had similar behavior. It seems that both increased after seeding due to a dynamic effect: upward currents increasing due to the release of latent heat during the freezing of supercooled droplets. Mean values of the height where maximum reflectivity in the cloud was observed, the height of the top of the cloud and the height of the zone exhibiting enhanced radar echo during seeded period were greater than during unseeded period in 75.9%, 72.4% and 79.3% cases, respectively. This is because the values of the chosen storm parameters were higher when the seeding started, and then those values decreased after the seeded was conducted.

Polar winter cloud depolarization measurements with the CANDAC Rayleigh-Mie-Raman Lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCullough, E. M.; Nott, G. J.; Duck, T. J.; Sica, R. J.; Doyle, J. G.; Pike-thackray, C.; Drummond, J. R.

2011-12-01

Clouds introduce a significant positive forcing to the Arctic radiation budget and this is strongest during the polar winter when shortwave radiation is absent (Intrieri et al., 2002). The amount of forcing depends on the occurrence probability and optical depth of the clouds as well as the cloud particle phase (Ebert and Curry 1992). Mixed-phase clouds are particularly complex as they involve interactions between three phases of water (vapour, liquid and ice) coexisting in the same cloud. Although significant progress has been made in characterizing wintertime Arctic clouds (de Boer et al., 2009 and 2011), there is considerable variability in the relative abundance of particles of each phase, in the morphology of solid particles, and in precipitation rates depending on the meteorology at the time. The Canadian Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Change (CANDAC) Rayleigh-Mie-Raman Lidar (CRL) was installed in the Canadian High Arctic at Eureka, Nunavut (80°N, 86°W) in 2008-2009. The remotely-operated system began with measurement capabilities for multi-wavelength aerosol extinction, water vapour mixing ratio, and tropospheric temperature profiles, as well as backscatter cross section coefficient and colour ratio. In 2010, a new depolarization channel was added. The capability to measure the polarization state of the return signal allows the characterization of the cloud in terms of liquid and ice water content, enabling the lidar to probe all three phases of water in these clouds. Lidar depolarization results from 2010 and 2011 winter clouds at Eureka will be presented, with a focus on differences in downwelling radiation between mixed phase clouds and ice clouds. de Boer, G., E.W. Eloranta, and M.D. Shupe (2009), Arctic mixed-phase stratiform cloud properties from multiple years of surface-based measurements at two high-latitude locations, Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 66 (9), 2874-2887. de Boer, G., H. Morrison, M. D. Shupe, and R. Hildner (2011

Multi-wavelength dual polarisation lidar for monitoring precipitation process in the cloud seeding technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudhakar, P.; Sheela, K. Anitha; Ramakrishna Rao, D.; Malladi, Satyanarayana

2016-05-01

In recent years weather modification activities are being pursued in many countries through cloud seeding techniques to facilitate the increased and timely precipitation from the clouds. In order to induce and accelerate the precipitation process clouds are artificially seeded with suitable materials like silver iodide, sodium chloride or other hygroscopic materials. The success of cloud seeding can be predicted with confidence if the precipitation process involving aerosol, the ice water balance, water vapor content and size of the seeding material in relation to aerosol in the cloud is monitored in real time and optimized. A project on the enhancement of rain fall through cloud seeding is being implemented jointly with Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd. Trivandrum, Kerala, India at the catchment areas of the reservoir of one of the Hydro electric projects. The dual polarization lidar is being used to monitor and measure the microphysical properties, the extinction coefficient, size distribution and related parameters of the clouds. The lidar makes use of the Mie, Rayleigh and Raman scattering techniques for the various measurement proposed. The measurements with the dual polarization lidar as above are being carried out in real time to obtain the various parameters during cloud seeding operations. In this paper we present the details of the multi-wavelength dual polarization lidar being used and the methodology to monitor the various cloud parameters involved in the precipitation process. The necessary retrieval algorithms for deriving the microphysical properties of clouds, aerosols characteristics and water vapor profiles are incorporated as a software package working under Lab-view for online and off line analysis. Details on the simulation studies and the theoretical model developed in this regard for the optimization of various parameters are discussed.

Evaluating and improving cloud phase in the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 using spaceborne lidar observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kay, Jennifer E.; Bourdages, Line; Miller, Nathaniel B.; Morrison, Ariel; Yettella, Vineel; Chepfer, Helene; Eaton, Brian

2016-04-01

Spaceborne lidar observations from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite are used to evaluate cloud amount and cloud phase in the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 (CAM5), the atmospheric component of a widely used state-of-the-art global coupled climate model (Community Earth System Model). By embedding a lidar simulator within CAM5, the idiosyncrasies of spaceborne lidar cloud detection and phase assignment are replicated. As a result, this study makes scale-aware and definition-aware comparisons between model-simulated and observed cloud amount and cloud phase. In the global mean, CAM5 has insufficient liquid cloud and excessive ice cloud when compared to CALIPSO observations. Over the ice-covered Arctic Ocean, CAM5 has insufficient liquid cloud in all seasons. Having important implications for projections of future sea level rise, a liquid cloud deficit contributes to a cold bias of 2-3°C for summer daily maximum near-surface air temperatures at Summit, Greenland. Over the midlatitude storm tracks, CAM5 has excessive ice cloud and insufficient liquid cloud. Storm track cloud phase biases in CAM5 maximize over the Southern Ocean, which also has larger-than-observed seasonal variations in cloud phase. Physical parameter modifications reduce the Southern Ocean cloud phase and shortwave radiation biases in CAM5 and illustrate the power of the CALIPSO observations as an observational constraint. The results also highlight the importance of using a regime-based, as opposed to a geographic-based, model evaluation approach. More generally, the results demonstrate the importance and value of simulator-enabled comparisons of cloud phase in models used for future climate projection.

Reducing Surface Clutter in Cloud Profiling Radar Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tanelli, Simone; Pak, Kyung; Durden, Stephen; Im, Eastwood

2008-01-01

An algorithm has been devised to reduce ground clutter in the data products of the CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR), which is a nadir-looking radar instrument, in orbit around the Earth, that measures power backscattered by clouds as a function of distance from the instrument. Ground clutter contaminates the CPR data in the lowest 1 km of the atmospheric profile, heretofore making it impossible to use CPR data to satisfy the scientific interest in studying clouds and light rainfall at low altitude. The algorithm is based partly on the fact that the CloudSat orbit is such that the geodetic altitude of the CPR varies continuously over a range of approximately 25 km. As the geodetic altitude changes, the radar timing parameters are changed at intervals defined by flight software in order to keep the troposphere inside a data-collection time window. However, within each interval, the surface of the Earth continuously "scans through" (that is, it moves across) a few range bins of the data time window. For each radar profile, only few samples [one for every range-bin increment ((Delta)r = 240 m)] of the surface-clutter signature are available around the range bin in which the peak of surface return is observed, but samples in consecutive radar profiles are offset slightly (by amounts much less than (Delta)r) with respect to each other according to the relative change in geodetic altitude. As a consequence, in a case in which the surface area under examination is homogenous (e.g., an ocean surface), a sequence of consecutive radar profiles of the surface in that area contains samples of the surface response with range resolution (Delta)p much finer than the range-bin increment ((Delta)p << r). Once the high-resolution surface response has thus become available, the profile of surface clutter can be accurately estimated by use of a conventional maximum-correlation scheme: A translated and scaled version of the high-resolution surface response is fitted to the observed

Efficient LIDAR Point Cloud Data Managing and Processing in a Hadoop-Based Distributed Framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, C.; Hu, F.; Sha, D.; Han, X.

2017-10-01

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is one of the most promising technologies in surveying and mapping city management, forestry, object recognition, computer vision engineer and others. However, it is challenging to efficiently storage, query and analyze the high-resolution 3D LiDAR data due to its volume and complexity. In order to improve the productivity of Lidar data processing, this study proposes a Hadoop-based framework to efficiently manage and process LiDAR data in a distributed and parallel manner, which takes advantage of Hadoop's storage and computing ability. At the same time, the Point Cloud Library (PCL), an open-source project for 2D/3D image and point cloud processing, is integrated with HDFS and MapReduce to conduct the Lidar data analysis algorithms provided by PCL in a parallel fashion. The experiment results show that the proposed framework can efficiently manage and process big LiDAR data.

Comparison of Monthly Mean Cloud Fraction and Cloud Optical depth Determined from Surface Cloud Radar, TOVS, AVHRR, and MODIS over Barrow, Alaska

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Uttal, Taneil; Frisch, Shelby; Wang, Xuan-Ji; Key, Jeff; Schweiger, Axel; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Minnis, Patrick

2005-01-01

A one year comparison is made of mean monthly values of cloud fraction and cloud optical depth over Barrow, Alaska (71 deg 19.378 min North, 156 deg 36.934 min West) between 35 GHz radar-based retrievals, the TOVS Pathfinder Path-P product, the AVHRR APP-X product, and a MODIS based cloud retrieval product from the CERES-Team. The data sets represent largely disparate spatial and temporal scales, however, in this paper, the focus is to provide a preliminary analysis of how the mean monthly values derived from these different data sets compare, and determine how they can best be used separately, and in combination to provide reliable estimates of long-term trends of changing cloud properties. The radar and satellite data sets described here incorporate Arctic specific modifications that account for cloud detection challenges specific to the Arctic environment. The year 2000 was chosen for this initial comparison because the cloud radar data was particularly continuous and reliable that year, and all of the satellite retrievals of interest were also available for the year 2000. Cloud fraction was chosen as a comparison variable as accurate detection of cloud is the primary product that is necessary for any other cloud property retrievals. Cloud optical depth was additionally selected as it is likely the single cloud property that is most closely correlated to cloud influences on surface radiation budgets.

Mid-Level Mixed-Phase Cloud Properties Derived From Polarization Lidar Measurements and Model Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sassen, K.; Canonica, L.; James, C.; Khvorostyanov, V.

2005-12-01

Water-dominated altocumulus clouds are distributed world-wide in the middle troposphere, and so are generally supercooled clouds with variable amounts of ice production via the heterogeneous droplet freezing process, which depends on temperature and the availability of ice nuclei. Although they tend to be relatively optically thin (i.e., for water clouds) and may often act similarly to cirrus clouds, altocumulus are globally widespread and probably play a significant role in maintaining the radiation balance of the Earth/atmosphere system. We will review recent cloud microphysical/ radiative model findings describing their impact on radiation transfer, and how increasing ice content (leading to cloud glaciation) affects their radiative impact. These simulations are based on the results of a polarization lidar climatology of the macrophysical properties of midlatitude altocumulus clouds, which variably produced ice virga. A new more advanced polarization lidar algorithm for characterizing mixed-phase cloud properties is currently being developed. Relative ice content is shown to have a large effect on atmospheric heating rates. We will also present lidar data examples, from Florida to Alaska, that indicate how desert dust and forest fire smoke aerosols can affect supercooled cloud phase. Since such aerosols may be becoming increasingly prevalent due to various human activities or climate change itself, it is important to assess the potential effects of increasing ice nuclei to climate change.

Integrated Cloud-Aerosol-Radiation Product using CERES, MODIS, CALIPSO and CloudSat Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sun-Mack, Sunny; Minnis, Patrick; Chen, Yan; Gibson, Sharon; Yi, Yuhong; Trepte, Qing; Wielicki, Bruce; Kato, Seiji; Winker, Dave

2007-01-01

This paper documents the development of the first integrated data set of global vertical profiles of clouds, aerosols, and radiation using the combined NASA A-Train data from the Aqua Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), and CloudSat. As part of this effort, cloud data from the CALIPSO lidar and the CloudSat radar are merged with the integrated column cloud properties from the CERES-MODIS analyses. The active and passive datasets are compared to determine commonalities and differences in order to facilitate the development of a 3- dimensional cloud and aerosol dataset that will then be integrated into the CERES broadband radiance footprint. Preliminary results from the comparisons for April 2007 reveal that the CERES-MODIS global cloud amounts are, on average, 0.14 less and 0.15 greater than those from CALIPSO and CloudSat, respectively. These new data will provide unprecedented ability to test and improve global cloud and aerosol models, to investigate aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing, and to validate the accuracy of global aerosol, cloud, and radiation data sets especially in polar regions and for multi-layered cloud conditions.

Integrated cloud-aerosol-radiation product using CERES, MODIS, CALIPSO, and CloudSat data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun-Mack, Sunny; Minnis, Patrick; Chen, Yan; Gibson, Sharon; Yi, Yuhong; Trepte, Qing; Wielicki, Bruce; Kato, Seiji; Winker, Dave; Stephens, Graeme; Partain, Philip

2007-10-01

This paper documents the development of the first integrated data set of global vertical profiles of clouds, aerosols, and radiation using the combined NASA A-Train data from the Aqua Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO), and CloudSat. As part of this effort, cloud data from the CALIPSO lidar and the CloudSat radar are merged with the integrated column cloud properties from the CERES-MODIS analyses. The active and passive datasets are compared to determine commonalities and differences in order to facilitate the development of a 3-dimensional cloud and aerosol dataset that will then be integrated into the CERES broadband radiance footprint. Preliminary results from the comparisons for April 2007 reveal that the CERES-MODIS global cloud amounts are, on average, 0.14 less and 0.15 greater than those from CALIPSO and CloudSat, respectively. These new data will provide unprecedented ability to test and improve global cloud and aerosol models, to investigate aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcing, and to validate the accuracy of global aerosol, cloud, and radiation data sets especially in polar regions and for multi-layered cloud conditions.

Comparison of Cloud Properties from CALIPSO-CloudSat and Geostationary Satellite Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, L.; Minnis, P.; Chang, F.; Winker, D.; Sun-Mack, S.; Spangenberg, D.; Austin, R.

2007-01-01

Cloud properties are being derived in near-real time from geostationary satellite imager data for a variety of weather and climate applications and research. Assessment of the uncertainties in each of the derived cloud parameters is essential for confident use of the products. Determination of cloud amount, cloud top height, and cloud layering is especially important for using these real -time products for applications such as aircraft icing condition diagnosis and numerical weather prediction model assimilation. Furthermore, the distribution of clouds as a function of altitude has become a central component of efforts to evaluate climate model cloud simulations. Validation of those parameters has been difficult except over limited areas where ground-based active sensors, such as cloud radars or lidars, have been available on a regular basis. Retrievals of cloud properties are sensitive to the surface background, time of day, and the clouds themselves. Thus, it is essential to assess the geostationary satellite retrievals over a variety of locations. The availability of cloud radar data from CloudSat and lidar data from CALIPSO make it possible to perform those assessments over each geostationary domain at 0130 and 1330 LT. In this paper, CloudSat and CALIPSO data are matched with contemporaneous Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT), and Meteosat-8 data. Unlike comparisons with cloud products derived from A-Train imagers, this study considers comparisons of nadir active sensor data with off-nadir retrievals. These matched data are used to determine the uncertainties in cloud-top heights and cloud amounts derived from the geostationary satellite data using the Clouds and the Earth s Radiant Energy System (CERES) cloud retrieval algorithms. The CERES multi-layer cloud detection method is also evaluated to determine its accuracy and limitations in the off-nadir mode. The results will be useful for

G-band atmospheric radars: new frontiers in cloud physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battaglia, A.; Westbrook, C. D.; Kneifel, S.; Kollias, P.; Humpage, N.; Löhnert, U.; Tyynelä, J.; Petty, G. W.

2014-01-01

Clouds and associated precipitation are the largest source of uncertainty in current weather and future climate simulations. Observations of the microphysical, dynamical and radiative processes that act at cloud-scales are needed to improve our understanding of clouds. The rapid expansion of ground-based super-sites and the availability of continuous profiling and scanning multi-frequency radar observations at 35 and 94 GHz have significantly improved our ability to probe the internal structure of clouds in high temporal-spatial resolution, and to retrieve quantitative cloud and precipitation properties. However, there are still gaps in our ability to probe clouds due to large uncertainties in the retrievals. The present work discusses the potential of G-band (frequency between 110 and 300 GHz) Doppler radars in combination with lower frequencies to further improve the retrievals of microphysical properties. Our results show that, thanks to a larger dynamic range in dual-wavelength reflectivity, dual-wavelength attenuation and dual-wavelength Doppler velocity (with respect to a Rayleigh reference), the inclusion of frequencies in the G-band can significantly improve current profiling capabilities in three key areas: boundary layer clouds, cirrus and mid-level ice clouds, and precipitating snow.

G band atmospheric radars: new frontiers in cloud physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battaglia, A.; Westbrook, C. D.; Kneifel, S.; Kollias, P.; Humpage, N.; Löhnert, U.; Tyynelä, J.; Petty, G. W.

2014-06-01

Clouds and associated precipitation are the largest source of uncertainty in current weather and future climate simulations. Observations of the microphysical, dynamical and radiative processes that act at cloud scales are needed to improve our understanding of clouds. The rapid expansion of ground-based super-sites and the availability of continuous profiling and scanning multi-frequency radar observations at 35 and 94 GHz have significantly improved our ability to probe the internal structure of clouds in high temporal-spatial resolution, and to retrieve quantitative cloud and precipitation properties. However, there are still gaps in our ability to probe clouds due to large uncertainties in the retrievals. The present work discusses the potential of G band (frequency between 110 and 300 GHz) Doppler radars in combination with lower frequencies to further improve the retrievals of microphysical properties. Our results show that, thanks to a larger dynamic range in dual-wavelength reflectivity, dual-wavelength attenuation and dual-wavelength Doppler velocity (with respect to a Rayleigh reference), the inclusion of frequencies in the G band can significantly improve current profiling capabilities in three key areas: boundary layer clouds, cirrus and mid-level ice clouds, and precipitating snow.

Electric Field Magnitude and Radar Reflectivity as a Function of Distance from Cloud Edge

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ward, Jennifer G.; Merceret, Francis J.

2004-01-01

The results of analyses of data collected during a field investigation of thunderstorm anvil and debris clouds are reported. Statistics of the magnitude of the electric field are determined as a function of distance from cloud edge. Statistics of radar reflectivity near cloud edge are also determined. Both analyses use in-situ airborne field mill and cloud physics data coupled with ground-based radar measurements obtained in east-central Florida during the summer convective season. Electric fields outside of anvil and debris clouds averaged less than 3 kV/m. The average radar reflectivity at the cloud edge ranged between 0 and 5 dBZ.

Relationships among cloud occurrence frequency, overlap, and effective thickness derived from CALIPSO and CloudSat merged cloud vertical profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kato, Seiji; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Miller, Walter F.; Rose, Fred G.; Chen, Yan; Minnis, Patrick; Wielicki, Bruce A.

2010-01-01

A cloud frequency of occurrence matrix is generated using merged cloud vertical profiles derived from the satellite-borne Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and cloud profiling radar. The matrix contains vertical profiles of cloud occurrence frequency as a function of the uppermost cloud top. It is shown that the cloud fraction and uppermost cloud top vertical profiles can be related by a cloud overlap matrix when the correlation length of cloud occurrence, which is interpreted as an effective cloud thickness, is introduced. The underlying assumption in establishing the above relation is that cloud overlap approaches random overlap with increasing distance separating cloud layers and that the probability of deviating from random overlap decreases exponentially with distance. One month of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) and CloudSat data (July 2006) support these assumptions, although the correlation length sometimes increases with separation distance when the cloud top height is large. The data also show that the correlation length depends on cloud top hight and the maximum occurs when the cloud top height is 8 to 10 km. The cloud correlation length is equivalent to the decorrelation distance introduced by Hogan and Illingworth (2000) when cloud fractions of both layers in a two-cloud layer system are the same. The simple relationships derived in this study can be used to estimate the top-of-atmosphere irradiance difference caused by cloud fraction, uppermost cloud top, and cloud thickness vertical profile differences.

Target categorization of aerosol and clouds by continuous multiwavelength-polarization lidar measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baars, Holger; Seifert, Patric; Engelmann, Ronny; Wandinger, Ulla

2017-09-01

Absolute calibrated signals at 532 and 1064 nm and the depolarization ratio from a multiwavelength lidar are used to categorize primary aerosol but also clouds in high temporal and spatial resolution. Automatically derived particle backscatter coefficient profiles in low temporal resolution (30 min) are applied to calibrate the lidar signals. From these calibrated lidar signals, new atmospheric parameters in temporally high resolution (quasi-particle-backscatter coefficients) are derived. By using thresholds obtained from multiyear, multisite EARLINET (European Aerosol Research Lidar Network) measurements, four aerosol classes (small; large, spherical; large, non-spherical; mixed, partly non-spherical) and several cloud classes (liquid, ice) are defined. Thus, particles are classified by their physical features (shape and size) instead of by source. The methodology is applied to 2 months of continuous observations (24 h a day, 7 days a week) with the multiwavelength-Raman-polarization lidar PollyXT during the High-Definition Clouds and Precipitation for advancing Climate Prediction (HD(CP)2) Observational Prototype Experiment (HOPE) in spring 2013. Cloudnet equipment was operated continuously directly next to the lidar and is used for comparison. By discussing three 24 h case studies, it is shown that the aerosol discrimination is very feasible and informative and gives a good complement to the Cloudnet target categorization. Performing the categorization for the 2-month data set of the entire HOPE campaign, almost 1 million pixel (5 min × 30 m) could be analysed with the newly developed tool. We find that the majority of the aerosol trapped in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) was composed of small particles as expected for a heavily populated and industrialized area. Large, spherical aerosol was observed mostly at the top of the PBL and close to the identified cloud bases, indicating the importance of hygroscopic growth of the particles at high relative

Scanning ARM Cloud Radar Handbook

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Widener, K; Bharadwaj, N; Johnson, K

2012-06-18

The scanning ARM cloud radar (SACR) is a polarimetric Doppler radar consisting of three different radar designs based on operating frequency. These are designated as follows: (1) X-band SACR (X-SACR); (2) Ka-band SACR (Ka-SACR); and (3) W-band SACR (W-SACR). There are two SACRs on a single pedestal at each site where SACRs are deployed. The selection of the operating frequencies at each deployed site is predominantly determined by atmospheric attenuation at the site. Because RF attenuation increases with atmospheric water vapor content, ARM's Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) sites use the X-/Ka-band frequency pair. The Southern Great Plains (SGP) and Northmore » Slope of Alaska (NSA) sites field the Ka-/W-band frequency pair. One ARM Mobile Facility (AMF1) has a Ka/W-SACR and the other (AMF2) has a X/Ka-SACR.« less

Macrophysical Properties of Tropical Cirrus Clouds from the CALIPSO Satellite and from Ground-based Micropulse and Raman Lidars

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thorsen, Tyler J.; Fu, Qiang; Comstock, Jennifer M.

2013-08-27

Lidar observations of cirrus cloud macrophysical properties over the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program Darwin, Australia site are compared from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and In- frared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite, the ground-based ARM micropulse lidar (MPL), and the ARM Raman lidar (RL). Comparisons are made using the subset of profiles where the lidar beam is not fully attenuated. Daytime measurements using the RL are shown to be relatively unaffected by the solar background and are therefore suited for checking the validity of diurnal cycles. RL and CALIPSO cloud fraction profiles show good agreement while themore » MPL detects significantly less cirrus, particularly during the daytime. Both MPL and CALIPSO observations show that cirrus clouds occur less frequently during the day than at night at all altitudes. In contrast, the RL diurnal cy- cle is significantly different than zero only below about 11 km; where it is the opposite sign (i.e. more clouds during the daytime). For cirrus geomet- rical thickness, the MPL and CALIPSO observations agree well and both datasets have signficantly thinner clouds during the daytime than the RL. From the examination of hourly MPL and RL cirrus cloud thickness and through the application of daytime detection limits to all CALIPSO data we find that the decreased MPL and CALIPSO cloud thickness during the daytime is very likely a result of increased daytime noise. This study highlights the vast im- provement the RL provides (compared to the MPL) in the ARM program's ability to observe tropical cirrus clouds as well as a valuable ground-based lidar dataset for the validation of CALIPSO observations and to help im- prove our understanding of tropical cirrus clouds.« less

A preliminary comparison of Na lidar and meteor radar zonal winds during quiet and sub-storm conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grandhi, Kishore Kumar; Nesse Tyssøy, Hilde; Williams, Bifford P.; Stober, Gunter

2017-04-01

It is speculated that sufficiently large electric fields during geomagnetic disturbed conditions may decouple the meteor trail electron motions from the background neutral winds and leads to erroneous neutral wind estimation. As per our knowledge, the potential errors have never been reported. In the present case study, we have been using co-located meteor radar and sodium resonance lidar zonal wind measurements over Andenes (69.27oN,16.04oE) during intense sub storms in the declining phase of Jan 2005 solar proton event (21-22 Jan 2005). In total 14 hours of continuous measurements are available for the comparison, which covers both quiet and disturbed conditions. For comparison, the lidar zonal winds are averaged in meteor radar time and height bins. High cross correlations (˜0.8) are found in all height regions. The discrepancies can be explained in the light of differences in the observational volumes of the two instruments. Further, we extended the comparison to address the ionization impact on the meteor radar winds. For quiet hours, the observed meteor radar winds are quite consistent with lidar winds. While during the disturbed hours comparatively large differences are noticed at higher most altitudes. This might be due to ionization impact on meteor radar winds. At the present one event is not sufficient to make any consolidate conclusion. However, at least from this study we found some effect on the neutral wind measurements for the meteor radar. Further study with more co-located measurements are needed to test statistical significance of the result.

Automated retrieval of cloud and aerosol properties from the ARM Raman lidar, part 1: feature detection

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thorsen, Tyler J.; Fu, Qiang; Newsom, Rob K.

A Feature detection and EXtinction retrieval (FEX) algorithm for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program’s Raman lidar (RL) has been developed. Presented here is part 1 of the FEX algorithm: the detection of features including both clouds and aerosols. The approach of FEX is to use multiple quantities— scattering ratios derived using elastic and nitro-gen channel signals from two fields of view, the scattering ratio derived using only the elastic channel, and the total volume depolarization ratio— to identify features using range-dependent detection thresholds. FEX is designed to be context-sensitive with thresholds determined for each profile by calculating the expectedmore » clear-sky signal and noise. The use of multiple quantities pro-vides complementary depictions of cloud and aerosol locations and allows for consistency checks to improve the accuracy of the feature mask. The depolarization ratio is shown to be particularly effective at detecting optically-thin features containing non-spherical particles such as cirrus clouds. Improve-ments over the existing ARM RL cloud mask are shown. The performance of FEX is validated against a collocated micropulse lidar and observations from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite over the ARM Darwin, Australia site. While we focus on a specific lidar system, the FEX framework presented here is suitable for other Raman or high spectral resolution lidars.« less

Ice Cloud Properties And Their Radiative Effects: Global Observations And Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Yulan

Ice clouds are crucial to the Earth's radiation balance. They cool the Earth-atmosphere system by reflecting solar radiation back to space and warm it by blocking outgoing thermal radiation. However, there is a lack of an observation-based climatology of ice cloud properties and their radiative effects. Two active sensors, the CloudSat radar and the CALIPSO lidar, for the first time provide vertically resolved ice cloud data on a global scale. Using synergistic signals of these two sensors, it is possible to obtain both optically thin and thick ice clouds as the radar excels in probing thick clouds while the lidar is better to detect the thin ones. First, based on the CloudSat radar and CALIPSO lidar measurements, we have derived a climatology of ice cloud properties. Ice clouds cover around 50% of the Earth surface, and their global-mean optical depth, ice water path, and effective radius are approximately 2 (unitless), 109 g m. {-2} and 48 \\mum, respectively. Ice cloud occurrence frequency not only depends on regions and seasons, but also on the types of ice clouds as defined by optical depth (tau) values. Optically thin ice clouds (tau < 3) are most frequently observed in the tropics around 15 km and in the midlatitudes below 5 km, while the thicker clouds (tau > 3) occur frequently in the tropical convective areas and along the midlatitude storm tracks. Using ice retrievals derived from combined radar-lidar measurements, we conducted radiative transfer modeling to study ice cloud radiative effects. The combined effects of ice clouds warm the earth-atmosphere system by approximately 5 W m-2, contributed by a longwave warming effect of about 21.8 W m-2 and a shortwave cooling effect of approximately -16.7 W m-2. Seasonal variations of ice cloud radiative effects are evident in the midlatitudes where the net effect changes from warming during winter to cooling during summer, and the net warming effect occurs year-round in the tropics (˜ 10 W m-2). Ice cloud

Impact of varying lidar measurement and data processing techniques in evaluating cirrus cloud and aerosol direct radiative effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lolli, Simone; Madonna, Fabio; Rosoldi, Marco; Campbell, James R.; Welton, Ellsworth J.; Lewis, Jasper R.; Gu, Yu; Pappalardo, Gelsomina

2018-03-01

In the past 2 decades, ground-based lidar networks have drastically increased in scope and relevance, thanks primarily to the advent of lidar observations from space and their need for validation. Lidar observations of aerosol and cloud geometrical, optical and microphysical atmospheric properties are subsequently used to evaluate their direct radiative effects on climate. However, the retrievals are strongly dependent on the lidar instrument measurement technique and subsequent data processing methodologies. In this paper, we evaluate the discrepancies between the use of Raman and elastic lidar measurement techniques and corresponding data processing methods for two aerosol layers in the free troposphere and for two cirrus clouds with different optical depths. Results show that the different lidar techniques are responsible for discrepancies in the model-derived direct radiative effects for biomass burning (0.05 W m-2 at surface and 0.007 W m-2 at top of the atmosphere) and dust aerosol layers (0.7 W m-2 at surface and 0.85 W m-2 at top of the atmosphere). Data processing is further responsible for discrepancies in both thin (0.55 W m-2 at surface and 2.7 W m-2 at top of the atmosphere) and opaque (7.7 W m-2 at surface and 11.8 W m-2 at top of the atmosphere) cirrus clouds. Direct radiative effect discrepancies can be attributed to the larger variability of the lidar ratio for aerosols (20-150 sr) than for clouds (20-35 sr). For this reason, the influence of the applied lidar technique plays a more fundamental role in aerosol monitoring because the lidar ratio must be retrieved with relatively high accuracy. In contrast, for cirrus clouds, with the lidar ratio being much less variable, the data processing is critical because smoothing it modifies the aerosol and cloud vertically resolved extinction profile that is used as input to compute direct radiative effect calculations.

Operational processing and cloud boundary detection from micro pulse lidar data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Campbell, James R.; Hlavka, Dennis L.; Spinhirne, James D.; Scott, V. Stanley., III; Turner, David D.

1998-01-01

Micro Pulse Lidar (MPL) was developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) as the result of research on space-borne lidar techniques. It was designed to provide continuous, unattended observations of all significant atmospheric cloud and aerosol structure with a rugged, compact system design and the benefit of eye safety (Spinhirne 1993). The significant eye safety feature is achieved by using low pulse energies and high pulse repetition rates compared to standard lidar systems. MPL systems use a diode pumped 10 microj, 2500 Hz doubled Nd:YLF laser. In addition, a solid state Geiger mode avalanche photo diode (GAPD) photon counting detector is used allowing for quantum efficiencies approaching 70%. Other design features have previously been noted by Spinhirne (1995). Though a commercially available instrument, with nearly 20 systems operating around the world, the most extensive MPL work has come from those operated by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) (Stokes and Schwartz 1994) program. The diverse ability of the instrument relating to the measurement of basic cloud macrophysical structure and both cloud and aerosol radiative properties well suits the ARM research philosophy. MPL data can be used to yield many parameters including cloud boundary heights to the limit of signal attenuation, cloud scattering cross sections and optical thicknesses, planetary boundary layer heights and aerosol scattering profiles, including those into the stratosphere in nighttime cases (Hlavka et al 1996). System vertical resolution ranges from 30 m to 300 m (i.e. high and low resolution respectively) depending on system design. The lidar research group at GSFC plays an advisory role in the operation, calibration and maintenance of NASA and ARM owned MPL systems. Over the past three years, processing software and system correction techniques have been developed in anticipation of the increasing population of systems amongst the community. Datasets produced by three ARM

The ARM Cloud Radar Simulator for Global Climate Models: Bridging Field Data and Climate Models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Yuying; Xie, Shaocheng; Klein, Stephen A.

Clouds play an important role in Earth’s radiation budget and hydrological cycle. However, current global climate models (GCMs) have had difficulties in accurately simulating clouds and precipitation. To improve the representation of clouds in climate models, it is crucial to identify where simulated clouds differ from real world observations of them. This can be difficult, since significant differences exist between how a climate model represents clouds and what instruments observe, both in terms of spatial scale and the properties of the hydrometeors which are either modeled or observed. To address these issues and minimize impacts of instrument limitations, the conceptmore » of instrument “simulators”, which convert model variables into pseudo-instrument observations, has evolved with the goal to improve and to facilitate the comparison of modeled clouds with observations. Many simulators have (and continue to be developed) for a variety of instruments and purposes. A community satellite simulator package, the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulator Package (COSP; Bodas-Salcedo et al. 2011), contains several independent satellite simulators and is being widely used in the global climate modeling community to exploit satellite observations for model cloud evaluation (e.g., Klein et al. 2013; Zhang et al. 2010). This article introduces a ground-based cloud radar simulator developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program for comparing climate model clouds with ARM observations from its vertically pointing 35-GHz radars. As compared to CloudSat radar observations, ARM radar measurements occur with higher temporal resolution and finer vertical resolution. This enables users to investigate more fully the detailed vertical structures within clouds, resolve thin clouds, and quantify the diurnal variability of clouds. Particularly, ARM radars are sensitive to low-level clouds

Lidar Studies of Extinction in Clouds in the ECLIPS Project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, C.; Platt, R.; Young, Stuart A.; Patterson, Graeme P.

1992-01-01

The Experimental Cloud Lidar Pilot Study (ECLIPS) project has now had two active phases in 1989 and 1991. A number of laboratories around the world have taken part in the study. The observations have yielded new data on cloud height and structure, and have yielded some useful new information on the retrieval of cloud optical properties, together with the uncertainties involved. Clouds have a major impact on the climate of the earth. They have the effect of reducing the mean surface temperature from 30 C for a cloudless planet to a value of about 15 C for present cloud conditions. However, it is not at all certain how clouds would react to a change in the planetary temperature in the event of climate change due to a radiative forcing from greenhouse gases. Clouds both reflect out sunlight (negative feedback) and enhance the greenhouse effect (positive feedback), but the ultimate sign of cloud feedback is unknown. Because of these uncertainties, campaigns to study clouds intensely were initiated. The International Satellite Cloud Climatology (ISCPP) and the FIRE Campaigns (cirrus and stratocumulus) are examples. The ECLIPS was set up similarly to the above experiments to obtain information specifically on cloud base, but also cloud top (where possible), optical properties, and cloud structure. ECLIPS was designed to allow as many laboratories as possible globally to take part to get the largest range of clouds. It involves observations with elastic backscatter lidar, supported by infrared fluxes at the ground and radiosonde data, as basic instrumentation. More complex experiments using beam filter radiometers, solar pyranometers, and satellite data and often associated with other campaigns were also encouraged to join ECLIPS. Two periods for observation were chosen, Sep. - Dec. 1989 and Apr. - Jul. 1992 into which investigators were requested to fit 30 days of observations. These would be either continuous, or arranged to coincide with NOAA satellite overpasses to

Observing relationships between lightning and cloud profiles by means of a satellite-borne cloud radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buiat, Martina; Porcù, Federico; Dietrich, Stefano

2017-01-01

Cloud electrification and related lightning activity in thunderstorms have their origin in the charge separation and resulting distribution of charged iced particles within the cloud. So far, the ice distribution within convective clouds has been investigated mainly by means of ground-based meteorological radars. In this paper we show how the products from Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) on board CloudSat, a polar satellite of NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP), can be used to obtain information from space on the vertical distribution of ice particles and ice content and relate them to the lightning activity. The analysis has been carried out, focusing on 12 convective events over Italy that crossed CloudSat overpasses during significant lightning activity. The CPR products considered here are the vertical profiles of cloud ice water content (IWC) and the effective radius (ER) of ice particles, which are compared with the number of strokes as measured by a ground lightning network (LINET). Results show a strong correlation between the number of strokes and the vertical distribution of ice particles as depicted by the 94 GHz CPR products: in particular, cloud upper and middle levels, high IWC content and relatively high ER seem to be favourable contributory causes for CG (cloud to ground) stroke occurrence.

Cloud and aerosol occurrences in the UTLS region across Pakistan during summer monsoon seasons using CALIPSO and CloudSat observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chishtie, Farrukh

2016-04-01

As part of the A-train NASA constellation, Coudsat and CALIPSO provide an unprecedented vertical observation of clouds and aerosols. Using observational data from both of these satellites, we conduct a multi-year analysis from 2006-2014, of the UTLS (Upper Troposphere and the Lower Stratosphere) region. We map out cloud and aerosol occurrences in this region across Pakistan, specifically around the summer monsoon season. Over the past five years, Pakistan has faced tremendous challenges due to massive flooding as well as earlier brief monsoon seasons of low precipitation and short drought periods. Hence, this motivates the present study towards understanding the deep convective and related dynamics in this season which can possibly influence cloud and aerosol transport in the region. Further, while global studies are conducted, the goal of this study is to conduct a detailed study of cloud, aerosols and their interplay, across Pakistan. Due to a dearth of ground observations, this study provides a dedicated focus on the UTLS domain. Vertical profiling satellites in this region are deemed important as there are no ground observations being done. This is important as both the properties and dynamics of clouds and aerosols have to be studied in a wider context in order to better understand the monsoon season and its onset in this region. With the CALIPSO Vertical Feature Mask (VFM), Total Attenuated Backscatter (TAB) and Depolarization Ratio (DR) as well as the combined CloudSat's 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR (Radar-Lidar Cloud Geometrical Profile) and 2B-CLDCLASS-LIDAR (Radar-Lidar Cloud Classification) products, we find the presence of thin cirrus clouds in the UTLS region in the periods of June-September from the 2006-2014 period. There are marked differences in day observations as compared to night in both of these satellite retrievals, with the latter period finding more occurrences of clouds in the UTLS region. Dedicated CloudSat products 2B-CLDCLASS (cloud classification

Boundary Layer Thermodynamics and Cloud Microphysics for a Mixed Stratocumulus and Cumulus Cloud Field Observed during ACE-ENA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jensen, M. P.; Miller, M. A.; Wang, J.

2017-12-01

The first Intensive Observation Period of the DOE Aerosol and Cloud Experiments in the Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA) took place from 21 June through 20 July 2017 involving the deployment of the ARM Gulfstream-159 (G-1) aircraft with a suite of in situ cloud and aerosol instrumentation in the vicinity of the ARM Climate Research Facility Eastern North Atlantic (ENA) site on Graciosa Island, Azores. Here we present preliminary analysis of the thermodynamic characteristics of the marine boundary layer and the variability of cloud properties for a mixed cloud field including both stratiform cloud layers and deeper cumulus elements. Analysis combines in situ atmospheric state observations from the G-1 with radiosonde profiles and surface meteorology from the ENA site in order to characterize the thermodynamic structure of the marine boundary layer including the coupling state and stability. Cloud/drizzle droplet size distributions measured in situ are combined with remote sensing observations from a scanning cloud radar, and vertically pointing cloud radar and lidar provide quantification of the macrophysical and microphysical properties of the mixed cloud field.

A New Cloud and Aerosol Layer Detection Method Based on Micropulse Lidar Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Q.; Zhao, C.; Wang, Y.; Li, Z.; Wang, Z.; Liu, D.

2014-12-01

A new algorithm is developed to detect aerosols and clouds based on micropulse lidar (MPL) measurements. In this method, a semi-discretization processing (SDP) technique is first used to inhibit the impact of increasing noise with distance, then a value distribution equalization (VDE) method is introduced to reduce the magnitude of signal variations with distance. Combined with empirical threshold values, clouds and aerosols are detected and separated. This method can detect clouds and aerosols with high accuracy, although classification of aerosols and clouds is sensitive to the thresholds selected. Compared with the existing Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program lidar-based cloud product, the new method detects more high clouds. The algorithm was applied to a year of observations at both the U.S. Southern Great Plains (SGP) and China Taihu site. At SGP, the cloud frequency shows a clear seasonal variation with maximum values in winter and spring, and shows bi-modal vertical distributions with maximum frequency at around 3-6 km and 8-12 km. The annual averaged cloud frequency is about 50%. By contrast, the cloud frequency at Taihu shows no clear seasonal variation and the maximum frequency is at around 1 km. The annual averaged cloud frequency is about 15% higher than that at SGP.

Extinction coefficients from lidar observations in ice clouds compared to in-situ measurements from the Cloud Integrating Nephelometer during CRYSTAL-FACE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noel, Vincent; Winker, D. M.; Garrett, T. J.; McGill, M.

2005-01-01

This paper presents a comparison of volume extinction coefficients in tropical ice clouds retrieved from two instruments : the 532-nm Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL), and the in-situ probe Cloud Integrating Nephelometer (CIN). Both instruments were mounted on airborne platforms during the CRYSTAL-FACE campaign and took measurements in ice clouds up to 17km. Coincident observations from three cloud cases are compared : one synoptically-generated cirrus cloud of low optical depth, and two ice clouds located on top of convective systems. Emphasis is put on the vertical variability of the extinction coefficient. Results show small differences on small spatial scales (approx. 100m) in retrievals from both instruments. Lidar retrievals also show higher extinction coefficients in the synoptic cirrus case, while the opposite tendency is observed in convective cloud systems. These differences are generally variations around the average profile given by the CPL though, and general trends on larger spatial scales are usually well reproduced. A good agreement exists between the two instruments, with an average difference of less than 16% on optical depth retrievals.

Arctic polar stratospheric cloud measurements by means of a four wavelength depolarization lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stefanutti, L.; Castagnoli, F.; Delguasta, M.; Flesia, C.; Godin, S.; Kolenda, J.; Kneipp, H.; Kyro, Esko; Matthey, R.; Morandi, M.

1994-01-01

A four wavelength depolarization backscattering lidar has been operated during the European Arctic Stratospheric Ozone Experiment (EASOE) in Sodankyl, in the Finnish Arctic. The lidar performed measurements during the months of December 1991, January, February and March 1992. The Finnish Meteorological Institute during the same period launched regularly three Radiosondes per day, and three Ozone sondes per week. Both Mt. Pinatubo aerosols and Polar Stratospheric Clouds were measured. The use of four wavelengths, respectively at 355 nm, 532 nm , 750 nm, and 850 nm permits an inversion of the lidar data to determine aerosol particle size. The depolarization technique permits the identification of Polar Stratospheric Clouds. Frequent correlation between Ozone minima and peaks in the Mt. Pinatubo aerosol maxima were detected. Measurements were carried out both within and outside the Polar Vortex.

Comparison between two lidar methods to retrieve microphysical properties of liquid-water clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jimenez, Cristofer; Ansmann, Albert; Donovan, David; Engelmann, Ronny; Schmidt, Jörg; Wandinger, Ulla

2018-04-01

Since 2010, the Raman dual-FOV lidar system permits the retrieval of microphysical properties of liquid-water clouds during nighttime. A new robust lidar depolarization approach was recently introduced, which permits the retrieval of these properties as well, with high temporal resolution and during daytime. To implement this approach, the lidar system was upgraded, by adding a three channel depolarization receiver. The first preliminary retrieval results and a comparison between both methods is presented.

Estimation of Microphysical and Radiative Parameters of Precipitating Cloud Systems Using mm-Wavelength Radars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matrosov, Sergey Y.

2009-03-01

A remote sensing approach is described to retrieve cloud and rainfall parameters within the same precipitating system. This approach is based on mm-wavelength radar signal attenuation effects which are observed in a layer of liquid precipitation containing clouds and rainfall. The parameters of ice clouds in the upper part of startiform precipitating systems are then retrieved using the absolute measurements of radar reflectivity. In case of the ground-based radar location, these measurements are corrected for attenuation in the intervening layer of liquid hydrometers.

Use of Probability Distribution Functions for Discriminating Between Cloud and Aerosol in Lidar Backscatter Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Zhaoyan; Vaughan, Mark A.; Winker, Davd M.; Hostetler, Chris A.; Poole, Lamont R.; Hlavka, Dennis; Hart, William; McGill, Mathew

2004-01-01

In this paper we describe the algorithm hat will be used during the upcoming Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission for discriminating between clouds and aerosols detected in two wavelength backscatter lidar profiles. We first analyze single-test and multiple-test classification approaches based on one-dimensional and multiple-dimensional probability density functions (PDFs) in the context of a two-class feature identification scheme. From these studies we derive an operational algorithm based on a set of 3-dimensional probability distribution functions characteristic of clouds and aerosols. A dataset acquired by the Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) is used to test the algorithm. Comparisons are conducted between the CALIPSO algorithm results and the CPL data product. The results obtained show generally good agreement between the two methods. However, of a total of 228,264 layers analyzed, approximately 5.7% are classified as different types by the CALIPSO and CPL algorithm. This disparity is shown to be due largely to the misclassification of clouds as aerosols by the CPL algorithm. The use of 3-dimensional PDFs in the CALIPSO algorithm is found to significantly reduce this type of error. Dust presents a special case. Because the intrinsic scattering properties of dust layers can be very similar to those of clouds, additional algorithm testing was performed using an optically dense layer of Saharan dust measured during the Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE). In general, the method is shown to distinguish reliably between dust layers and clouds. The relatively few erroneous classifications occurred most often in the LITE data, in those regions of the Saharan dust layer where the optical thickness was the highest.

3D And 4D Cloud Lifecycle Investigations Using Innovative Scanning Radar Analysis Methods. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kollias, Pavlos

2017-04-23

With the vast upgrades to the ARM program radar measurement capabilities in 2010 and beyond, our ability to probe the 3D structure of clouds and associated precipitation has increased dramatically. This project build on the PI's and co-I's expertisein the analysis of radar observations. The first research thrust aims to document the 3D morphological (as depicted by the radar reflectivity structure) and 3D dynamical (cloud$-$scale eddies) structure of boundary layer clouds. Unraveling the 3D dynamical structure of stratocumulus and shallow cumulus clouds requires decomposition of the environmental wind contribution and particle sedimentation velocity from the observed radial Doppler velocity. Themore » second thrust proposes to unravel the mechanism of cumulus entrainment (location, scales) and its impact on microphysics utilizing radar measurements from the vertically pointing and new scanning radars at the ARM sites. The third research thrust requires the development of a cloud$-$tracking algorithm that monitors the properties of cloud.« less

Improved simulation of aerosol, cloud, and density measurements by shuttle lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, P. B.; Morley, B. M.; Livingston, J. M.; Grams, G. W.; Patterson, E. W.

1981-01-01

Data retrievals are simulated for a Nd:YAG lidar suitable for early flight on the space shuttle. Maximum assumed vertical and horizontal resolutions are 0.1 and 100 km, respectively, in the boundary layer, increasing to 2 and 2000 km in the mesosphere. Aerosol and cloud retrievals are simulated using 1.06 and 0.53 microns wavelengths independently. Error sources include signal measurement, conventional density information, atmospheric transmission, and lidar calibration. By day, tenuous clouds and Saharan and boundary layer aerosols are retrieved at both wavelengths. By night, these constituents are retrieved, plus upper tropospheric, stratospheric, and mesospheric aerosols and noctilucent clouds. Density, temperature, and improved aerosol and cloud retrievals are simulated by combining signals at 0.35, 1.06, and 0.53 microns. Particlate contamination limits the technique to the cloud free upper troposphere and above. Error bars automatically show effect of this contamination, as well as errors in absolute density nonmalization, reference temperature or pressure, and the sources listed above. For nonvolcanic conditions, relative density profiles have rms errors of 0.54 to 2% in the upper troposphere and stratosphere. Temperature profiles have rms errors of 1.2 to 2.5 K and can define the tropopause to 0.5 km and higher wave structures to 1 or 2 km.

Comparison of cloud top heights derived from FY-2 meteorological satellites with heights derived from ground-based millimeter wavelength cloud radar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhe; Wang, Zhenhui; Cao, Xiaozhong; Tao, Fa

2018-01-01

Clouds are currently observed by both ground-based and satellite remote sensing techniques. Each technique has its own strengths and weaknesses depending on the observation method, instrument performance and the methods used for retrieval. It is important to study synergistic cloud measurements to improve the reliability of the observations and to verify the different techniques. The FY-2 geostationary orbiting meteorological satellites continuously observe the sky over China. Their cloud top temperature product can be processed to retrieve the cloud top height (CTH). The ground-based millimeter wavelength cloud radar can acquire information about the vertical structure of clouds-such as the cloud base height (CBH), CTH and the cloud thickness-and can continuously monitor changes in the vertical profiles of clouds. The CTHs were retrieved using both cloud top temperature data from the FY-2 satellites and the cloud radar reflectivity data for the same time period (June 2015 to May 2016) and the resulting datasets were compared in order to evaluate the accuracy of CTH retrievals using FY-2 satellites. The results show that the concordance rate of cloud detection between the two datasets was 78.1%. Higher consistencies were obtained for thicker clouds with larger echo intensity and for more continuous clouds. The average difference in the CTH between the two techniques was 1.46 km. The difference in CTH between low- and mid-level clouds was less than that for high-level clouds. An attenuation threshold of the cloud radar for rainfall was 0.2 mm/min; a rainfall intensity below this threshold had no effect on the CTH. The satellite CTH can be used to compensate for the attenuation error in the cloud radar data.

A Method for the Automatic Detection of Insect Clutter in Doppler-Radar Returns.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Luke,E.; Kollias, P.; Johnson, K.

2006-06-12

The accurate detection and removal of insect clutter from millimeter wavelength cloud radar (MMCR) returns is of high importance to boundary layer cloud research (e.g., Geerts et al., 2005). When only radar Doppler moments are available, it is difficult to produce a reliable screening of insect clutter from cloud returns because their distributions overlap. Hence, screening of MMCR insect clutter has historically involved a laborious manual process of cross-referencing radar moments against measurements from other collocated instruments, such as lidar. Our study looks beyond traditional radar moments to ask whether analysis of recorded Doppler spectra can serve as the basismore » for reliable, automatic insect clutter screening. We focus on the MMCR operated by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program at its Southern Great Plains (SGP) facility in Oklahoma. Here, archiving of full Doppler spectra began in September 2003, and during the warmer months, a pronounced insect presence regularly introduces clutter into boundary layer returns.« less

Lidar investigations on the optical and dynamical properties of cirrus clouds in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere regions at a tropical station, Gadanki, India (13.5°N, 79.2°E)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishnakumar, Vasudevannair; Satyanarayana, Malladi; Radhakrishnan, Soman R.; Dhaman, Reji K.; Jayeshlal, Glory Selvan; Motty, Gopinathan Nair S.; Pillai, Vellara P. Mahadevan; Raghunath, Karnam; Ratnam, Madineni Venkat; Rao, Duggirala Ramakrishna; Sudhakar, Pindlodi

2014-01-01

High altitude cirrus clouds are composed mainly of ice crystals with a variety of sizes and shapes. They have a large influence on Earth's energy balance and global climate. Recent studies indicate that the formation, dissipation, life time, optical, and micro-physical properties are influenced by the dynamical conditions of the surrounding atmosphere like background aerosol, turbulence, etc. In this work, an attempt has been made to quantify some of these characteristics by using lidar and mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere (MST) radar. Mie lidar and 53 MHz MST radar measurements made over 41 nights during the period 2009 to 2010 from the tropical station, Gadanki, India (13.5°N, 79.2°E). The optical and microphysical properties along with the structure and dynamics of the cirrus are presented as observed under different atmospheric conditions. The study reveals the manifestation of different forms of cirrus with a preferred altitude of formation in the 13 to 14 km altitude. There are considerable differences in the properties obtained among 2009 and 2010 showing significant anomalous behavior in 2010. The clouds observed during 2010 show relatively high asymmetry and large multiple scattering effects. The anomalies found during 2010 may be attributed to the turbulence noticed in the surrounding atmosphere. The results show a clear correlation between the crystal morphology in the clouds and the dynamical conditions of the prevailing atmosphere during the observational period.

Fingerprints of a riming event on cloud radar Doppler spectra: observations and modeling

DOE PAGES

Kalesse, Heike; Szyrmer, Wanda; Kneifel, Stefan; ...

2016-03-09

In this paper, Radar Doppler spectra measurements are exploited to study a riming event when precipitating ice from a seeder cloud sediment through a supercooled liquid water (SLW) layer. The focus is on the "golden sample" case study for this type of analysis based on observations collected during the deployment of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program's (ARM) mobile facility AMF2 at Hyytiälä, Finland, during the Biogenic Aerosols – Effects on Clouds and Climate (BAECC) field campaign. The presented analysis of the height evolution of the radar Doppler spectra is a state-of-the-art retrieval with profiling cloud radars in SLW layers beyondmore » the traditional use of spectral moments. Dynamical effects are considered by following the particle population evolution along slanted tracks that are caused by horizontal advection of the cloud under wind shear conditions. In the SLW layer, the identified liquid peak is used as an air motion tracer to correct the Doppler spectra for vertical air motion and the ice peak is used to study the radar profiles of rimed particles. A 1-D steady-state bin microphysical model is constrained using the SLW and air motion profiles and cloud top radar observations. The observed radar moment profiles of the rimed snow can be simulated reasonably well by the model, but not without making several assumptions about the ice particle concentration and the relative role of deposition and aggregation. In conclusion, this suggests that in situ observations of key ice properties are needed to complement the profiling radar observations before process-oriented studies can effectively evaluate ice microphysical parameterizations.« less

Advances in Raman Lidar Measurements of Water Vapor, Cirrus Clouds and Carbon Dioxide

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whiteman, David N.; Potter, John R.; Tola, Rebecca; Rush, Kurt; Veselovskii, Igor; Cadirola, Martin; Comer, Joseph

2006-01-01

Narrow-band interference filters with improved transmission in the ultraviolet have been developed under NASA-funded research and used in the Raman Airborne Spectroscopic Lidar (RASL) in ground- based, upward-looking tests. RASL is an airborne Raman Lidar system designed to measure water vapor mixing ratio, and aerosol backscatter/extinction/depolarization. It also possesses the capability to make experimental measurements of cloud liquid water and carbon dioxide. It is being prepared for first flight tests during the summer of 2006. With the newly developed filters installed in RASL, measurements were made of atmospheric water vapor, cirrus cloud optical properties and carbon dioxide that improve upon any previously demonstrated using Raman lidar. Daytime boundary layer profiling of water vapor mixing ratio is performed with less than 5% random error using temporal and spatial resolution of 2-minutes and 60 - 210, respectively. Daytime cirrus cloud optical depth and extinction- to-backscatter ratio measurements are made using 1-minute average. Sufficient signal strength is demonstrated to permit the simultaneous profiling of carbon dioxide and water vapor mixing ratio into the free troposphere during the nighttime. Downward-looking from an airborne RASL should possess the same measurement statistics with approximately a factor of 5 - 10 decrease in averaging time. A description of the technology improvements are provided followed by examples of the improved Raman lidar measurements.

A new cloud and aerosol layer detection method based on micropulse lidar measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Chuanfeng; Wang, Yuzhao; Wang, Qianqian; Li, Zhanqing; Wang, Zhien; Liu, Dong

2014-06-01

This paper introduces a new algorithm to detect aerosols and clouds based on micropulse lidar measurements. A semidiscretization processing technique is first used to inhibit the impact of increasing noise with distance. The value distribution equalization method which reduces the magnitude of signal variations with distance is then introduced. Combined with empirical threshold values, we determine if the signal waves indicate clouds or aerosols. This method can separate clouds and aerosols with high accuracy, although differentiation between aerosols and clouds are subject to more uncertainties depending on the thresholds selected. Compared with the existing Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program lidar-based cloud product, the new method appears more reliable and detects more clouds with high bases. The algorithm is applied to a year of observations at both the U.S. Southern Great Plains (SGP) and China Taihu sites. At the SGP site, the cloud frequency shows a clear seasonal variation with maximum values in winter and spring and shows bimodal vertical distributions with maximum occurrences at around 3-6 km and 8-12 km. The annual averaged cloud frequency is about 50%. The dominant clouds are stratiform in winter and convective in summer. By contrast, the cloud frequency at the Taihu site shows no clear seasonal variation and the maximum occurrence is at around 1 km. The annual averaged cloud frequency is about 15% higher than that at the SGP site. A seasonal analysis of cloud base occurrence frequency suggests that stratiform clouds dominate at the Taihu site.

Measurements of Ocean Surface Scattering Using an Airborne 94-GHz Cloud Radar: Implication for Calibration of Airborne and Spaceborne W-band Radars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Li-Hua; Heymsfield, Gerald M.; Tian, Lin; Racette, Paul E.

2004-01-01

Scattering properties of the Ocean surface have been widely used as a calibration reference for airborne and spaceborne microwave sensors. However, at millimeter-wave frequencies, the ocean surface backscattering mechanism is still not well understood, in part, due to the lack of experimental measurements. During the Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers-Florida Area Cirrus Experiment (CRYSTAL-FACE), measurements of ocean surface backscattering were made using a 94-GHz (W-band) cloud radar onboard a NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. The measurement set includes the normalized Ocean surface cross section over a range of the incidence angles under a variety of wind conditions. Analysis of the radar measurements shows good agreement with a quasi-specular scattering model. This unprecedented dataset enhances our knowledge about the Ocean surface scattering mechanism at 94 GHz. The results of this work support the proposition of using the Ocean surface as a calibration reference for airborne millimeter-wave cloud radars and for the ongoing NASA CloudSat mission, which will use a 94-GHz spaceborne cloud radar for global cloud measurements.

“Lidar Investigations of Aerosol, Cloud, and Boundary Layer Properties Over the ARM ACRF Sites”

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferrare, Richard; Turner, David

2015-01-13

Project goals; Characterize the aerosol and ice vertical distributions over the ARM NSA site, and in particular to discriminate between elevated aerosol layers and ice clouds in optically thin scattering layers; Characterize the water vapor and aerosol vertical distributions over the ARM Darwin site, how these distributions vary seasonally, and quantify the amount of water vapor and aerosol that is above the boundary layer; Use the high temporal resolution Raman lidar data to examine how aerosol properties vary near clouds; Use the high temporal resolution Raman lidar and Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) data to quantify entrainment in optically thinmore » continental cumulus clouds; and Use the high temporal Raman lidar data to continue to characterize the turbulence within the convective boundary layer and how the turbulence statistics (e.g., variance, skewness) is correlated with larger scale variables predicted by models.« less

CALIPSO: Global Aerosol and Cloud Observations from Lidar and Passive Instruments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Poole, L. R.; Winker, D. M.; Pelon, J. R.; McCormick, M. P.

2002-01-01

CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Spaceborne Observations) is an approved satellite mission being developed through collaboration between NASA and the French space agency CNES. The mission is scheduled for launch in 2004 and will operate for 3 years as part of a five-satellite formation called the Aqua constellation. This constellation will provide a unique data set on aerosol and cloud optical and physical properties and aerosol-cloud interactions that will substantially increase our understanding of the climate system and the potential for climate change.

Surface Fitting Filtering of LIDAR Point Cloud with Waveform Information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, S.; Li, P.; Xu, Q.; Wang, D.; Li, P.

2017-09-01

Full-waveform LiDAR is an active technology of photogrammetry and remote sensing. It provides more detailed information about objects along the path of a laser pulse than discrete-return topographic LiDAR. The point cloud and waveform information with high quality can be obtained by waveform decomposition, which could make contributions to accurate filtering. The surface fitting filtering method with waveform information is proposed to present such advantage. Firstly, discrete point cloud and waveform parameters are resolved by global convergent Levenberg Marquardt decomposition. Secondly, the ground seed points are selected, of which the abnormal ones are detected by waveform parameters and robust estimation. Thirdly, the terrain surface is fitted and the height difference threshold is determined in consideration of window size and mean square error. Finally, the points are classified gradually with the rising of window size. The filtering process is finished until window size is larger than threshold. The waveform data in urban, farmland and mountain areas from "WATER (Watershed Allied Telemetry Experimental Research)" are selected for experiments. Results prove that compared with traditional method, the accuracy of point cloud filtering is further improved and the proposed method has highly practical value.

Optical and morphological properties of Cirrus clouds determined by the high spectral resolution lidar during FIRE

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grund, Christian John; Eloranta, Edwin W.

1990-01-01

Cirrus clouds reflect incoming solar radiation and trap outgoing terrestrial radiation; therefore, accurate estimation of the global energy balance depends upon knowledge of the optical and physical properties of these clouds. Scattering and absorption by cirrus clouds affect measurements made by many satellite-borne and ground based remote sensors. Scattering of ambient light by the cloud, and thermal emissions from the cloud can increase measurement background noise. Multiple scattering processes can adversely affect the divergence of optical beams propagating through these clouds. Determination of the optical thickness and the vertical and horizontal extent of cirrus clouds is necessary to the evaluation of all of these effects. Lidar can be an effective tool for investigating these properties. During the FIRE cirrus IFO in Oct. to Nov. 1986, the High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) was operated from a rooftop site on the campus of the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Wisconsin. Approximately 124 hours of fall season data were acquired under a variety of cloud optical thickness conditions. Since the IFO, the HSRL data set was expanded by more than 63.5 hours of additional data acquired during all seasons. Measurements are presented for the range in optical thickness and backscattering phase function of the cirrus clouds, as well as contour maps of extinction corrected backscatter cross sections indicating cloud morphology. Color enhanced images of range-time indicator (RTI) displays a variety of cirrus clouds with approximately 30 sec time resolution are presented. The importance of extinction correction on the interpretation of cloud height and structure from lidar observations of optically thick cirrus are demonstrated.

Quantifying monthly to decadal subsidence and assessing collapse potential near the Wink sinkholes, west Texas, using airborne lidar, radar interferometry, and microgravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paine, J. G.; Collins, E.; Yang, D.; Andrews, J. R.; Averett, A.; Caudle, T.; Saylam, K.

2014-12-01

We are using airborne lidar and satellite-based radar interferometry (InSAR) to quantify short-term (months to years) and longer-term (decades) subsidence in the area surrounding two large (100- to 200-m diameter) sinkholes that formed above Permian bedded salt in 1980 and 2002 in the Wink area, west Texas. Radar interferograms constructed from synthetic aperture radar data acquired between 2008 and 2011 with the ALOS PALSAR L-band satellite-borne instrument reveal local areas that are subsiding at rates that reach a few cm per month. Subsiding areas identified on radar interferograms enable labor-intensive ground investigations (such as microgravity surveys) to focus on areas where subsidence is occurring and shallow-source mass deficits might exist that could be sites of future subsidence or collapse. Longer-term elevation changes are being quantified by comparing digital elevation models (DEMs) constructed from high-resolution airborne lidar data acquired over a 32-km2 area in 2013 with older, lower-resolution DEMs constructed from data acquired during the NASA- and NGA-sponsored Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission in February 2000 and from USGS aerial photogrammetry-derived topographic data from the 1960s. Total subsidence reaches more than 10 m over 45 years in some areas. Maximum rates of subsidence measured on annual (from InSAR) and decadal (from lidar) time scales are about 0.25 m/yr. In addition to showing the extent and magnitude of subsidence at the 1980 and 2002 sinkholes, comparison of the 2013 lidar-derived DEM with the 1960s photogrammetry-derived DEM revealed other locations that have undergone significant (more than 1 m) elevation change since the 1960s, but show no evidence of recent (2008 to 2011) ground motion from satellite radar interferograms. Regional coverage obtained by radar interferometry and local coverage obtained with airborne lidar show that areas of measurable subsidence are all within a few km of the 1980 and 2002 sinkholes.

Cloud and Radiation Mission with Active and Passive Sensing from the Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spinhirne, James D.

1998-01-01

A cloud and aerosol radiative forcing and physical process study involving active laser and radar profiling with a combination of passive radiometric sounders and imagers would use the space station as an observation platform. The objectives are to observe the full three dimensional cloud and aerosol structure and the associated physical parameters leading to a complete measurement of radiation forcing processes. The instruments would include specialized radar and lidar for cloud and aerosol profiling, visible, infrared and microwave imaging radiometers with comprehensive channels for cloud and aerosol observation and specialized sounders. The low altitude,. available power and servicing capability of the space station are significant advantages for the active sensors and multiple passive instruments.

Georeferencing UAS Derivatives Through Point Cloud Registration with Archived Lidar Datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magtalas, M. S. L. Y.; Aves, J. C. L.; Blanco, A. C.

2016-10-01

Georeferencing gathered images is a common step before performing spatial analysis and other processes on acquired datasets using unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Methods of applying spatial information to aerial images or their derivatives is through onboard GPS (Global Positioning Systems) geotagging, or through tying of models through GCPs (Ground Control Points) acquired in the field. Currently, UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) derivatives are limited to meter-levels of accuracy when their generation is unaided with points of known position on the ground. The use of ground control points established using survey-grade GPS or GNSS receivers can greatly reduce model errors to centimeter levels. However, this comes with additional costs not only with instrument acquisition and survey operations, but also in actual time spent in the field. This study uses a workflow for cloud-based post-processing of UAS data in combination with already existing LiDAR data. The georeferencing of the UAV point cloud is executed using the Iterative Closest Point algorithm (ICP). It is applied through the open-source CloudCompare software (Girardeau-Montaut, 2006) on a `skeleton point cloud'. This skeleton point cloud consists of manually extracted features consistent on both LiDAR and UAV data. For this cloud, roads and buildings with minimal deviations given their differing dates of acquisition are considered consistent. Transformation parameters are computed for the skeleton cloud which could then be applied to the whole UAS dataset. In addition, a separate cloud consisting of non-vegetation features automatically derived using CANUPO classification algorithm (Brodu and Lague, 2012) was used to generate a separate set of parameters. Ground survey is done to validate the transformed cloud. An RMSE value of around 16 centimeters was found when comparing validation data to the models georeferenced using the CANUPO cloud and the manual skeleton cloud. Cloud-to-cloud distance computations of

Automotive Radar and Lidar Systems for Next Generation Driver Assistance Functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rasshofer, R. H.; Gresser, K.

2005-05-01

Automotive radar and lidar sensors represent key components for next generation driver assistance functions (Jones, 2001). Today, their use is limited to comfort applications in premium segment vehicles although an evolution process towards more safety-oriented functions is taking place. Radar sensors available on the market today suffer from low angular resolution and poor target detection in medium ranges (30 to 60m) over azimuth angles larger than ±30°. In contrast, Lidar sensors show large sensitivity towards environmental influences (e.g. snow, fog, dirt). Both sensor technologies today have a rather high cost level, forbidding their wide-spread usage on mass markets. A common approach to overcome individual sensor drawbacks is the employment of data fusion techniques (Bar-Shalom, 2001). Raw data fusion requires a common, standardized data interface to easily integrate a variety of asynchronous sensor data into a fusion network. Moreover, next generation sensors should be able to dynamically adopt to new situations and should have the ability to work in cooperative sensor environments. As vehicular function development today is being shifted more and more towards virtual prototyping, mathematical sensor models should be available. These models should take into account the sensor's functional principle as well as all typical measurement errors generated by the sensor.

Active probing of cloud multiple scattering, optical depth, vertical thickness, and liquid water content using wide-angle imaging lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Love, Steven P.; Davis, Anthony B.; Rohde, Charles A.; Tellier, Larry; Ho, Cheng

2002-09-01

At most optical wavelengths, laser light in a cloud lidar experiment is not absorbed but merely scattered out of the beam, eventually escaping the cloud via multiple scattering. There is much information available in this light scattered far from the input beam, information ignored by traditional 'on-beam' lidar. Monitoring these off-beam returns in a fully space- and time-resolved manner is the essence of our unique instrument, Wide Angle Imaging Lidar (WAIL). In effect, WAIL produces wide-field (60-degree full-angle) 'movies' of the scattering process and records the cloud's radiative Green functions. A direct data product of WAIL is the distribution of photon path lengths resulting from multiple scattering in the cloud. Following insights from diffusion theory, we can use the measured Green functions to infer the physical thickness and optical depth of the cloud layer, and, from there, estimate the volume-averaged liquid water content. WAIL is notable in that it is applicable to optically thick clouds, a regime in which traditional lidar is reduced to ceilometry. Here we present recent WAIL data on various clouds and discuss the extension of WAIL to full diurnal monitoring by means of an ultra-narrow magneto-optic atomic line filter for daytime measurements.

Relation of Cloud Occurrence Frequency, Overlap, and Effective Thickness Derived from CALIPSO and CloudSat Merged Cloud Vertical Profiles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kato, Seiji; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Miller, Walter F.; Rose, Fred G.; Chen, Yan; Minnis, Patrick; Wielicki, Bruce A.

2009-01-01

A cloud frequency of occurrence matrix is generated using merged cloud vertical profile derived from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR). The matrix contains vertical profiles of cloud occurrence frequency as a function of the uppermost cloud top. It is shown that the cloud fraction and uppermost cloud top vertical pro les can be related by a set of equations when the correlation distance of cloud occurrence, which is interpreted as an effective cloud thickness, is introduced. The underlying assumption in establishing the above relation is that cloud overlap approaches the random overlap with increasing distance separating cloud layers and that the probability of deviating from the random overlap decreases exponentially with distance. One month of CALIPSO and CloudSat data support these assumptions. However, the correlation distance sometimes becomes large, which might be an indication of precipitation. The cloud correlation distance is equivalent to the de-correlation distance introduced by Hogan and Illingworth [2000] when cloud fractions of both layers in a two-cloud layer system are the same.

Remote sensing of vegetation 3-D structure for biodiversity and habitat: Review and implications for lidar and radar spaceborne missions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bergen, K. M.; Goetz, S. J.; Dubayah, R. O.; Henebry, G. M.; Hunsaker, C. T.; Imhoff, M. L.; Nelson, R. F.; Parker, G. G.; Radeloff, V. C.

2009-06-01

Biodiversity and habitat face increasing pressures due to human and natural influences that alter vegetation structure. Because of the inherent difficulty of measuring forested vegetation three-dimensional (3-D) structure on the ground, this important component of biodiversity and habitat has been, until recently, largely restricted to local measurements, or at larger scales to generalizations. New lidar and radar remote sensing instruments such as those proposed for spaceborne missions will provide the capability to fill this gap. This paper reviews the state of the art for incorporatinginformation on vegetation 3-D structure into biodiversity and habitat science and management approaches, with emphasis on use of lidar and radar data. First we review relationships between vegetation 3-D structure, biodiversity and habitat, and metrics commonly used to describe those relationships. Next, we review the technical capabilities of new lidar and radar sensors and their application to biodiversity and habitat studies to date. We then define variables that have been identified as both useful and feasible to retrieve from spaceborne lidar and radar observations and provide their accuracy and precision requirements. We conclude with a brief discussion of implications for spaceborne missions and research programs. The possibility to derive vegetation 3-D measurements from spaceborne active sensors and to integrate them into science and management comes at a critical juncture for global biodiversity conservation and opens new possibilities for advanced scientific analysis of habitat and biodiversity.

Retrieval of Boundary Layer 3D Cloud Properties Using Scanning Cloud Radar and 3D Radiative Transfer

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marchand, Roger

Retrievals of cloud optical and microphysical properties for boundary layer clouds, including those widely used by ASR investigators, frequently assume that clouds are sufficiently horizontally homogeneous that scattering and absorption (at all wavelengths) can be treated using one dimensional (1D) radiative transfer, and that differences in the field-of-view of different sensors are unimportant. Unfortunately, most boundary layer clouds are far from horizontally homogeneous, and numerous theoretical and observational studies show that the assumption of horizontal homogeneity leads to significant errors. The introduction of scanning cloud and precipitation radars at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) programmore » sites presents opportunities to move beyond the horizontally homogeneous assumption. The primary objective of this project was to develop a 3D retrieval for warm-phase (liquid only) boundary layer cloud microphysical properties, and to assess errors in current 1D (non-scanning) approaches. Specific research activities also involved examination of the diurnal cycle of hydrometeors as viewed by ARM cloud radar, and continued assessment of precipitation impacts on retrievals of cloud liquid water path using passive microwaves.« less

A comparison between CloudSat and aircraft data for a multilayer, mixed phase cloud system during the Canadian CloudSat-CALIPSO Validation Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barker, H. W.; Korolev, A. V.; Hudak, D. R.; Strapp, J. W.; Strawbridge, K. B.; Wolde, M.

2008-04-01

Reflectivities recorded by the W-band Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) aboard NASA's CloudSat satellite and some of CloudSat's retrieval products are compared to Ka-band radar reflectivities and in situ cloud properties gathered by instrumentation on the NRC's Convair-580 aircraft. On 20 February 2007, the Convair flew several transects along a 60 nautical mile stretch of CloudSat's afternoon ground track over southern Quebec. On one of the transects it was well within CloudSat's radar's footprint while in situ sampling a mixed phase boundary layer cloud. A cirrus cloud was also sampled before and after overpass. Air temperature and humidity profiles from ECMWF reanalyses, as employed in CloudSat's retrieval stream, agree very well with those measured by the Convair. The boundary layer cloud was clearly visible, to the eye and lidar, and dominated the region's solar radiation budget. It was, however, often below or near the Ka-band's distance-dependent minimum detectable signal. In situ samples at overpass revealed it to be composed primarily of small, supercooled droplets at the south end and increasingly intermixed with ice northward. Convair and CloudSat CPR reflectivities for the low cloud agree well, but while CloudSat properly ascribed it as overcast, mixed phase, and mostly liquid near the south end, its estimates of liquid water content LWC (and visible extinction coefficient κ) and droplet effective radii are too small and large, respectively. The cirrus consisted largely of irregular crystals with typical effective radii ˜150 μm. While both CPR reflectivities agree nicely, CloudSat's estimates of crystal number concentrations are too large by a factor of 5. Nevertheless, distributions of ice water content and κ deduced from in situ data agree quite well with values retrieved from CloudSat algorithms.

New Cloud and Precipitation Research Avenues Enabled by low-cost Phased-array Radar Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kollias, P.; Oue, M.; Fridlind, A. M.; Matsui, T.; McLaughlin, D. J.

2017-12-01

For over half a century, radars operating in a wide range of frequencies have been the primary source of observational insights of clouds and precipitation microphysics and dynamics and contributed to numerous significant advancements in the field of cloud and precipitation physics. The development of multi-wavelength and polarization diversity techniques has further strengthened the quality of microphysical and dynamical retrievals from radars and has assisted in overcoming some of the limitations imposed by the physics of scattering. Atmospheric radars have historically employed a mechanically-scanning dish antenna and their ability to point to, survey, and revisit specific points or regions in the atmosphere is limited by mechanical inertia. Electronically scanned, or phased-array, radars capable of high-speed, inertialess beam steering, have been available for several decades, but the cost of this technology has limited its use to military applications. During the last 10 years, lower power and lower-cost versions of electronically scanning radars have been developed, and this presents an attractive and affordable new tool for the atmospheric sciences. The operational and research communities are currently exploring phased array advantages in signal processing (i.e. beam multiplexing, improved clutter rejection, cross beam wind estimation, adaptive sensing) and science applications (i.e. tornadic storm morphology studies). Here, we will present some areas of atmospheric research where inertia-less radars with ability to provide rapid volume imaging offers the potential to advance cloud and precipitation research. We will discuss the added value of single phased-array radars as well as networks of these radars for several problems including: multi-Doppler wind retrieval techniques, cloud lifetime studies and aerosol-convection interactions. The performance of current (dish) and future (e-scan) radar systems for these atmospheric studies will be evaluated using

Study on analysis from sources of error for Airborne LIDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, H. C.; Yan, Q.; Liu, Z. J.; Zuo, Z. Q.; Xu, Q. Q.; Li, F. F.; Song, C.

2016-11-01

With the advancement of Aerial Photogrammetry, it appears that to obtain geo-spatial information of high spatial and temporal resolution provides a new technical means for Airborne LIDAR measurement techniques, with unique advantages and broad application prospects. Airborne LIDAR is increasingly becoming a new kind of space for earth observation technology, which is mounted by launching platform for aviation, accepting laser pulses to get high-precision, high-density three-dimensional coordinate point cloud data and intensity information. In this paper, we briefly demonstrates Airborne laser radar systems, and that some errors about Airborne LIDAR data sources are analyzed in detail, so the corresponding methods is put forwarded to avoid or eliminate it. Taking into account the practical application of engineering, some recommendations were developed for these designs, which has crucial theoretical and practical significance in Airborne LIDAR data processing fields.

Observations of the Wind Field in Tornadoes, Funnel Clouds, and Wall Clouds with a Portable Doppler Radar.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bluestein, H. B.; Unruh, W. P.

1989-12-01

A severe-storm intercept field program was held in Oklahoma and nearby parts of Texas during the 1987-38 spring seasons. The purpose of the experiment was to use, for the first time, a low-power, portable, continuous-wave (CW), 3-cm Doppler radar to obtain wind spectra in tornadoes from a distance of less than 10 km.We discuss measurements of spectra we recorded in a tornado, a funnel cloud, and two wall clouds. Photographic documentation is also given to aid in the interpretation of our data. Wind speeds as high as 60 m s1 were measured in the tornado. It was found that deploying the portable Doppler radar from a storm-intercept vehicle may increase substantially the number of measurements of wind speeds in tornadoes.The radar has recently been modified so that it has frequency modulation (FM) capability, and hence can obtain wind spectra within range bins. A plan is presented for using the radar to find the source of vorticity in tornadoes.

Lidar Measurements of Wind and Cloud Around Venus from an Orbiting or Floating/flying Platform

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Upendra N.; Limaye, Sanjay; Emmitt, George D.; Refaat, Tamer F.; Kavaya, Michael J.; Yu, Jirong; Petros, Mulugeta

2015-01-01

Given the presence of clouds and haze in the upper portion of the Venus atmosphere, it is reasonable to consider a Doppler wind lidar (DWL) for making remote measurements of the 3-dimensional winds within the tops of clouds and the overlying haze layer. Assuming an orbit altitude of 250 kilometers and cloud tops at 60 kilometers (within the upper cloud layer), an initial performance assessment of an orbiting DWL was made using a numerical instrument and atmospheres model developed for both Earth and Mars. It is reasonable to expect vertical profiles of the 3-dimensional wind speed with 1 kilometer vertical resolution and horizontal spacing of 25 kilometers to several 100 kilometers depending upon the desired integration times. These profiles would begin somewhere just below the tops of the highest clouds and extend into the overlying haze layer to some to-be-determined height. Getting multiple layers of cloud returns is also possible with no negative impact on velocity measurement accuracy. The knowledge and expertise for developing coherent Doppler wind lidar technologies and techniques, for Earth related mission at NASA Langley Research Center is being leveraged to develop an appropriate system suitable for wind measurement around Venus. We are considering a fiber-laser-based lidar system of high efficiency and smaller size and advancing the technology level to meet the requirements for DWL system for Venus from an orbiting or floating/flying platform. This presentation will describe the concept, simulation and technology development plan for wind and cloud measurements on Venus.

Combined High Spectral Resolution Lidar and Millimeter Wavelength Radar Measurement of Ice Crystal Precipitation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eloranta, Edwin

The goal of this research has been to improve measurements of snowfall using a combination of millimeter-wavelength radar and High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) Observations. Snowflakes are large compared to the 532nm HSRL wavelength and small compared to the 3.2 and 8.6 mm wavelength radars used in this study. This places the particles in the optical scattering regime of the HSRL, where extinction cross-section is proportional to the projected area of the particles, and in the Rayleigh regime for the radar, where the backscatter cross-section is proportional to the mass-squared of the particles. Forming a ratio of the radar measuredmore » cross-section to the HSRL measured cross section eliminates any dependence on the number of scattering particles, yielding a quantity proportional to the average mass-squared of the snowflakes over the average area of the flakes. Using simultaneous radar measurements of particle fall velocities, which are dependent particle mass and cross-sectional area it is possible to derive the average mass of the snow flakes, and with the radar measured fall velocities compute the snowfall rate. Since this retrieval requires the optical extinction cross-section we began by considering errors this quantity. The HSRL is particularly good at measuring the backscatter cross-section. In previous studies of snowfall in the high Arctic were able to estimate the extinction cross-section directly as a fixed ratio to the backscatter cross-section. Measurements acquired in the STORMVEX experiment in Colorado showed that this approach was not valid in mid-latitude snowfalls and that direct measurement of the extinction cross-section is required. Attempts to measure the extinction directly uncovered shortcomings in thermal regulation and mechanical stability of the newly deployed DOE HSRL systems. These problems were largely mitigated by modifications installed in both of the DOE systems. We also investigated other sources of error in the HSRL

16 year climatology of cirrus clouds over a tropical station in southern India using ground and space-based lidar observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandit, A. K.; Gadhavi, H. S.; Venkat Ratnam, M.; Raghunath, K.; Rao, S. V. B.; Jayaraman, A.

2015-06-01

16 year (1998-2013) climatology of cirrus clouds and their macrophysical (base height, top height and geometrical thickness) and optical properties (cloud optical thickness) observed using a ground-based lidar over Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E), India, is presented. The climatology obtained from the ground-based lidar is compared with the climatology obtained from seven and half years (June 2006-December 2013) of Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) observations. A very good agreement is found between the two climatologies in spite of their opposite viewing geometries and difference in sampling frequencies. Nearly 50-55% of cirrus clouds were found to possess geometrical thickness less than 2 km. Ground-based lidar is found to detect more number of sub-visible clouds than CALIOP which has implications for global warming studies as sub-visible cirrus clouds have significant positive radiative forcing. Cirrus clouds with mid-cloud temperatures between -50 to -70 °C have a mean geometrical thickness greater than 2 km in contrast to the earlier reported value of 1.7 km. Trend analyses reveal a statistically significant increase in the altitude of sub-visible cirrus clouds which is consistent with the recent climate model simulations. Also, the fraction of sub-visible cirrus cloud is found to be increasing during the last sixteen years (1998 to 2013) which has implications to the temperature and water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer.

Filtering Photogrammetric Point Clouds Using Standard LIDAR Filters Towards DTM Generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Z.; Gerke, M.; Vosselman, G.; Yang, M. Y.

2018-05-01

Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) can be generated from point clouds acquired by laser scanning or photogrammetric dense matching. During the last two decades, much effort has been paid to developing robust filtering algorithms for the airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. With the point cloud quality from dense image matching (DIM) getting better and better, the research question that arises is whether those standard Lidar filters can be used to filter photogrammetric point clouds as well. Experiments are implemented to filter two dense matching point clouds with different noise levels. Results show that the standard Lidar filter is robust to random noise. However, artefacts and blunders in the DIM points often appear due to low contrast or poor texture in the images. Filtering will be erroneous in these locations. Filtering the DIM points pre-processed by a ranking filter will bring higher Type II error (i.e. non-ground points actually labelled as ground points) but much lower Type I error (i.e. bare ground points labelled as non-ground points). Finally, the potential DTM accuracy that can be achieved by DIM points is evaluated. Two DIM point clouds derived by Pix4Dmapper and SURE are compared. On grassland dense matching generates points higher than the true terrain surface, which will result in incorrectly elevated DTMs. The application of the ranking filter leads to a reduced bias in the DTM height, but a slightly increased noise level.

Development of Spaceborne Radar Simulator by NICT and JAXA using JMA Cloud-resolving Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubota, T.; Eito, H.; Aonashi, K.; Hashimoto, A.; Iguchi, T.; Hanado, H.; Shimizu, S.; Yoshida, N.; Oki, R.

2009-12-01

We are developing synthetic spaceborne radar data toward a simulation of the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) aboard the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) core-satellite. Our purposes are a production of test-bed data for higher level DPR algorithm developers, in addition to a diagnosis of a cloud resolving model (CRM). To make the synthetic data, we utilize the CRM by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA-NHM) (Ikawa and Saito 1991, Saito et al. 2006, 2007), and the spaceborne radar simulation algorithm by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) named as the Integrated Satellite Observation Simulator for Radar (ISOSIM-Radar). The ISOSIM-Radar simulates received power data in a field of view of the spaceborne radar with consideration to a scan angle of the radar (Oouchi et al. 2002, Kubota et al. 2009). The received power data are computed with gaseous and hydrometeor attenuations taken into account. The backscattering and extinction coefficients are calculated assuming the Mie approximation for all species. The dielectric constants for solid particles are computed by the Maxwell-Garnett model (Bohren and Battan 1982). Drop size distributions are treated in accordance with those of the JMA-NHM. We assume a spherical sea surface, a Gaussian antenna pattern, and 49 antenna beam directions for scan angles from -17 to 17 deg. in the PR. In this study, we report the diagnosis of the JMA-NHM with reference to the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR) and CloudSat Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) using the ISOSIM-Radar from the view of comparisons in cloud microphysics schemes of the JMA-NHM. We tested three kinds of explicit bulk microphysics schemes based on Lin et al. (1983), that is, three-ice 1-moment scheme, three-ice 2-moment scheme (Eito and Aonashi 2009), and newly developed four-ice full 2-moment scheme (Hashimoto 2008). The hydrometeor species considered here are rain, graupel

Cloud Thickness from Offbeam Returns (THOR) Validation Campaign on NASA's P3B Over the ARM/SGP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cahalan, R. F.; Kolasinski, J.; McGill, M.; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Physical thickness of a cloud layer, sometimes multiple cloud layers, is a crucial controller of solar heating of the Earth- atmosphere system, which drives the convective processes that produce storm systems. Yet clouds of average optical thickness are opaque to conventional lidar, so their thickness is well estimated only by combining a lidar above and another below cloud, or a radar and lidar on the same side, dual facilities not widely available. Here we report initial observations of a new airborne multiple field of view lidar, capable of determining physical thickness of cloud layers from time signatures of off-beam returns from a I kHz micropulse lidar at 540 rim. For a single layer, the time delay of light returning from the outer diffuse halo of light surrounding the beam entry point, relative to the time delay at beam center, determines the cloud physical thickness. The delay combined with the pulse stretch gives the optical thickness. This halo method requires cloud optical thickness exceeding 2, and improves with cloud thickness, thus complimenting conventional lidar, which cannot penetrate thick clouds. Results are presented from March 25, 2002, when THOR flew a butterfly pattern over the ARM site at 8.3 km, above a thin ice cloud at 5 km, and a thick boundary-layer stratus deck with top at 1.3 km, as shown by THOR channel 1, and a base at about 0.3 km as shown by the ground-based MPL. Additional information is included in the original extended abstract.

Influence of Meteorological Regimes on Cloud Microphysics Over Ross Island, Antarctica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glennon, C.; Wang, S. H.; Scott, R. C.; Bromwich, D. H.; Lubin, D.

2017-12-01

The Antarctic provides a sharp contrast in cloud microphysics from the high Arctic, due to orographic lifting and resulting strong vertical motions induced by mountain ranges and other varying terrain on several spatial scales. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE) deployed advanced cloud remote sensing equipment to Ross Island, Antarctica, from December 2015 until January 2016. This equipment included scanning and zenith radars operating in the Ka and X bands, a high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL), and a polarized micropulse lidar (MPL). A major AWARE objective is to provide state-of-the-art data for improving cloud microphysical parameterizations in climate models. To further this objective we have organized and classified the local Ross Island meteorology into distinct regimes using k-means clustering on ERA-Interim reanalysis data. We identify synoptic categories producing unique regimes of cloud cover and cloud microphysical properties over Ross Island. Each day of observations can then be associated with a specific meteorological regime, thus assisting modelers with identifying case studies. High-resolution (1 km) weather forecasts from the Antarctic Mesoscale Prediction System (AMPS) are sorted into these categories. AMPS-simulated anomalies of cloud fraction, near-surface air temperature, and vertical velocity at 500-mb are composited and compared with ground-based radar and lidar-derived cloud properties to identify mesoscale meteorological processes driving Antarctic cloud formation. Synoptic lows over the Ross and Amundsen Seas drive anomalously warm conditions at Ross Island by injecting marine air masses inland over the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS). This results in ice and mixed-phase orographic cloud systems arriving at Ross Island from the south to southeast along the Transantarctic Mountains. In contrast, blocking over the Amundsen Sea region brings classical liquid-dominated mixed-phase and

The Aerosol/Cloud/Ecosystems Mission (ACE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schoeberl, Mark

2008-01-01

The goals and measurement strategy of the Aerosol/Cloud/Ecosystems Mission (ACE) are described. ACE will help to answer fundamental science questions associated with aerosols, clouds, air quality and global ocean ecosystems. Specifically, the goals of ACE are: 1) to quantify aerosol-cloud interactions and to assess the impact of aerosols on the hydrological cycle and 2) determine Ocean Carbon Cycling and other ocean biological processes. It is expected that ACE will: narrow the uncertainty in aerosol-cloud-precipitation interaction and quantify the role of aerosols in climate change; measure the ocean ecosystem changes and precisely quantify ocean carbon uptake; and, improve air quality forecasting by determining the height and type of aerosols being transported long distances. Overviews are provided of the aerosol-cloud community measurement strategy, aerosol and cloud observations over South Asia, and ocean biology research goals. Instruments used in the measurement strategy of the ACE mission are also highlighted, including: multi-beam lidar, multiwavelength high spectra resolution lidar, the ocean color instrument (ORCA)--a spectroradiometer for ocean remote sensing, dual frequency cloud radar and high- and low-frequency micron-wave radiometer. Future steps for the ACE mission include refining measurement requirements and carrying out additional instrument and payload studies.

Simulation of Space-borne Radar Observation from High Resolution Cloud Model - for GPM Dual frequency Precipitation Radar -

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, H.; Meneghini, R.; Jones, J.; Liao, L.

2011-12-01

A comprehensive space-borne radar simulator has been developed to support active microwave sensor satellite missions. The two major objectives of this study are: 1) to develop a radar simulator optimized for the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (KuPR and KaPR) on the Global Precipitation Measurement Mission satellite (GPM-DPR) and 2) to generate the synthetic test datasets for DPR algorithm development. This simulator consists of two modules: a DPR scanning configuration module and a forward module that generates atmospheric and surface radar observations. To generate realistic DPR test data, the scanning configuration module specifies the technical characteristics of DPR sensor and emulates the scanning geometry of the DPR with a inner swath of about 120 km, which contains matched-beam data from both frequencies, and an outer swath from 120 to 245 km over which only Ku-band data will be acquired. The second module is a forward model used to compute radar observables (reflectivity, attenuation and polarimetric variables) from input model variables including temperature, pressure and water content (rain water, cloud water, cloud ice, snow, graupel and water vapor) over the radar resolution volume. Presently, the input data to the simulator come from the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) and Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) models where a constant mass density is assumed for each species with a particle size distribution given by an exponential distribution with fixed intercept parameter (N0) and a slope parameter (Λ) determined from the equivalent water content. Although the model data do not presently contain mixed phase hydrometeors, the Yokoyama-Tanaka melting model is used along with the Bruggeman effective dielectric constant to replace rain and snow particles, where both are present, with mixed phase particles while preserving the snow/water fraction. For testing one of the DPR retrieval algorithms, the Surface Reference Technique (SRT), the simulator uses

Influence of daylight and noise current on cloud and aerosol observations by spaceborne elastic scattering lidar.

PubMed

Nakajima, T Y; Imai, T; Uchino, O; Nagai, T

1999-08-20

The influence of daylight and noise current on cloud and aerosol observations by realistic spaceborne lidar was examined by computer simulations. The reflected solar radiations, which contaminate the daytime return signals of lidar operations, were strictly and explicitly estimated by accurate radiative transfer calculations. It was found that the model multilayer cirrus clouds and the boundary layer aerosols could be observed during the daytime and the nighttime with only a few laser shots. However, high background noise and noise current make it difficult to observe volcanic aerosols in middle and upper atmospheric layers. Optimal combinations of the laser power and receiver field of view are proposed to compensate for the negative influence that is due to these noises. For the computer simulations, we used a realistic set of lidar parameters similar to the Experimental Lidar in-Space Equipment of the National Space Development Agency of Japan.

Interpretation of cirrus cloud properties using coincident satellite and lidar data during the FIRE cirrus IFO

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minnis, Patrick; Alvarez, Joseph M.; Young, David F.; Sassen, Kenneth; Grund, Christian J.

1990-01-01

The First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Cirrus Intensive Field Observations (IFO) provide an opportunity to examine the relationships between the satellite observed radiances and various parameters which describe the bulk properties of clouds, such as cloud amount and cloud top height. Lidar derived cloud altitude data, radiosonde data, and satellite observed radiances are used to examine the relationships between visible reflectance, infrared emittance, and cloud top temperatures for cirrus clouds.

Nighttime lidar water vapor mixing ratio profiling over Warsaw - impact of the relative humidity profile on cloud formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Costa Surós, Montserrat; Stachlewska, Iwona S.

2016-04-01

A long-term study, assessing ground-based remote Raman lidar versus in-situ radiosounding has been conducted with the aim of improving the knowledge on the water content vertical profile through the atmosphere, and thus the conditions for cloud formation processes. Water vapor mixing ratio (WVMR) and relative humidity (RH) profiles were retrieved from ADR Lidar (PollyXT-type, EARLINET site in Warsaw). So far, more than 100 nighttime profiles averaged over 1h around midnight from July 2013 to December 2015 have been investigated. Data were evaluated with molecular extinctions calculated using two approximations: the US62 standard atmosphere and the radiosounding launched in Legionowo (12374). The calibration factor CH2O for lidar retrievals was obtained for each profile using the regression method and the profile method to determine the best calibration factor approximation to be used in the final WVMR and RH calculation. Thus, statistically representative results for comparisons between lidar WVMR median profiles obtained by calibrating using radiosounding profiles and using atmospheric synthetic profiles, all of them with the best calibration factor, will be presented. Finally, in order to constrain the conditions of cloud formation in function of the RH profile, the COS14 algorithm, capable of deriving cloud bases and tops by applying thresholds to the RH profiles, was applied to find the cloud vertical structure (CVS). The algorithm was former applied to radiosounding profiles at SGP-ARM site and tested against the CVS obtained from the Active Remote Sensing of Clouds (ARSCL) data. Similarly, it was applied for lidar measurements at the Warsaw measurement site.

Vertical distribution of clouds over Hampton, Virginia observed by lidar under the ECLIPS and FIRE ETO programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaughan, M. A.; Winker, D. M.

1994-01-01

Intensive cloud lidar observations have been made by NASA Langley Research Center during the two observation phases of the ECLIPS project. Less intensive but longer term observations have been conducted as part of the FIRE extended time observation (ETO) program since 1987. We present a preliminary analysis of the vertical distribution of clouds based on these observations. A mean cirrus thickness of just under 1 km has been observed with a mean altitude of about 80 percent of the tropopause height. Based on the lidar data, cirrus coverage was estimated to be just under 20 percent, representing roughly 50 percent of all clouds studied. Cirrus was observed to have less seasonal variation than lower clouds. Mid-level clouds are found to occur primarily in association with frontal activity.

Continental Shallow Convection Cloud-Base Mass Flux from Doppler Lidar and LASSO Ensemble Large-Eddy Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vogelmann, A. M.; Zhang, D.; Kollias, P.; Endo, S.; Lamer, K.; Gustafson, W. I., Jr.; Romps, D. M.

2017-12-01

Continental boundary layer clouds are important to simulations of weather and climate because of their impact on surface budgets and vertical transports of energy and moisture; however, model-parameterized boundary layer clouds do not agree well with observations in part because small-scale turbulence and convection are not properly represented. To advance parameterization development and evaluation, observational constraints are needed on critical parameters such as cloud-base mass flux and its relationship to cloud cover and the sub-cloud boundary layer structure including vertical velocity variance and skewness. In this study, these constraints are derived from Doppler lidar observations and ensemble large-eddy simulations (LES) from the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Facility Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in Oklahoma. The Doppler lidar analysis will extend the single-site, long-term analysis of Lamer and Kollias [2015] and augment this information with the short-term but unique 1-2 year period since five Doppler lidars began operation at the SGP, providing critical information on regional variability. These observations will be compared to the statistics obtained from ensemble, routine LES conducted by the LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) project (https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso). An Observation System Simulation Experiment (OSSE) will be presented that uses the LASSO LES fields to determine criteria for which relationships from Doppler lidar observations are adequately sampled to yield convergence. Any systematic differences between the observed and simulated relationships will be examined to understand factors contributing to the differences. Lamer, K., and P. Kollias (2015), Observations of fair-weather cumuli over land: Dynamical factors controlling cloud size and cover, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 8693-8701, doi:10.1002/2015GL064534

Long-term trend analysis and climatology of tropical cirrus clouds using 16 years of lidar data set over Southern India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandit, A. K.; Gadhavi, H. S.; Venkat Ratnam, M.; Raghunath, K.; Rao, S. V. B.; Jayaraman, A.

2015-12-01

Sixteen-year (1998-2013) climatology of cirrus clouds and their macrophysical (base height, top height and geometrical thickness) and optical properties (cloud optical thickness) observed using a ground-based lidar over Gadanki (13.5° N, 79.2° E), India, is presented. The climatology obtained from the ground-based lidar is compared with the climatology obtained from 7 and a half years (June 2006-December 2013) of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) observations. A very good agreement is found between the two climatologies in spite of their opposite viewing geometries and the differences in sampling frequencies. Nearly 50-55 % of cirrus clouds were found to possess geometrical thickness less than 2 km. Ground-based lidar is found to detect a higher number of sub-visible clouds than CALIOP which has implications for global warming studies as sub-visible cirrus clouds have significant positive radiative forcing. Cirrus clouds with mid-cloud temperatures between -50 to -70 °C have a mean geometrical thickness greater than 2 km in contrast to the earlier reported value of 1.7 km. Trend analyses reveal a statistically significant increase in the altitude of sub-visible cirrus clouds which is consistent with the recent climate model simulations. The mid-cloud altitude of sub-visible cirrus clouds is found to be increasing at the rate of 41 ± 21 m year-1. Statistically significant decrease in optical thickness of sub-visible and thick cirrus clouds is observed. Also, the fraction of sub-visible cirrus cloud is found to have increased by 9 % in the last 16 years (1998 to 2013). This increase is mainly compensated by a 7 % decrease in thin cirrus cloud fraction. This has implications for the temperature and water vapour budget in the tropical tropopause layer.

Core Facility of the Juelich Observatory for Cloud Evolution (JOYCE - CF)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beer, J.; Troemel, S.

2017-12-01

A multiple and holistic multi-sensor monitoring of clouds and precipitation processes is a challenging but promising task in the meteorological community. Instrument synergies offer detailed views in microphysical and dynamical developments of clouds. Since 2017 The the Juelich Observatory for Cloud Evolution (JOYCE) is transformed into a Core Facility (JOYCE - CF). JOYCE - CF offers multiple long-term remote sensing observations of the atmosphere, develops an easy access to all observations and invites scientists word wide to exploit the existing data base for their research but also to complement JOYCE-CF with additional long-term or campaign instrumentation. The major instrumentation contains a twin set of two polarimetric X-band radars, a microwave profiler, two cloud radars, an infrared spectrometer, a Doppler lidar and two ceilometers. JOYCE - CF offers easy and open access to database and high quality calibrated observations of all instruments. E.g. the two polarimetric X-band radars which are located in 50 km distance are calibrated using the self-consistency method, frequently repeated vertical pointing measurements as well as instrument synergy with co-located micro-rain radar and distrometer measurements. The presentation gives insights into calibration procedures, the standardized operation procedures and recent synergistic research exploiting our radars operating at three different frequencies.

StatisticAl Characteristics of Cloud over Beijing, China Obtained FRom Ka band Doppler Radar Observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LIU, J.; Bi, Y.; Duan, S.; Lu, D.

2017-12-01

It is well-known that cloud characteristics, such as top and base heights and their layering structure of micro-physical parameters, spatial coverage and temporal duration are very important factors influencing both radiation budget and its vertical partitioning as well as hydrological cycle through precipitation data. Also, cloud structure and their statistical distribution and typical values will have respective characteristics with geographical and seasonal variation. Ka band radar is a powerful tool to obtain above parameters around the world, such as ARM cloud radar at the Oklahoma US, Since 2006, Cloudsat is one of NASA's A-Train satellite constellation, continuously observe the cloud structure with global coverage, but only twice a day it monitor clouds over same local site at same local time.By using IAP Ka band Doppler radar which has been operating continuously since early 2013 over the roof of IAP building in Beijing, we obtained the statistical characteristic of clouds, including cloud layering, cloud top and base heights, as well as the thickness of each cloud layer and their distribution, and were analyzed monthly and seasonal and diurnal variation, statistical analysis of cloud reflectivity profiles is also made. The analysis covers both non-precipitating clouds and precipitating clouds. Also, some preliminary comparison of the results with Cloudsat/Calipso products for same period and same area are made.

Measurements of the Vertical Structure of Aerosols and Clouds Over the Ocean Using Micro-Pulse LIDAR Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welton, Ellsworth J.; Spinhirne, James D.; Campbell, James R.; Berkoff, Timothy A.; Bates, David; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The determination of the vertical distribution of aerosols and clouds over the ocean is needed for accurate retrievals of ocean color from satellites observations. The presence of absorbing aerosol layers, especially at altitudes above the boundary layer, has been shown to influence the calculation of ocean color. Also, satellite data must be correctly screened for the presence of clouds, particularly cirrus, in order to measure ocean color. One instrument capable of providing this information is a lidar, which uses pulses of laser light to profile the vertical distribution of aerosol and cloud layers in the atmosphere. However, lidar systems prior to the 1990s were large, expensive, and not eye-safe which made them unsuitable for cruise deployments. During the 1990s the first small, autonomous, and eye-safe lidar system became available: the micro-pulse lidar, or MPL. The MPL is a compact and eye-safe lidar system capable of determining the range of aerosols and clouds by firing a short pulse of laser light (523 nm) and measuring the time-of-flight from pulse transmission to reception of a returned signal. The returned signal is a function of time, converted into range using the speed of light, and is proportional to the amount of light backscattered by atmospheric molecules (Rayleigh scattering), aerosols, and clouds. The MPL achieves ANSI eye-safe standards by sending laser pulses at low energy (micro-J) and expanding the beam to 20.32 cm in diameter. A fast pulse-repetition-frequency (2500 Hz) is used to achieve a good signal-to-noise, despite the low output energy. The MPL has a small field-of-view (< 100 micro-rad) and signals received with the instrument do not contain multiple scattering effects. The MPL has been used successfully at a number of long-term sites and also in several field experiments around the world.

Fully Convolutional Networks for Ground Classification from LIDAR Point Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rizaldy, A.; Persello, C.; Gevaert, C. M.; Oude Elberink, S. J.

2018-05-01

Deep Learning has been massively used for image classification in recent years. The use of deep learning for ground classification from LIDAR point clouds has also been recently studied. However, point clouds need to be converted into an image in order to use Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). In state-of-the-art techniques, this conversion is slow because each point is converted into a separate image. This approach leads to highly redundant computation during conversion and classification. The goal of this study is to design a more efficient data conversion and ground classification. This goal is achieved by first converting the whole point cloud into a single image. The classification is then performed by a Fully Convolutional Network (FCN), a modified version of CNN designed for pixel-wise image classification. The proposed method is significantly faster than state-of-the-art techniques. On the ISPRS Filter Test dataset, it is 78 times faster for conversion and 16 times faster for classification. Our experimental analysis on the same dataset shows that the proposed method results in 5.22 % of total error, 4.10 % of type I error, and 15.07 % of type II error. Compared to the previous CNN-based technique and LAStools software, the proposed method reduces the total error and type I error (while type II error is slightly higher). The method was also tested on a very high point density LIDAR point clouds resulting in 4.02 % of total error, 2.15 % of type I error and 6.14 % of type II error.

Automatic extraction of pavement markings on streets from point cloud data of mobile LiDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Yang; Zhong, Ruofei; Tang, Tao; Wang, Liuzhao; Liu, Xianlin

2017-08-01

Pavement markings provide an important foundation as they help to keep roads users safe. Accurate and comprehensive information about pavement markings assists the road regulators and is useful in developing driverless technology. Mobile light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems offer new opportunities to collect and process accurate pavement markings’ information. Mobile LiDAR systems can directly obtain the three-dimensional (3D) coordinates of an object, thus defining spatial data and the intensity of (3D) objects in a fast and efficient way. The RGB attribute information of data points can be obtained based on the panoramic camera in the system. In this paper, we present a novel method process to automatically extract pavement markings using multiple attribute information of the laser scanning point cloud from the mobile LiDAR data. This method process utilizes a differential grayscale of RGB color, laser pulse reflection intensity, and the differential intensity to identify and extract pavement markings. We utilized point cloud density to remove the noise and used morphological operations to eliminate the errors. In the application, we tested our method process on different sections of roads in Beijing, China, and Buffalo, NY, USA. The results indicated that both correctness (p) and completeness (r) were higher than 90%. The method process of this research can be applied to extract pavement markings from huge point cloud data produced by mobile LiDAR.

Development of High Altitude UAV Weather Radars for Hurricane Research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heymsfield, Gerald; Li, Li-Hua

2005-01-01

A proposed effort within NASA called (ASHE) over the past few years was aimed at studying the genesis of tropical disturbances off the east coast of Africa. This effort was focused on using an instrumented Global Hawk UAV with high altitude (%Ok ft) and long duration (30 h) capability. While the Global Hawk availability remains uncertain, development of two relevant instruments, a Doppler radar (URAD - UAV Radar) and a backscatter lidar (CPL-UAV - Cloud Physics Lidar), are in progress. The radar to be discussed here is based on two previous high-altitude, autonomously operating radars on the NASA ER-2 aircraft, the ER-2 Doppler Radar (EDOP) at X-band (9.6 GHz), and the Cloud Radar System (CRS) at W- band (94 GHz). The nadir-pointing EDOP and CRS radars profile vertical reflectivity structure and vertical Doppler winds in precipitation and clouds, respectively. EDOP has flown in all of the CAMEX flight series to study hurricanes over storms such as Hurricanes Bonnie, Humberto, Georges, Erin, and TS Chantal. These radars were developed at Goddard over the last decade and have been used for satellite algorithm development and validation (TRMM and Cloudsat), and for hurricane and convective storm research. We describe here the development of URAD that will measure wind and reflectivity in hurricanes and other weather systems from a top down, high-altitude view. URAD for the Global Hawk consists of two subsystems both of which are at X-band (9.3-9.6 GHz) and Doppler: a nadir fixed-beam Doppler radar for vertical motion and precipitation measurement, and a Conical scanning radar for horizontal winds in cloud and at the surface, and precipitation structure. These radars are being designed with size, weight, and power consumption suitable for the Global Hawk and other UAV's. The nadir radar uses a magnetron transmitter and the scanning radar uses a TWT transmitter. With conical scanning of the radar at a 35" incidence angle over an ocean surface in the absence of

Geometric and optical properties of cirrus clouds inferred from three-year ground-based lidar and CALIOP measurements over Seoul, Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Yumi; Kim, Sang-Woo; Kim, Man-Hae; Yoon, Soon-Chang

2014-03-01

This study examines cirrus cloud top and bottom heights (CTH and CBH, respectively) and the associated optical properties revealed by ground-based lidar in Seoul (SNU-L), Korea, and space-borne Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), which were obtained during a three-year measurement period between July 2006 and June 2009. From two selected cases, we determined good agreement in CTH and CBH with cirrus cloud optical depth (COD) between ground-based lidar and space-borne CALIOP. In particular, CODs at a wavelength of 532 nm calculated from the three years of SNU-L and CALIOP measurements were 0.417 ± 0.394 and 0.425 ± 0.479, respectively. The fraction of COD lower than 0.1 was approximately 17% and 25% of the total SNU-L and CALIOP profiles, respectively, and approximately 50% of both lidar profiles were classified as sub-visual or optically thin such that COD was < 0.3. The mean depolarization ratio was estimated to be 0.30 ± 0.06 for SNU-L and 0.34 ± 0.08 for CALIOP. The monthly variation of CODs from SNU-L and CALIOP measurements was not distinct, whereas cirrus altitudes from both SNU-L and CALIOP showed distinct monthly variation. CALIOP observations showed that cirrus clouds reached the tropopause level in all months, whereas the up-looking SNU-L did not detect cirrus clouds near the tropopause in summer due to signal attenuation by underlying optically thick clouds. The cloud layer thickness (CLT) and COD showed a distinct linear relationship up to approximately 2 km of the CLT; however, the COD did not increase, but remained constant when the CLT was greater than 2.0 km. The ice crystal content, lidar signal attenuation, and the presence of multi-layered cirrus clouds may have contributed to this tendency.

Comparison of 3D point clouds produced by LIDAR and UAV photoscan in the Rochefort cave (Belgium)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Watlet, Arnaud; Triantafyllou, Antoine; Kaufmann, Olivier; Le Mouelic, Stéphane

2016-04-01

Amongst today's techniques that are able to produce 3D point clouds, LIDAR and UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) photogrammetry are probably the most commonly used. Both methods have their own advantages and limitations. LIDAR scans create high resolution and high precision 3D point clouds, but such methods are generally costly, especially for sporadic surveys. Compared to LIDAR, UAV (e.g. drones) are cheap and flexible to use in different kind of environments. Moreover, the photogrammetric processing workflow of digital images taken with UAV becomes easier with the rise of many affordable software packages (e.g. Agisoft, PhotoModeler3D, VisualSFM). We present here a challenging study made at the Rochefort Cave Laboratory (South Belgium) comprising surface and underground surveys. The site is located in the Belgian Variscan fold-and-thrust belt, a region that shows many karstic networks within Devonian limestone units. A LIDAR scan has been acquired in the main chamber of the cave (~ 15000 m³) to spatialize 3D point cloud of its inner walls and infer geological beds and structures. Even if the use of LIDAR instrument was not really comfortable in such caving environment, the collected data showed a remarkable precision according to few control points geometry. We also decided to perform another challenging survey of the same cave chamber by modelling a 3D point cloud using photogrammetry of a set of DSLR camera pictures taken from the ground and UAV pictures. The aim was to compare both techniques in terms of (i) implementation of data acquisition and processing, (ii) quality of resulting 3D points clouds (points density, field vs cloud recovery and points precision), (iii) their application for geological purposes. Through Rochefort case study, main conclusions are that LIDAR technique provides higher density point clouds with slightly higher precision than photogrammetry method. However, 3D data modeled by photogrammetry provide visible light spectral information

Layer stacking: A novel algorithm for individual forest tree segmentation from LiDAR point clouds

Treesearch

Elias Ayrey; Shawn Fraver; John A. Kershaw; Laura S. Kenefic; Daniel Hayes; Aaron R. Weiskittel; Brian E. Roth

2017-01-01

As light detection and ranging (LiDAR) technology advances, it has become common for datasets to be acquired at a point density high enough to capture structural information from individual trees. To process these data, an automatic method of isolating individual trees from a LiDAR point cloud is required. Traditional methods for segmenting trees attempt to isolate...

Breaking Kelvin-Helmholtz waves and cloud-top entrainment as revealed by K-band Doppler radar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martner, Brooks E.; Ralph, F. Martin

1993-01-01

Radars have occasionally detected breaking Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) waves under clear-air conditions in the atmospheric boundary layer and in the free troposphere. However, very few direct measurements of such waves within clouds have previously been reported and those have not clearly documented wave breaking. In this article, we present some of the most detailed and striking radar observations to date of breaking KH waves within clouds and at cloud top and discuss their relevance to the issue of cloud-top entrainment, which is believed to be important in convective and stratiform clouds. Aircraft observations reported by Stith suggest that vortex-like circulations near cloud top are an entrainment mechanism in cumuliform clouds. Laboratory and modeling studies have examined possibility that KH instability may be responsible for mixing at cloud top, but direct observations have not yet been presented. Preliminary analyses shown here may help fill this gap. The data presented in this paper were obtained during two field projects in 1991 that included observations from the NOAA Wave Propagation Laboratory's K-band Doppler radar (wavelength = 8.7 mm) and special rawinsonde ascents. The sensitivity (-30 dBZ at 10 km range), fine spatial resolution (375-m pulse length and 0.5 degrees beamwidth), velocity measurement precision (5-10 cm s-1), scanning capability, and relative immunity to ground clutter make it sensitive to non-precipitating and weakly precipitating clouds, and make it an excellent instrument to study gravity waves in clouds. In particular, the narrow beam width and short pulse length create scattering volumes that are cylinders 37.5 m long and 45 m (90 m) in diameter at 5 km (10 km) range. These characteristics allow the radar to resolve the detailed structure in breaking KH waves such as have been seen in photographic cloud images.

20 Years Lidar Observations of Clouds at the Edge of Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fiedler, J.; Baumgarten, G.; Luebken, F.

2013-12-01

The highest clouds in the Earth atmosphere are located around 83 km altitude. They were first documented in 1885 and are called noctilucent clouds (NLC) because of the impressive bluish-white displays they form against the dark night sky. NLC occur during the summer months from mid to high latitudes and are a visible sign of the extreme conditions in the mesopause region. They consist of nano-sized ice particles (mean value 48×1 nm) which are subject to the variability of the ambient atmosphere. Ice formation and growth at these high altitudes is very sensitive to temperature and water vapor content which are hardly to measure directly with high accuracy. Thus NLC can act as tracers for short-term variations and are thought to document long-term atmospheric changes as well. We will report about our NLC time series obtained by laser optical remote sensing at the research station ALOMAR in Northern Norway (69°N, 16°E). The data archive obtained with the Rayleigh/Mie/Raman-lidar covers now 20 summer seasons and is the largest NLC data set acquired by lidar. It shows variabilities of basic cloud parameters like occurrence, altitude and brightness on time scales ranging from minutes to years. Using the capability of all three emitted laser wavelengths we are able to determine ice particle properties like mean and width of the size distribution and number density. This allows investigation of the cloud water content and its variability. Comparing our ground-based measurements on a fixed location to data sets obtained from sun-synchronous satellites shows certain differences. They could at least partly be attributed to the observation conditions like measurement volume, local time, scattering angles etc. We found atmospheric tides to have a significant influence on the NLC properties. Additionally microphysical processes limit the duration within the ice particles can be considered as passive tracers. Long-term data sets are subject to varying instrument sensitivities

Potential of Higher Moments of the Radar Doppler Spectrum for Studying Ice Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loehnert, U.; Maahn, M.

2015-12-01

More observations of ice clouds are required to fill gaps in understanding of microphysical properties and processes. However, in situ observations by aircraft are costly and cannot provide long term observations which are required for a deeper understanding of the processes. Ground based remote sensing observations have the potential to fill this gap, but their observations do not contain sufficient information to unambiguously constrain ice cloud properties which leads to high uncertainties. For vertically pointing cloud radars, usually only reflectivity and mean Doppler velocity are used for retrievals; some studies proposed also the use of Doppler spectrum width.In this study, it is investigated whether additional information can be obtained by exploiting also higher moments of the Doppler spectrum such as skewness and kurtosis together with the slope of the Doppler peak. For this, observations of pure ice clouds from the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) in Alaska 2008 are analyzed. Using the ISDAC data set, an Optimal Estimation based retrieval is set up based on synthetic and real radar observations. The passive and active microwave radiative transfer model (PAMTRA) is used as a forward model together with the Self-Similar Rayleigh-Gans approximation for estimation of the scattering properties. The state vector of the retrieval consists of the parameters required to simulate the radar Doppler spectrum and describes particle mass, cross section area, particle size distribution, and kinematic conditions such as turbulence and vertical air motion. Using the retrieval, the information content (degrees of freedom for signal) is quantified that higher moments and slopes can contribute to an ice cloud retrieval. The impact of multiple frequencies, radar sensitivity and radar calibration is studied. For example, it is found that a single-frequency measurement using all moments and slopes contains already more information content than a dual

Potential of Higher Moments of the Radar Doppler Spectrum for Studying Ice Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lunt, M. F.; Rigby, M. L.; Ganesan, A.; Manning, A.; O'Doherty, S.; Prinn, R. G.; Saito, T.; Harth, C. M.; Muhle, J.; Weiss, R. F.; Salameh, P.; Arnold, T.; Yokouchi, Y.; Krummel, P. B.; Steele, P.; Fraser, P. J.; Li, S.; Park, S.; Kim, J.; Reimann, S.; Vollmer, M. K.; Lunder, C. R.; Hermansen, O.; Schmidbauer, N.; Young, D.; Simmonds, P. G.

2014-12-01

More observations of ice clouds are required to fill gaps in understanding of microphysical properties and processes. However, in situ observations by aircraft are costly and cannot provide long term observations which are required for a deeper understanding of the processes. Ground based remote sensing observations have the potential to fill this gap, but their observations do not contain sufficient information to unambiguously constrain ice cloud properties which leads to high uncertainties. For vertically pointing cloud radars, usually only reflectivity and mean Doppler velocity are used for retrievals; some studies proposed also the use of Doppler spectrum width.In this study, it is investigated whether additional information can be obtained by exploiting also higher moments of the Doppler spectrum such as skewness and kurtosis together with the slope of the Doppler peak. For this, observations of pure ice clouds from the Indirect and Semi-Direct Aerosol Campaign (ISDAC) in Alaska 2008 are analyzed. Using the ISDAC data set, an Optimal Estimation based retrieval is set up based on synthetic and real radar observations. The passive and active microwave radiative transfer model (PAMTRA) is used as a forward model together with the Self-Similar Rayleigh-Gans approximation for estimation of the scattering properties. The state vector of the retrieval consists of the parameters required to simulate the radar Doppler spectrum and describes particle mass, cross section area, particle size distribution, and kinematic conditions such as turbulence and vertical air motion. Using the retrieval, the information content (degrees of freedom for signal) is quantified that higher moments and slopes can contribute to an ice cloud retrieval. The impact of multiple frequencies, radar sensitivity and radar calibration is studied. For example, it is found that a single-frequency measurement using all moments and slopes contains already more information content than a dual

Scan Line Based Road Marking Extraction from Mobile LiDAR Point Clouds.

PubMed

Yan, Li; Liu, Hua; Tan, Junxiang; Li, Zan; Xie, Hong; Chen, Changjun

2016-06-17

Mobile Mapping Technology (MMT) is one of the most important 3D spatial data acquisition technologies. The state-of-the-art mobile mapping systems, equipped with laser scanners and named Mobile LiDAR Scanning (MLS) systems, have been widely used in a variety of areas, especially in road mapping and road inventory. With the commercialization of Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADASs) and self-driving technology, there will be a great demand for lane-level detailed 3D maps, and MLS is the most promising technology to generate such lane-level detailed 3D maps. Road markings and road edges are necessary information in creating such lane-level detailed 3D maps. This paper proposes a scan line based method to extract road markings from mobile LiDAR point clouds in three steps: (1) preprocessing; (2) road points extraction; (3) road markings extraction and refinement. In preprocessing step, the isolated LiDAR points in the air are removed from the LiDAR point clouds and the point clouds are organized into scan lines. In the road points extraction step, seed road points are first extracted by Height Difference (HD) between trajectory data and road surface, then full road points are extracted from the point clouds by moving least squares line fitting. In the road markings extraction and refinement step, the intensity values of road points in a scan line are first smoothed by a dynamic window median filter to suppress intensity noises, then road markings are extracted by Edge Detection and Edge Constraint (EDEC) method, and the Fake Road Marking Points (FRMPs) are eliminated from the detected road markings by segment and dimensionality feature-based refinement. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated by three data samples and the experiment results indicate that road points are well extracted from MLS data and road markings are well extracted from road points by the applied method. A quantitative study shows that the proposed method achieves an average

Intercomparison of vertical structure of storms revealed by ground-based (NMQ) and spaceborne radars (CloudSat-CPR and TRMM-PR).

PubMed

Fall, Veronica M; Cao, Qing; Hong, Yang

2013-01-01

Spaceborne radars provide great opportunities to investigate the vertical structure of clouds and precipitation. Two typical spaceborne radars for such a study are the W-band Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) and Ku-band Precipitation Radar (PR), which are onboard NASA's CloudSat and TRMM satellites, respectively. Compared to S-band ground-based radars, they have distinct scattering characteristics for different hydrometeors in clouds and precipitation. The combination of spaceborne and ground-based radar observations can help in the identification of hydrometeors and improve the radar-based quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE). This study analyzes the vertical structure of the 18 January, 2009 storm using data from the CloudSat CPR, TRMM PR, and a NEXRAD-based National Mosaic and Multisensor QPE (NMQ) system. Microphysics above, within, and below the melting layer are studied through an intercomparison of multifrequency measurements. Hydrometeors' type and their radar scattering characteristics are analyzed. Additionally, the study of the vertical profile of reflectivity (VPR) reveals the brightband properties in the cold-season precipitation and its effect on the radar-based QPE. In all, the joint analysis of spaceborne and ground-based radar data increases the understanding of the vertical structure of storm systems and provides a good insight into the microphysical modeling for weather forecasts.

Intercomparison of Vertical Structure of Storms Revealed by Ground-Based (NMQ) and Spaceborne Radars (CloudSat-CPR and TRMM-PR)

PubMed Central

Fall, Veronica M.; Hong, Yang

2013-01-01

Spaceborne radars provide great opportunities to investigate the vertical structure of clouds and precipitation. Two typical spaceborne radars for such a study are the W-band Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) and Ku-band Precipitation Radar (PR), which are onboard NASA's CloudSat and TRMM satellites, respectively. Compared to S-band ground-based radars, they have distinct scattering characteristics for different hydrometeors in clouds and precipitation. The combination of spaceborne and ground-based radar observations can help in the identification of hydrometeors and improve the radar-based quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE). This study analyzes the vertical structure of the 18 January, 2009 storm using data from the CloudSat CPR, TRMM PR, and a NEXRAD-based National Mosaic and Multisensor QPE (NMQ) system. Microphysics above, within, and below the melting layer are studied through an intercomparison of multifrequency measurements. Hydrometeors' type and their radar scattering characteristics are analyzed. Additionally, the study of the vertical profile of reflectivity (VPR) reveals the brightband properties in the cold-season precipitation and its effect on the radar-based QPE. In all, the joint analysis of spaceborne and ground-based radar data increases the understanding of the vertical structure of storm systems and provides a good insight into the microphysical modeling for weather forecasts. PMID:24459424

Height Distribution Between Cloud and Aerosol Layers from the GLAS Spaceborne Lidar in the Indian Ocean Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hart, William D.; Spinhirne, James D.; Palm, Steven P.; Hlavka, Dennis L.

2005-01-01

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS), a nadir pointing lidar on the Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) launched in 2003, now provides important new global measurements of the relationship between the height distribution of cloud and aerosol layers. GLAS data have the capability to detect, locate, and distinguish between cloud and aerosol layers in the atmosphere up to 40 km altitude. The data product algorithm tests the product of the maximum attenuated backscatter coefficient b'(r) and the vertical gradient of b'(r) within a layer against a predetermined threshold. An initial case result for the critical Indian Ocean region is presented. From the results the relative height distribution between collocated aerosol and cloud shows extensive regions where cloud formation is well within dense aerosol scattering layers at the surface. Citation: Hart, W. D., J. D. Spinhime, S. P. Palm, and D. L. Hlavka (2005), Height distribution between cloud and aerosol layers from the GLAS spaceborne lidar in the Indian Ocean region,

Isolating the Liquid Cloud Response to Recent Arctic Sea Ice Variability Using Spaceborne Lidar Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morrison, A. L.; Kay, J. E.; Chepfer, H.; Guzman, R.; Yettella, V.

2018-01-01

While the radiative influence of clouds on Arctic sea ice is known, the influence of sea ice cover on Arctic clouds is challenging to detect, separate from atmospheric circulation, and attribute to human activities. Providing observational constraints on the two-way relationship between sea ice cover and Arctic clouds is important for predicting the rate of future sea ice loss. Here we use 8 years of CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) spaceborne lidar observations from 2008 to 2015 to analyze Arctic cloud profiles over sea ice and over open water. Using a novel surface mask to restrict our analysis to where sea ice concentration varies, we isolate the influence of sea ice cover on Arctic Ocean clouds. The study focuses on clouds containing liquid water because liquid-containing clouds are the most important cloud type for radiative fluxes and therefore for sea ice melt and growth. Summer is the only season with no observed cloud response to sea ice cover variability: liquid cloud profiles are nearly identical over sea ice and over open water. These results suggest that shortwave summer cloud feedbacks do not slow long-term summer sea ice loss. In contrast, more liquid clouds are observed over open water than over sea ice in the winter, spring, and fall in the 8 year mean and in each individual year. Observed fall sea ice loss cannot be explained by natural variability alone, which suggests that observed increases in fall Arctic cloud cover over newly open water are linked to human activities.

Topobathymetric LiDAR point cloud processing and landform classification in a tidal environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skovgaard Andersen, Mikkel; Al-Hamdani, Zyad; Steinbacher, Frank; Rolighed Larsen, Laurids; Brandbyge Ernstsen, Verner

2017-04-01

Historically it has been difficult to create high resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) in land-water transition zones due to shallow water depth and often challenging environmental conditions. This gap of information has been reflected as a "white ribbon" with no data in the land-water transition zone. In recent years, the technology of airborne topobathymetric Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) has proven capable of filling out the gap by simultaneously capturing topographic and bathymetric elevation information, using only a single green laser. We collected green LiDAR point cloud data in the Knudedyb tidal inlet system in the Danish Wadden Sea in spring 2014. Creating a DEM from a point cloud requires the general processing steps of data filtering, water surface detection and refraction correction. However, there is no transparent and reproducible method for processing green LiDAR data into a DEM, specifically regarding the procedure of water surface detection and modelling. We developed a step-by-step procedure for creating a DEM from raw green LiDAR point cloud data, including a procedure for making a Digital Water Surface Model (DWSM) (see Andersen et al., 2017). Two different classification analyses were applied to the high resolution DEM: A geomorphometric and a morphological classification, respectively. The classification methods were originally developed for a small test area; but in this work, we have used the classification methods to classify the complete Knudedyb tidal inlet system. References Andersen MS, Gergely Á, Al-Hamdani Z, Steinbacher F, Larsen LR, Ernstsen VB (2017). Processing and performance of topobathymetric lidar data for geomorphometric and morphological classification in a high-energy tidal environment. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21: 43-63, doi:10.5194/hess-21-43-2017. Acknowledgements This work was funded by the Danish Council for Independent Research | Natural Sciences through the project "Process-based understanding and

Examining impacts of mass-diameter (m-D) and area-diameter (A-D) relationships of ice particles on retrievals of effective radius and ice water content from radar and lidar measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ham, Seung-Hee; Kato, Seiji; Rose, Fred G.

2017-03-01

Mass-diameter (m-D) and projected area-diameter (A-D) relations are often used to describe the shape of nonspherical ice particles. This study analytically investigates how retrieved effective radius (reff) and ice water content (IWC) from radar and lidar measurements depend on the assumption of m-D [m(D) = a Db] and A-D [A(D) = γ Dδ] relationships. We assume that unattenuated reflectivity factor (Z) and visible extinction coefficient (kext) by cloud particles are available from the radar and lidar measurements, respectively. A sensitivity test shows that reff increases with increasing a, decreasing b, decreasing γ, and increasing δ. It also shows that a 10% variation of a, b, γ, and δ induces more than a 100% change of reff. In addition, we consider both gamma and lognormal particle size distributions (PSDs) and examine the sensitivity of reff to the assumption of PSD. It is shown that reff increases by up to 10% with increasing dispersion (μ) of the gamma PSD by 2, when large ice particles are predominant. Moreover, reff decreases by up to 20% with increasing the width parameter (ω) of the lognormal PSD by 0.1. We also derive an analytic conversion equation between two effective radii when different particle shapes and PSD assumptions are used. When applying the conversion equation to nine types of m-D and A-D relationships, reff easily changes up to 30%. The proposed reff conversion method can be used to eliminate the inconsistency of assumptions that made in a cloud retrieval algorithm and a forward radiative transfer model.

Microphysical parameters of cirrus clouds using lidar at a tropical station, Gadanki, Tirupati (13.5° N, 79.2°E), India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satyanarayana, M.; Radhakrishnan, S.-R.; Krishnakumar, V.; Mahadevan Pillai, V. P.; Raghunath, K.

2008-12-01

Cirrus clouds have been identified as one of the most uncertain component in the atmospheric research. It is known that cirrus clouds modulate the earth's climate through direct and indirect modification of radiation. The role of cirrus clouds depends mainly on their microphysical properties. To understand cirrus clouds better, we must observe and characterize their properties. In-situ observation of such clouds is a challenging experiment, as the clouds are located at high altitudes. Active remote sensing method based on lidar can detect high and thin cirrus clouds with good spatial and temporal resolution. We present the result obtained on the microphysical properties of the cirrus clouds at two Tropical stations namely Gadhanki, Tirupati (13.50 N, 79.20 E), India and Trivandrum (13.50 N, 770 E) Kerala, India from the ground based pulsed Nd: YAG lidar systems installed at the stations. A variant of the widely used Klett's lidar inversion method with range dependent scattering ratio is used for the present study for the retrieval of aerosol extinction and microphysical parameters of cirrus cloud.

A comparison between CloudSat and aircraft data for mixed-phase and cirrus clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mioche, G.; Gayet, J.-F.; Minikin, A.; Herber, A.; Pelon, J.

2009-04-01

Nowadays, space remote sensing measurements are a very useful way to study the atmosphere on a global scale. Among the numerous scientific satellites in space, the A-Train is a constellation of 6 satellites flying together with on board complementary instruments of new generation (radiometers, radar, lidar, spectrometers…) to study all parts of the atmosphere: gas composition, clouds and aerosols distribution and properties, and radiation budget. Among these satellites, two of them where launched in 2006: CALIPSO and CloudSat, respectively with a Lidar (532 and 1064 nm channels with depolarization) and a 94 GHz radar on board. They are especially dedicated to the study of clouds and aerosols, and will allow to obtain for the first time the vertical profiles of clouds and aerosols on a global scale during 3 years. However, to determine clouds and aerosols properties from space raw data, retrieval methods need to be developed. In order to validate these retrieved techniques, and thus the clouds and aerosols properties, numerous validation plans take place around the world, included different ways as ground based measurements, in situ measurements, or airborne remote sensing instruments in collocation with the satellite tracks. In this context, the ASTAR-2007 and POLARCAT-2008 campaigns took place respectively in the Arctic region of Spitzbergen-Norway in April 2007 and in North part of Sweden in April 2008 to study mixed-phase clouds and the CIRCLE-2 campaign was carried out in Western Europe in May 2007 to sample mid-latitude cirrus clouds. The main objectives are the study of microphysical and optical properties of mixed-phase and ice clouds with particular interest on the validation of clouds products derived from CloudSat and CALIPSO data during co-located remote and in situ observations. The airborne microphysical instruments include the Polar Nephelometer probe to measure the scattering phase function and asymmetry parameter of cloud particles, the high

Comparison of roadway roughness derived from LIDAR and SFM 3D point clouds.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2015-10-01

This report describes a short-term study undertaken to investigate the potential for using dense three-dimensional (3D) point : clouds generated from light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and photogrammetry to assess roadway roughness. Spatially : cont...

Measurement of Atmospheric CO2 Column Concentrations to Cloud Tops With a Pulsed Multi-Wavelength Airborne Lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mao, Jianping; Ramanathan, Anand; Abshire, James B.; Kawa, Stephan R.; Riris, Haris; Allan, Graham R.; Rodriguez, Michael R.; Hasselbrack, William E.; Sun, Xiaoli; Numata, Kenji;

Measurement of atmospheric CO2 column concentrations to cloud tops with a pulsed multi-wavelength airborne lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Jianping; Ramanathan, Anand; Abshire, James B.; Kawa, Stephan R.; Riris, Haris; Allan, Graham R.; Rodriguez, Michael; Hasselbrack, William E.; Sun, Xiaoli; Numata, Kenji; Chen, Jeff; Choi, Yonghoon; Yang, Mei Ying Melissa

2018-01-01

We have measured the column-averaged atmospheric CO2 mixing ratio to a variety of cloud tops by using an airborne pulsed multi-wavelength integrated-path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar. Airborne measurements were made at altitudes up to 13 km during the 2011, 2013 and 2014 NASA Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) science campaigns flown in the United States West and Midwest and were compared to those from an in situ sensor. Analysis of the lidar backscatter profiles shows the average cloud top reflectance was ˜ 5 % for the CO2 measurement at 1572.335 nm except to cirrus clouds, which had lower reflectance. The energies for 1 µs wide laser pulses reflected from cloud tops were sufficient to allow clear identification of CO2 absorption line shape and then to allow retrievals of atmospheric column CO2 from the aircraft to cloud tops more than 90 % of the time. Retrievals from the CO2 measurements to cloud tops had minimal bias but larger standard deviations when compared to those made to the ground, depending on cloud top roughness and reflectance. The measurements show this new capability helps resolve CO2 horizontal and vertical gradients in the atmosphere. When used with nearby full-column measurements to ground, the CO2 measurements to cloud tops can be used to estimate the partial-column CO2 concentration below clouds, which should lead to better estimates of surface carbon sources and sinks. This additional capability of the range-resolved CO2 IPDA lidar technique provides a new benefit for studying the carbon cycle in future airborne and space-based CO2 missions.

Scanning Radar Investigations to Characterize Cloud and Precipitation Processes for ASR

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Venkatachalam, Chandrasekar

2016-12-17

The project conducted investigations in the following areas related to scanning radar retrievals: a) Development for Cloud drizzle separation studies for the ENA site based on Doppler Spectra b) Advanced radar retrieval for the SGP site c) Characterizing falling snow using multifrequency dual-polarization measurements d) BAECC field experiment. More details about these investigations can be found within each subtopic within the report.

Effects of Cloud on Goddard Lidar Observatory for Wind (GLOW) Performance and Analysis of Associated Errors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bacha, Tulu

The Goddard Lidar Observatory for Wind (GLOW), a mobile direct detection Doppler LIDAR based on molecular backscattering for measurement of wind in the troposphere and lower stratosphere region of atmosphere is operated and its errors characterized. It was operated at Howard University Beltsville Center for Climate Observation System (BCCOS) side by side with other operating instruments: the NASA/Langely Research Center Validation Lidar (VALIDAR), Leosphere WLS70, and other standard wind sensing instruments. The performance of Goddard Lidar Observatory for Wind (GLOW) is presented for various optical thicknesses of cloud conditions. It was also compared to VALIDAR under various conditions. These conditions include clear and cloudy sky regions. The performance degradation due to the presence of cirrus clouds is quantified by comparing the wind speed error to cloud thickness. The cloud thickness is quantified in terms of aerosol backscatter ratio (ASR) and cloud optical depth (COD). ASR and COD are determined from Howard University Raman Lidar (HURL) operating at the same station as GLOW. The wind speed error of GLOW was correlated with COD and aerosol backscatter ratio (ASR) which are determined from HURL data. The correlation related in a weak linear relationship. Finally, the wind speed measurements of GLOW were corrected using the quantitative relation from the correlation relations. Using ASR reduced the GLOW wind error from 19% to 8% in a thin cirrus cloud and from 58% to 28% in a relatively thick cloud. After correcting for cloud induced error, the remaining error is due to shot noise and atmospheric variability. Shot-noise error is the statistical random error of backscattered photons detected by photon multiplier tube (PMT) can only be minimized by averaging large number of data recorded. The atmospheric backscatter measured by GLOW along its line-of-sight direction is also used to analyze error due to atmospheric variability within the volume of measurement

A multi-sensor study of the impact of ground-based glaciogenic seeding on clouds and precipitation over mountains in Wyoming. Part I: Project description

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pokharel, Binod; Geerts, Bart

2016-12-01

The AgI Seeding Cloud Impact Investigation (ASCII) campaign was conducted in early 2012 and 2013 over two mountain ranges in southern Wyoming to examine the impact of ground-based glaciogenic seeding on snow growth in winter orographic clouds. The campaign was supported by a network of ground-based instruments, including microwave radiometers, two profiling Ka-band Micro-Rain Radars (MRRs), a Doppler on Wheels (DOW) X-band radar, and a Parsivel disdrometer. The University of Wyoming King Air operated the profiling Wyoming Cloud Radar, the Wyoming Cloud Lidar, and in situ cloud and precipitation particle probes. The characteristics of the orographic clouds, flow field, and upstream stability profiles in 27 intensive observation periods (IOPs) are described here. A composite analysis of the impact of seeding on snow growth is presented in Part II of this study (Pokharel et al., 2017).

Assessment of Uncertainty in Cloud Radiative Effects and Heating Rates through Retrieval Algorithm Differences: Analysis using 3-years of ARM data at Darwin, Australia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Comstock, Jennifer M.; Protat, Alain; McFarlane, Sally A.

2013-05-22

Ground-based radar and lidar observations obtained at the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program’s Tropical Western Pacific site located in Darwin, Australia are used to retrieve ice cloud properties in anvil and cirrus clouds. Cloud microphysical properties derived from four different retrieval algorithms (two radar-lidar and two radar only algorithms) are compared by examining mean profiles and probability density functions of effective radius (Re), ice water content (IWC), extinction, ice number concentration, ice crystal fall speed, and vertical air velocity. Retrieval algorithm uncertainty is quantified using radiative flux closure exercises. The effect of uncertainty in retrieved quantities on themore » cloud radiative effect and radiative heating rates are presented. Our analysis shows that IWC compares well among algorithms, but Re shows significant discrepancies, which is attributed primarily to assumptions of particle shape. Uncertainty in Re and IWC translates into sometimes-large differences in cloud radiative effect (CRE) though the majority of cases have a CRE difference of roughly 10 W m-2 on average. These differences, which we believe are primarily driven by the uncertainty in Re, can cause up to 2 K/day difference in the radiative heating rates between algorithms.« less

Global Monitoring of Clouds and Aerosols Using a Network of Micro-Pulse Lidar Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welton, Ellsworth J.; Campbell, James R.; Spinhirne, James D.; Scott, V. Stanley

2000-01-01

Long-term global radiation programs, such as AERONET and BSRN, have shown success in monitoring column averaged cloud and aerosol optical properties. Little attention has been focused on global measurements of vertically resolved optical properties. Lidar systems are the preferred instrument for such measurements. However, global usage of lidar systems has not been achieved because of limits imposed by older systems that were large, expensive, and logistically difficult to use in the field. Small, eye-safe, and autonomous lidar systems are now currently available and overcome problems associated with older systems. The first such lidar to be developed is the Micro-pulse lidar System (MPL). The MPL has proven to be useful in the field because it can be automated, runs continuously (day and night), is eye-safe, can easily be transported and set up, and has a small field-of-view which removes multiple scattering concerns. We have developed successful protocols to operate and calibrate MPL systems. We have also developed a data analysis algorithm that produces data products such as cloud and aerosol layer heights, optical depths, extinction profiles, and the extinction-backscatter ratio. The algorithm minimizes the use of a priori assumptions and also produces error bars for all data products. Here we present an overview of our MPL protocols and data analysis techniques. We also discuss the ongoing construction of a global MPL network in conjunction with the AERONET program. Finally, we present some early results from the MPL network.

Detecting thermally driven cyclic deformation of an exfoliation sheet with lidar and radar

USGS Publications Warehouse

Collins, Brian D.; Stock, Greg M.

2014-01-01

Rock falls from steep, exfoliating cliffs are common in many landscapes. Of the many mechanisms known to trigger rock falls, thermally driven deformation is among the least quantified, despite potentially being a prevalent trigger due to its occurrence at all times of year. Here we present the results of a field-based monitoring program using instrumentation, ground-based lidar, and ground-based radar to investigate the process of thermally driven deformation of an exfoliation sheet, and the ability of remote sensing tools to capture cyclic expansion and contraction patterns. Our results indicate that thermally driven exfoliation occurs on diurnal cycles and can be measured at the submillimeter to centimeter scale using high-resolution strain gauges, short-range (2 km) radar interfer-ometry.

Lidar Remote Sensing for Industry and Environment Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Upendra N. (Editor); Itabe, Toshikazu (Editor); Sugimoto, Nobuo (Editor)

2000-01-01

Contents include the following: 1. Keynote paper: Overview of lidar technology for industrial and environmental monitoring in Japan. 2. lidar technology I: NASA's future active remote sensing mission for earth science. Geometrical detector consideration s in laser sensing application (invited paper). 3. Lidar technology II: High-power femtosecond light strings as novel atmospheric probes (invited paper). Design of a compact high-sensitivity aerosol profiling lidar. 4. Lasers for lidars: High-energy 2 microns laser for multiple lidar applications. New submount requirement of conductively cooled laser diodes for lidar applications. 5. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds I: Lidar monitoring of clouds and aerosols at the facility for atmospheric remote sensing (invited paper). Measurement of asian dust by using multiwavelength lidar. Global monitoring of clouds and aerosols using a network of micropulse lidar systems. 6. Troposphere aerosols and clouds II: Scanning lidar measurements of marine aerosol fields at a coastal site in Hawaii. 7. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds III: Formation of ice cloud from asian dust particles in the upper troposphere. Atmospheric boundary layer observation by ground-based lidar at KMITL, Thailand (13 deg N, 100 deg. E). 8. Boundary layer, urban pollution: Studies of the spatial correlation between urban aerosols and local traffic congestion using a slant angle scanning on the research vessel Mirai. 9. Middle atmosphere: Lidar-observed arctic PSC's over Svalbard (invited paper). Sodium temperature lidar measurements of the mesopause region over Syowa Station. 10. Differential absorption lidar (dIAL) and DOAS: Airborne UV DIAL measurements of ozone and aerosols (invited paper). Measurement of water vapor, surface ozone, and ethylene using differential absorption lidar. 12. Space lidar I: Lightweight lidar telescopes for space applications (invited paper). Coherent lidar development for Doppler wind measurement from the International Space

Optical and microphysical parameters of dense stratocumulus clouds during mission 206 of EUCREX '94 as retrieved from measurements made with the airborne lidar LEANDRE 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelon, J.; Flamant, C.; Trouillet, V.; Flamant, P. H.

Cloud parameters derived from measurements performed with the airborne backscatter lidar LEANDRE 1 during mission 206 of the EUCREX '94 campaign are reported. A new method has been developed to retrieve the extinction coefficient at the top of the dense stratocumulus deck under scrutiny during this mission. The largest extinction values are found to be related to the highest cloud top altitude revealing the small-scale structure of vertical motions within the stratocumulus field. Cloud optical depth (COD) is estimated from extinction retrievals, as well as cloud top and cloud base altitude using nadir and zenith lidar observations, respectively. Lidar-derived CODs are compared with CODs deduced from radiometric measurements made onboard the French research aircraft Avion de Recherche Atmosphérique et de Télédétection (ARAT/F27). A fair agreement is obtained (within 20%) for COD's larger than 10. Our results show the potential of lidar measurements to analyze cloud properties at optical depths larger than 5.

Cloud and Aerosol Measurements from the GLAS Polar Orbiting Lidar: First Year Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Spinhirne, J. D.; Palm, S. P.; Hlavka, D. L.; Hart, W. D.; Mahesh, A.; Welton, E. J.

2004-01-01

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) launched in 2003 is the first polar orbiting satellite lidar. The instrument was designed for high performance observations of the distribution and optical scattering cross sections of clouds and aerosol. GLAS is approaching six months of on orbit data operation. These data from thousands of orbits illustrate the ability of space lidar to accurately and dramatically measure the height distribution of global cloud and aerosol to an unprecedented degree. There were many intended science applications of the GLAS data and significant results have already been realized. One application is the accurate height distribution and coverage of global cloud cover with one goal of defining the limitation and inaccuracies of passive retrievals. Comparison to MODIS cloud retrievals shows notable discrepancies. Initial comparisons to NOAA 14&15 satellite cloud retrievals show basic similarity in overall cloud coverage, but important differences in height distribution. Because of the especially poor performance of passive cloud retrievals in polar regions, and partly because of high orbit track densities, the GLAS measurements are by far the most accurate measurement of Arctic and Antarctica cloud cover from space to date. Global aerosol height profiling is a fundamentally new measurement from space with multiple applications. A most important aerosol application is providing input to global aerosol generation and transport models. Another is improved measurement of aerosol optical depth. Oceanic surface energy flux derivation from PBL and LCL height measurements is another application of GLAS data that is being pursued. A special area of work for GLAS data is the correction and application of multiple scattering effects. Stretching of surface return pulses in excess of 40 m from cloud propagation effects and other interesting multiple scattering phenomena have been observed. As an EOS project instrument, GLAS data products are openly

Investigation on the monthly variation of cirrus optical properties over the Indian subcontinent using cloud-aerosol lidar and infrared pathfinder satellite observation (Calipso)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dhaman, Reji K.; Satyanarayana, Malladi; Jayeshlal, G. S.; Mahadevan Pillai, V. P.; Krishnakumar, V.

2016-05-01

Cirrus clouds have been identified as one of the atmospheric component which influence the radiative processes in the atmosphere and plays a key role in the Earth Radiation Budget. CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) is a joint NASA-CNES satellite mission designed to provide insight in understanding of the role of aerosols and clouds in the climate system. This paper reports the study on the variation of cirrus cloud optical properties of over the Indian sub - continent for a period of two years from January 2009 to December 2010, using cloud-aerosol lidar and infrared pathfinder satellite observations (Calipso). Indian Ocean and Indian continent is one of the regions where cirrus occurrence is maximum particularly during the monsoon periods. It is found that during the south-west monsoon periods there is a large cirrus cloud distribution over the southern Indian land masses. Also it is observed that the north-east monsoon periods had optical thick clouds hugging the coast line. The summer had large cloud formation in the Arabian Sea. It is also found that the land masses near to the sea had large cirrus presence. These cirrus clouds were of high altitude and optical depth. The dependence of cirrus cloud properties on cirrus cloud mid-cloud temperature and geometrical thickness are generally similar to the results derived from the ground-based lidar. However, the difference in macrophysical parameter variability shows the limits of space-borne-lidar and dissimilarities in regional climate variability and the nature and source of cloud nuclei in different geographical regions.

Observational Constraints on Cloud Feedbacks: The Role of Active Satellite Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Winker, David; Chepfer, Helene; Noel, Vincent; Cai, Xia

2017-11-01

Cloud profiling from active lidar and radar in the A-train satellite constellation has significantly advanced our understanding of clouds and their role in the climate system. Nevertheless, the response of clouds to a warming climate remains one of the largest uncertainties in predicting climate change and for the development of adaptions to change. Both observation of long-term changes and observational constraints on the processes responsible for those changes are necessary. We review recent progress in our understanding of the cloud feedback problem. Capabilities and advantages of active sensors for observing clouds are discussed, along with the importance of active sensors for deriving constraints on cloud feedbacks as an essential component of a global climate observing system.

Study of wind retrieval from space-borne infrared coherent lidar in cloudy atmosphere.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baron, Philippe; Ishii, Shoken; Mizutani, Kohei; Okamoto, Kozo; Ochiai, Satoshi

2015-04-01

. Ishibashi, P. Baron, and T. Nishizawa: Future Doppler lidar wind measurement from space in Japan, Proc. of SPIE Vol. 8529, 2012 [2] D. Wu, J. Tang, Z. Liu, and Y. Hu: Simulation of coherent doppler wind lidar measurement from space based on CALIPSO lidar global aerosol observations. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 122(0), 79-86, 2013 [3] G.D Emmitt: CFLOS and cloud statistics from satellite and their impact on future space-based Doppler Wind Lidar development. Symposium on Recent Developments in Atmospheric Applications of Radar and Lidar, 2008

Investigating mixed phase clouds using a synergy of ground based remote sensing measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gierens, Rosa; Kneifel, Stefan; Löhnert, Ulrich

2017-04-01

obtained from a Doppler wind lidar. Furthermore, the Cloudnet scheme (www.cloud-net.org), that combines radar, lidar and microwave radiometer observations with a forecast model to provide a best estimate of cloud properties, is used for identifying mixed phase clouds. The continuous measurements carried out at AWIPEV make it possible to characterize the macro- and micro- physical properties of mixed-phase clouds on a long-term, statistical basis. The Arctic observations are compared to a 5-year observational data set from Jülich Observatory for Cloud Evolution (JOYCE) in Western Germany. The occurrence of different types of clouds (with focus on mixed-phase and super-cooled clouds), the distribution of ice and liquid within the clouds, the turbulent environment as well as the temperatures where the different phases are occurring are investigated.

The diurnal cycle of clouds and precipitation at the ARM SGP site: Cloud radar observations and simulations from the multiscale modeling framework

DOE PAGES

Zhao, Wei; Marchand, Roger; Fu, Qiang

2017-07-08

Millimeter Wavelength Cloud Radar (MMCR) data from December 1996 to December 2010, collected at the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, are used to examine the diurnal cycle of hydrometeor occurrence. These data are categorized into clouds (-40 dBZ e ≤ reflectivity < -10 dBZ e), drizzle and light precipitation (-10 dBZ e ≤ reflectivity < 10 dBZ e), and heavy precipitation (reflectivity ≥ 10 dBZ e). The same criteria are implemented for the observation-equivalent reflectivity calculated by feeding outputs from a Multiscale Modeling Framework (MMF) climate model into a radar simulator.more » The MMF model consists of the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model with conventional cloud parameterizations replaced by a cloud-resolving model. We find that a radar simulator combined with the simple reflectivity categories can be an effective approach for evaluating diurnal variations in model hydrometeor occurrence. It is shown that the MMF only marginally captures observed increases in the occurrence of boundary layer clouds after sunrise in spring and autumn and does not capture diurnal changes in boundary layer clouds during the summer. Above the boundary layer, the MMF captures reasonably well diurnal variations in the vertical structure of clouds and light and heavy precipitation in the summer but not in the spring.« less

Creating high-resolution bare-earth digital elevation models (DEMs) from stereo imagery in an area of densely vegetated deciduous forest using combinations of procedures designed for lidar point cloud filtering

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeWitt, Jessica D.; Warner, Timothy A.; Chirico, Peter G.; Bergstresser, Sarah E.

2017-01-01

For areas of the world that do not have access to lidar, fine-scale digital elevation models (DEMs) can be photogrammetrically created using globally available high-spatial resolution stereo satellite imagery. The resultant DEM is best termed a digital surface model (DSM) because it includes heights of surface features. In densely vegetated conditions, this inclusion can limit its usefulness in applications requiring a bare-earth DEM. This study explores the use of techniques designed for filtering lidar point clouds to mitigate the elevation artifacts caused by above ground features, within the context of a case study of Prince William Forest Park, Virginia, USA. The influences of land cover and leaf-on vs. leaf-off conditions are investigated, and the accuracy of the raw photogrammetric DSM extracted from leaf-on imagery was between that of a lidar bare-earth DEM and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM. Although the filtered leaf-on photogrammetric DEM retains some artifacts of the vegetation canopy and may not be useful for some applications, filtering procedures significantly improved the accuracy of the modeled terrain. The accuracy of the DSM extracted in leaf-off conditions was comparable in most areas to the lidar bare-earth DEM and filtering procedures resulted in accuracy comparable of that to the lidar DEM.

Fully Automated Detection of Cloud and Aerosol Layers in the CALIPSO Lidar Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vaughan, Mark A.; Powell, Kathleen A.; Kuehn, Ralph E.; Young, Stuart A.; Winker, David M.; Hostetler, Chris A.; Hunt, William H.; Liu, Zhaoyan; McGill, Matthew J.; Getzewich, Brian J.

2009-01-01

Accurate knowledge of the vertical and horizontal extent of clouds and aerosols in the earth s atmosphere is critical in assessing the planet s radiation budget and for advancing human understanding of climate change issues. To retrieve this fundamental information from the elastic backscatter lidar data acquired during the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) mission, a selective, iterated boundary location (SIBYL) algorithm has been developed and deployed. SIBYL accomplishes its goals by integrating an adaptive context-sensitive profile scanner into an iterated multiresolution spatial averaging scheme. This paper provides an in-depth overview of the architecture and performance of the SIBYL algorithm. It begins with a brief review of the theory of target detection in noise-contaminated signals, and an enumeration of the practical constraints levied on the retrieval scheme by the design of the lidar hardware, the geometry of a space-based remote sensing platform, and the spatial variability of the measurement targets. Detailed descriptions are then provided for both the adaptive threshold algorithm used to detect features of interest within individual lidar profiles and the fully automated multiresolution averaging engine within which this profile scanner functions. The resulting fusion of profile scanner and averaging engine is specifically designed to optimize the trade-offs between the widely varying signal-to-noise ratio of the measurements and the disparate spatial resolutions of the detection targets. Throughout the paper, specific algorithm performance details are illustrated using examples drawn from the existing CALIPSO dataset. Overall performance is established by comparisons to existing layer height distributions obtained by other airborne and space-based lidars.

Comparison of in-situ Electric Field and Radar Derived Parameters for Stratiform Clouds in Central Florida

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bateman, M.; Mach, D.; Lewis, S.; Dye, J.; Defer, E.; Grainger, C.; Willis, P.; Christian, H.; Merceret, F.

2003-12-01

Airborne measurements of electric fields and particle microphysics were made during a field program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The aircraft, a Cessna Citation II jet operated by the University of North Dakota, carried six rotating-vane style electric field mills, several microphysics instruments, and thermodynamic instruments. In addition to the aircraft measurements, we also have data from both the Eastern Test Range WSR-74C (Patrick AFB) and the U.S. National Weather Service WSR-88D radars (primarily Melbourne, FL). One specific goal of this program was to try to develop a radar-based rule for estimating the hazard that an in-cloud electric field would present to a vehicle launched into the cloud. Based on past experience, and our desire to quantify the mixed-phase region of the cloud in question, we have assessed several algorithms for integrating radar reflectivity data in and above the mixed-phase region as a proxy for electric field. A successful radar proxy is one that can accurately predict the presence or absence of significant electric fields. We have compared various proxies with the measured in-cloud electric field strength in an attempt to develop a radar rule for assessing launch hazard. Assessment of the best proxy is presented.

LIDAR Point Cloud Data Extraction and Establishment of 3D Modeling of Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yujuan; Li, Xiuhai; Wang, Qiang; Liu, Jiang; Liang, Xin; Li, Dan; Ni, Chundi; Liu, Yan

2018-01-01

This paper takes the method of Shepard’s to deal with the original LIDAR point clouds data, and generate regular grid data DSM, filters the ground point cloud and non ground point cloud through double least square method, and obtains the rules of DSM. By using region growing method for the segmentation of DSM rules, the removal of non building point cloud, obtaining the building point cloud information. Uses the Canny operator to extract the image segmentation is needed after the edges of the building, uses Hough transform line detection to extract the edges of buildings rules of operation based on the smooth and uniform. At last, uses E3De3 software to establish the 3D model of buildings.

Clouds vertical properties over the Northern Hemisphere monsoon regions from CloudSat-CALIPSO measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Das, Subrata Kumar; Golhait, R. B.; Uma, K. N.

2017-01-01

The CloudSat spaceborne radar and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) space-borne lidar measurements, provide opportunities to understand the intriguing behavior of the vertical structure of monsoon clouds. The combined CloudSat-CALIPSO data products have been used for the summer season (June-August) of 2006-2010 to present the statistics of cloud macrophysical (such as cloud occurrence frequency, distribution of cloud top and base heights, geometrical thickness and cloud types base on occurrence height), and microphysical (such as ice water content, ice water path, and ice effective radius) properties of the Northern Hemisphere (NH) monsoon region. The monsoon regions considered in this work are the North American (NAM), North African (NAF), Indian (IND), East Asian (EAS), and Western North Pacific (WNP). The total cloud fraction over the IND (mostly multiple-layered cloud) appeared to be more frequent as compared to the other monsoon regions. Three distinctive modes of cloud top height distribution are observed over all the monsoon regions. The high-level cloud fraction is comparatively high over the WNP and IND. The ice water content and ice water path over the IND are maximum compared to the other monsoon regions. We found that the ice water content has little variations over the NAM, NAF, IND, and WNP as compared to their macrophysical properties and thus give an impression that the regional differences in dynamics and thermodynamics properties primarily cause changes in the cloud frequency or coverage and only secondary in the cloud ice properties. The background atmospheric dynamics using wind and relative humidity from the ERA-Interim reanalysis data have also been investigated which helps in understanding the variability of the cloud properties over the different monsoon regions.

The problem of regime summaries of the data from radar observations. [for cloud system identification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Divinskaya, B. S.; Salman, Y. M.

1975-01-01

Peculiarities of the radar information about clouds are examined in comparison with visual data. An objective radar classification is presented and the relation of it to the meteorological classification is shown. The advisability of storage and summarization of the primary radar data for regime purposes is substantiated.

Ship-based Observations of Turbulence and Stratocumulus Cloud Microphysics in the SE Pacific Ocean from the VOCALS Field Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fairall, C. W.; Williams, C.; Grachev, A. A.; Brewer, A.; Choukulkar, A.

2013-12-01

The VAMOS (VOCALS) field program involved deployment of several measurement systems based on ships, land and aircraft over the SE Pacific Ocean. The NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown was the primary platform for surface based measurements which included the High Resolution Doppler Lidar (HRDL) and the motion-stabilized 94-GHz cloud Doppler radar (W-band radar). In this paper, the data from the W-band radar will be used to study the turbulent and microphysical structure of the stratocumulus clouds prevalent in the region. The radar data consists of a 3 Hz time series of radar parameters (backscatter coefficient, mean Doppler shift, and Doppler width) at 175 range gates (25-m spacing). Several statistical methods to de-convolve the turbulent velocity and gravitational settling velocity are examined and an optimized algorithm is developed. 20 days of observations are processed to examine in-cloud profiles of mean turbulent statistics (vertical velocity variance, skewness, dissipation rate) in terms of surface fluxes and estimates of entrainment and cloudtop radiative cooling. The clean separation of turbulent and fall velocities will allow us to compute time-averaged drizzle-drop size spectra within and below the cloud that are significantly superior to previous attempts with surface-based marine cloud radar observations.

Min-Cut Based Segmentation of Airborne LIDAR Point Clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ural, S.; Shan, J.

2012-07-01

Introducing an organization to the unstructured point cloud before extracting information from airborne lidar data is common in many applications. Aggregating the points with similar features into segments in 3-D which comply with the nature of actual objects is affected by the neighborhood, scale, features and noise among other aspects. In this study, we present a min-cut based method for segmenting the point cloud. We first assess the neighborhood of each point in 3-D by investigating the local geometric and statistical properties of the candidates. Neighborhood selection is essential since point features are calculated within their local neighborhood. Following neighborhood determination, we calculate point features and determine the clusters in the feature space. We adapt a graph representation from image processing which is especially used in pixel labeling problems and establish it for the unstructured 3-D point clouds. The edges of the graph that are connecting the points with each other and nodes representing feature clusters hold the smoothness costs in the spatial domain and data costs in the feature domain. Smoothness costs ensure spatial coherence, while data costs control the consistency with the representative feature clusters. This graph representation formalizes the segmentation task as an energy minimization problem. It allows the implementation of an approximate solution by min-cuts for a global minimum of this NP hard minimization problem in low order polynomial time. We test our method with airborne lidar point cloud acquired with maximum planned post spacing of 1.4 m and a vertical accuracy 10.5 cm as RMSE. We present the effects of neighborhood and feature determination in the segmentation results and assess the accuracy and efficiency of the implemented min-cut algorithm as well as its sensitivity to the parameters of the smoothness and data cost functions. We find that smoothness cost that only considers simple distance parameter does not

Retrievals of Ice Cloud Microphysical Properties of Deep Convective Systems using Radar Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, J.; Dong, X.; Xi, B.; Wang, J.; Homeyer, C. R.

2015-12-01

This study presents innovative algorithms for retrieving ice cloud microphysical properties of Deep Convective Systems (DCSs) using Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD) reflectivity and newly derived empirical relationships from aircraft in situ measurements in Wang et al. (2015) during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E). With composite gridded NEXRAD radar reflectivity, four-dimensional (space-time) ice cloud microphysical properties of DCSs are retrieved, which is not possible from either in situ sampling at a single altitude or from vertical pointing radar measurements. For this study, aircraft in situ measurements provide the best-estimated ice cloud microphysical properties for validating the radar retrievals. Two statistical comparisons between retrieved and aircraft in situ measured ice microphysical properties are conducted from six selected cases during MC3E. For the temporal-averaged method, the averaged ice water content (IWC) and median mass diameter (Dm) from aircraft in situ measurements are 0.50 g m-3 and 1.51 mm, while the retrievals from radar reflectivity have negative biases of 0.12 g m-3 (24%) and 0.02 mm (1.3%) with correlations of 0.71 and 0.48, respectively. For the spatial-averaged method, the IWC retrievals are closer to the aircraft results (0.51 vs. 0.47 g m-3) with a positive bias of 8.5%, whereas the Dm retrievals are larger than the aircraft results (1.65 mm vs. 1.51 mm) with a positive bias of 9.3%. The retrieved IWCs decrease from ~0.6 g m-3 at 5 km to ~0.15 g m-3 at 13 km, and Dm values decrease from ~2 mm to ~0.7 mm at the same levels. In general, the aircraft in situ measured IWC and Dm values at each level are within one standard derivation of retrieved properties. Good agreements between microphysical properties measured from aircraft and retrieved from radar reflectivity measurements indicate the reasonable accuracy of our retrievals.

Surface Water Detection Using Fused Synthetic Aperture Radar, Airborne LiDAR and Optical Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braun, A.; Irwin, K.; Beaulne, D.; Fotopoulos, G.; Lougheed, S. C.

2016-12-01

Each remote sensing technique has its unique set of strengths and weaknesses, but by combining techniques the classification accuracy can be increased. The goal of this project is to underline the strengths and weaknesses of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), LiDAR and optical imagery data and highlight the opportunities where integration of the three data types can increase the accuracy of identifying water in a principally natural landscape. The study area is located at the Queen's University Biological Station, Ontario, Canada. TerraSAR-X (TSX) data was acquired between April and July 2016, consisting of four single polarization (HH) staring spotlight mode backscatter intensity images. Grey-level thresholding is used to extract surface water bodies, before identifying and masking zones of radar shadow and layover by using LiDAR elevation models to estimate the canopy height and applying simple geometry algorithms. The airborne LiDAR survey was conducted in June 2014, resulting in a discrete return dataset with a density of 1 point/m2. Radiometric calibration to correct for range and incidence angle is applied, before classifying the points as water or land based on corrected intensity, elevation, roughness, and intensity density. Panchromatic and multispectral (4-band) imagery from Quickbird was collected in September 2005 at spatial resolutions of 0.6m and 2.5m respectively. Pixel-based classification is applied to identify and distinguish water bodies from land. A classification system which inputs SAR-, LiDAR- and optically-derived water presence models in raster formats is developed to exploit the strengths and weaknesses of each technique. The total percentage of water detected in the sample area for SAR backscatter, LiDAR intensity, and optical imagery was 27%, 19% and 18% respectively. The output matrix of the classification system indicates that in over 72% of the study area all three methods agree on the classification. Analysis was specifically targeted

Retrieving microphysics of cirrus clouds from data measured with raman lidar ramses and a tilted ceilometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borovoi, Anatoli; Reichardt, Jens; Görsdorf, Ulrich; Wolf, Veronika; Konoshonkin, Alexander; Shishko, Victor; Kustova, Natalia

2018-04-01

To develop a microphysical model of cirrus clouds, data obtained by Raman lidar RAMSES and a tilted ceilometer are studied synergistically. The measurements are interpreted by use of a data archive containing the backscattering matrixes as well as the depolarization, color and lidar ratios of ice crystals of different shapes, sizes and spatial orientations calculated within the physical-optics approximation.

Evaluation of Cloud Microphysics in JMA-NHM Simulations Using Bin or Bulk Microphysical Schemes through Comparison with Cloud Radar Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Iguchi, Takamichi; Nakajima, Teruyuki; Khain, Alexander P.; Saito, Kazuo; Takemura, Toshihiko; Okamoto, Hajime; Nishizawa, Tomoaki; Tao, Wei-Kuo

2012-01-01

Numerical weather prediction (NWP) simulations using the Japan Meteorological Agency NonhydrostaticModel (JMA-NHM) are conducted for three precipitation events observed by shipborne or spaceborneW-band cloud radars. Spectral bin and single-moment bulk cloud microphysics schemes are employed separatelyfor an intercomparative study. A radar product simulator that is compatible with both microphysicsschemes is developed to enable a direct comparison between simulation and observation with respect to theequivalent radar reflectivity factor Ze, Doppler velocity (DV), and path-integrated attenuation (PIA). Ingeneral, the bin model simulation shows better agreement with the observed data than the bulk modelsimulation. The correction of the terminal fall velocities of snowflakes using those of hail further improves theresult of the bin model simulation. The results indicate that there are substantial uncertainties in the masssizeand sizeterminal fall velocity relations of snowflakes or in the calculation of terminal fall velocity of snowaloft. For the bulk microphysics, the overestimation of Ze is observed as a result of a significant predominanceof snow over cloud ice due to substantial deposition growth directly to snow. The DV comparison shows thata correction for the fall velocity of hydrometeors considering a change of particle size should be introducedeven in single-moment bulk cloud microphysics.

Global Observations of Aerosols and Clouds from Combined Lidar and Passive Instruments to Improve Radiation Budget and Climate Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winker, David M.

1999-01-01

Current uncertainties in the effects of clouds and aerosols on the Earth radiation budget limit our understanding of the climate system and the potential for global climate change. Pathfinder Instruments for Cloud and Aerosol Spaceborne Observations - Climatologie Etendue des Nuages et des Aerosols (PICASSO-CENA) is a recently approved satellite mission within NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) program which will address these uncertainties with a unique suite of active and passive instruments. The Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) demonstrated the potential benefits of space lidar for studies of clouds and aerosols. PICASSO-CENA builds on this experience with a payload consisting of a two-wavelength polarization-sensitive lidar, an oxygen A-band spectrometer (ABS), an imaging infrared radiometer (IIR), and a wide field camera (WFC). Data from these instruments will be used to measure the vertical distributions of aerosols and clouds in the atmosphere, as well as optical and physical properties of aerosols and clouds which influence the Earth radiation budget. PICASSO-CENA will be flown in formation with the PM satellite of the NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) to provide a comprehensive suite of coincident measurements of atmospheric state, aerosol and cloud optical properties, and radiative fluxes. The mission will address critical uncertainties iin the direct radiative forcing of aerosols and clouds as well as aerosol influences on cloud radiative properties and cloud-climate radiation feedbacks. PICASSO-CENA is planned for a three year mission, with a launch in early 2003. PICASSO-CENA is being developed within the framework of a collaboration between NASA and CNES.

Observing microphysical structures and hydrometeor phase in convection with ARM active sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riihimaki, L.; Comstock, J. M.; Luke, E. P.; Thorsen, T. J.; Fu, Q.

2016-12-01

The existence and distribution of super-cooled liquid water within convective clouds impacts the microphysical processes responsible for cloud radiative and lifetime effects. Yet few observations of cloud phase are available within convection and associated stratiform anvils. Here we identify super-cooled liquid layers within convection and associated stratiform clouds using measured radar Doppler spectra from vertically pointing Ka-band cloud radar and Raman Lidar, capitalizing on the strengths of both instruments. Observations from these sensors are used to show that liquid exists in patches within the cloud, rather than in uniform layers, impacting the growth and formation of ice. While a depolarization lidar like the Raman Lidar is a trusted measurement for identifying super-cooled liquid, the lidar attenuates at an optical depth of around three, limiting its ability to probe the full cloud. The use of the radar Doppler spectra is particularly valuable for this purpose because it allows observations within optically thicker clouds. We demonstrate a new method for identifying super-cooled liquid objectively from the radar Doppler spectra using machine-learning techniques.

Raman Lidar Measurements of Water Vapor and Cirrus Clouds During The Passage of Hurricane Bonnie

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whiteman, D. N.; Evans, K. D.; Demoz, B.; Starr, D OC.; Eloranta, E. W.; Tobin, D.; Feltz, W.; Jedlovec, G. J.; Gutman, S. I.; Schwemmer, G. K.;

SAR and LIDAR fusion: experiments and applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwards, Matthew C.; Zaugg, Evan C.; Bradley, Joshua P.; Bowden, Ryan D.

2013-05-01

In recent years ARTEMIS, Inc. has developed a series of compact, versatile Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems which have been operated on a variety of small manned and unmanned aircraft. The multi-frequency-band SlimSAR has demonstrated a variety of capabilities including maritime and littoral target detection, ground moving target indication, polarimetry, interferometry, change detection, and foliage penetration. ARTEMIS also continues to build upon the radar's capabilities through fusion with other sensors, such as electro-optical and infrared camera gimbals and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) devices. In this paper we focus on experiments and applications employing SAR and LIDAR fusion. LIDAR is similar to radar in that it transmits a signal which, after being reflected or scattered by a target area, is recorded by the sensor. The differences are that a LIDAR uses a laser as a transmitter and optical sensors as a receiver, and the wavelengths used exhibit a very different scattering phenomenology than the microwaves used in radar, making SAR and LIDAR good complementary technologies. LIDAR is used in many applications including agriculture, archeology, geo-science, and surveying. Some typical data products include digital elevation maps of a target area and features and shapes extracted from the data. A set of experiments conducted to demonstrate the fusion of SAR and LIDAR data include a LIDAR DEM used in accurately processing the SAR data of a high relief area (mountainous, urban). Also, feature extraction is used in improving geolocation accuracy of the SAR and LIDAR data.

Investigating the differences of cirrus cloud properties in nucleation, growth and sublimation regions based on airborne water vapor lidar measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Urbanek, Benedikt; Groß, Silke; Wirth, Martin

2017-04-01

Cirrus clouds impose high uncertainties on weather and climate prediction, as knowledge on important processes is still incomplete. For instance it remains unclear how cloud optical, microphysical, and radiative properties change as the cirrus evolves. To gain better understanding of cirrus clouds, their optical and microphysical properties and their changes with cirrus cloud evolution the ML-CIRRUS campaign was conducted in March and April 2014. Measurements with a combined in-situ and remote sensing payload were performed with the German research aircraft HALO based in Oberpfaffenhofen. 16 research flights with altogether 88 flight hours were performed over the North-Atlantic, western and central Europe to probe different cirrus cloud regimes and cirrus clouds at different stages of evolution. One of the key remotes sensing instruments during ML-CIRRUS was the airborne differential absorption and high spectral lidar system WALES. It measures the 2-dimensional distribution of water vapor inside and outside of cirrus clouds as well as the optical properties of the clouds. Bases on these airborne lidar measurements a novel classification scheme to derive the stage of cirrus cloud evolution was developed. It identifies regions of ice nucleation, particle growth by deposition of water vapor, and ice sublimation. This method is used to investigate differences in the distribution and value of optical properties as well as in the distribution of water vapor and relative humidity depending on the stage of evolution of the cloud. We will present the lidar based classification scheme and its application on a wave driven cirrus cloud case, and we will show first results of the dependence of optical cloud properties and relative humidity distributions on the determined stage of evolution.

The relation of radar to cloud area-time integrals and implications for rain measurements from space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Atlas, David; Bell, Thomas L.

1992-01-01

The relationships between satellite-based and radar-measured area-time integrals (ATI) for convective storms are determined, and both are shown to depend on the climatological conditional mean rain rate and the ratio of the measured cloud area to the actual rain area of the storms. The GOES precipitation index of Arkin (1986) for convective storms, an area-time integral for satellite cloud areas, is shown to be related to the ATI for radar-observed rain areas. The quality of GPI-based rainfall estimates depends on how well the cloud area is related to the rain area and the size of the sampling domain. It is also noted that the use of a GOES cloud ATI in conjunction with the radar area-time integral will improve the accuracy of rainfall estimates and allow such estimates to be made in much smaller space-time domains than the 1-month and 5-deg boxes anticipated for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission.

Polar cloud observatory at Ny-Ålesund in GRENE Arctic Climate Change Research Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yamanouchi, Takashi; Takano, Toshiaki; Shiobara, Masataka; Okamoto, Hajime; Koike, Makoto; Ukita, Jinro

2016-04-01

Cloud is one of the main processes in the climate system and especially a large feed back agent for Arctic warming amplification (Yoshimori et al., 2014). From this reason, observation of polar cloud has been emphasized and 95 GHz cloud profiling radar in high precision was established at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard in 2013 as one of the basic infrastructure in the GRENE (Green Network of Excellence Program) Arctic Climate Change Research Project. The radar, "FALCON-A", is a FM-CW (frequency modulated continuous wave) Doppler radar, developed for Arctic use by Chiba University (PI: T. Takano) in 2012, following its prototype, "FALCON-1" which was developed in 2006 (Takano et al., 2010). The specifications of the radar are, central frequency: 94.84 GHz; antenna power: 1 W; observation height: up to 15 km; range resolution: 48 m; beam width: 0.2 degree (15 m at 5 km); Doppler width: 3.2 m/s; time interval: 10 sec, and capable of archiving high sensitivity and high spatial and time resolution. An FM-CW type radar realizes similar sensitivity with much smaller parabolic antennas separated 1.4 m from each other used for transmitting and receiving the wave. Polarized Micro-Pulse Lidar (PMPL, Sigma Space MPL-4B-IDS), which is capable to measure the backscatter and depolarization ratio, has also been deployed to Ny-Ålesund in March 2012, and now operated to perform collocated measurements with FALCON-A. Simultaneous measurement data from collocated PMPL and FALCON-A are available for synergetic analyses of cloud microphysics. Cloud mycrophysics, such as effective radius of ice particles and ice water content, are obtained from the analysis based on algorithm, which is modified for ground-based measurements from Okamoto's retrieval algorithm for satellite based cloud profiling radar and lidar (CloudSat and CALIPSO; Okamoto et al., 2010). Results of two years will be shown in the presentation. Calibration is a point to derive radar reflectivity (dBZ) from original intensity data

Optical and geometrical properties of cirrus clouds in Amazonia derived from 1 year of ground-based lidar measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gouveia, Diego A.; Barja, Boris; Barbosa, Henrique M. J.; Seifert, Patric; Baars, Holger; Pauliquevis, Theotonio; Artaxo, Paulo

2017-03-01

Cirrus clouds cover a large fraction of tropical latitudes and play an important role in Earth's radiation budget. Their optical properties, altitude, vertical and horizontal coverage control their radiative forcing, and hence detailed cirrus measurements at different geographical locations are of utmost importance. Studies reporting cirrus properties over tropical rain forests like the Amazon, however, are scarce. Studies with satellite profilers do not give information on the diurnal cycle, and the satellite imagers do not report on the cloud vertical structure. At the same time, ground-based lidar studies are restricted to a few case studies. In this paper, we derive the first comprehensive statistics of optical and geometrical properties of upper-tropospheric cirrus clouds in Amazonia. We used 1 year (July 2011 to June 2012) of ground-based lidar atmospheric observations north of Manaus, Brazil. This dataset was processed by an automatic cloud detection and optical properties retrieval algorithm. Upper-tropospheric cirrus clouds were observed more frequently than reported previously for tropical regions. The frequency of occurrence was found to be as high as 88 % during the wet season and not lower than 50 % during the dry season. The diurnal cycle shows a minimum around local noon and maximum during late afternoon, associated with the diurnal cycle of precipitation. The mean values of cirrus cloud top and base heights, cloud thickness, and cloud optical depth were 14.3 ± 1.9 (SD) km, 12.9 ± 2.2 km, 1.4 ± 1.1 km, and 0.25 ± 0.46, respectively. Cirrus clouds were found at temperatures down to -90 °C. Frequently cirrus were observed within the tropical tropopause layer (TTL), which are likely associated to slow mesoscale uplifting or to the remnants of overshooting convection. The vertical distribution was not uniform, and thin and subvisible cirrus occurred more frequently closer to the tropopause. The mean lidar ratio was 23.3 ± 8.0 sr. However, for

Using LIDAR and UAV-derived point clouds to evaluate surface roughness in a gravel-bed braided river (Vénéon river, French Alps)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vázquez Tarrío, Daniel; Borgniet, Laurent; Recking, Alain; Liebault, Frédéric; Vivier, Marie

2016-04-01

The present research is focused on the Vénéon river at Plan du Lac (Massif des Ecrins, France), an alpine braided gravel bed stream with a glacio-nival hydrological regime. It drains a catchment area of 316 km2. The present research is focused in a 2.5 km braided reach placed immediately upstream of a small hydropower dam. An airbone LIDAR survey was accomplished in October, 2014 by EDF (the company managing the small hydropower dam), and data coming from this LIDAR survey were available for the present research. Point density of the LIDAR-derived 3D-point cloud was between 20-50 points/m2, with a vertical precision of 2-3 cm over flat surfaces. Moreover, between April and Juin, 2015, we carried out a photogrammetrical campaign based in aerial images taken with an UAV-drone. The UAV-derived point-cloud has a point density of 200-300 points/m2, and a vertical precision over flat control surfaces comparable to that of the LIDAR point cloud (2-3 cm). Simultaneously to the UAV campaign, we took several Wolman samples with the aim of characterizing the grain size distribution of bed sediment. Wolman samples were taken following a geomorphological criterion (unit bars, head/tail of compound bars). Furthermore, some of the Wolman samples were repeated with the aim of defining the uncertainty of our sampling protocol. LIDAR and UAV-derived point clouds were treated in order to check whether both point-clouds were correctly co-aligned. After that, we estimated bed roughness using the detrended standard deviation of heights, in a 40-cm window. For all this data treatment we used CloudCompare. Then, we measured the distribution of roughness in the same geomorphological units where we took the Wolman samples, and we compared with the grain size distributions measured in the field: differences between UAV-point cloud roughness distributions and measured-grain size distribution (~1-2 cm) are in the same order of magnitude of the differences found between the repeated Wolman

The 27-28 October 1986 FIRE IFO Cirrus Case Study: Cloud Optical Properties Determined by High Spectral Resolution Lidar

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grund, C. J.; Eloranta, E. W.

1996-01-01

During the First ISCCP Region Experiment (FIRE) cirrus intensive field observation (IFO) the High Spectral Resolution Lidar was operated from a roof top site on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Because the HSRL technique separately measures the molecular and cloud particle backscatter components of the lidar return, the optical thickness is determined independent of particle backscatter. This is accomplished by comparing the known molecular density distribution to the observed decrease in molecular backscatter signal with altitude. The particle to molecular backscatter ratio yields calibrated measurements of backscatter cross sections that can be plotted ro reveal cloud morphology without distortion due to attenuation. Changes in cloud particle size, shape, and phase affect the backscatter to extinction ratio (backscatter-phase function). The HSRL independently measures cloud particle backscatter phase function. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the HSRL cirrus cloud data acquired over an approximate 33 hour period of continuous near zenith observations. Correlations between small scale wind structure and cirrus cloud morphology have been observed. These correlations can bias the range averaging inherent in wind profiling lidars of modest vertical resolution, leading to increased measurement errors at cirrus altitudes. Extended periods of low intensity backscatter were noted between more strongly organized cirrus cloud activity. Optical thicknesses ranging from 0.01-1.4, backscatter phase functions between 0.02-0.065 sr (exp -1) and backscatter cross sections spanning 4 orders of magnitude were observed. the altitude relationship between cloud top and bottom boundaries and the cloud optical center altitude was dependent on the type of formation observed Cirrus features were observed with characteristic wind drift estimated horizontal sizes of 5-400 km. The clouds frequently exhibited cellular structure with vertical to horizontal dimension

Development status of the EarthCARE Mission and its atmospheric Lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hélière, A.; Wallace, K.; Pereira Do Carmo, J.; Lefebvre, A.; Eisinger, M.; Wehr, T.

2016-09-01

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) are co-operating to develop as part of ESA's Living Planet Programme, the third Earth Explorer Core Mission, EarthCARE, with the fundamental objective of improving the understanding of the processes involving clouds, aerosols and radiation in the Earth's atmosphere. EarthCARE payload consists of two active and two passive instruments: an ATmospheric LIDar (ATLID), a Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR), a Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) and a Broad-Band Radiometer (BBR). The four instruments data are processed individually and in a synergetic manner to produce a large range of products, which include vertical profiles of aerosols, liquid water and ice, observations of cloud distribution and vertical motion within clouds, and will allow the retrieval of profiles of atmospheric radiative heating and cooling. Operating in the UV range at 355 nm, ATLID provides atmospheric echoes with a vertical resolution up to 100 m from ground to an altitude of 40 km. Thanks to a high spectral resolution filtering, the lidar is able to separate the relative contribution of aerosol (Mie) and molecular (Rayleigh) scattering, which gives access to aerosol optical depth. Co-polarised and cross-polarised components of the Mie scattering contribution are also separated and measured on dedicated channels. This paper gives an overview of the mission science objective, the satellite configuration with its four instruments and details more specifically the implementation and development status of the Atmospheric Lidar. Manufacturing status and first equipment qualification test results, in particular for what concerns the laser transmitter development are presented.

Assessment of cirrus cloud and aerosol radiative effect in South-East Asia by ground-based NASA MPLNET lidar network data and CALIPSO satellite measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lolli, Simone; Campbell, James R.; Lewis, Jasper R.; Welton, Ellsworth J.; Di Girolamo, Paolo; Fatkhuroyan, Fatkhuroyan; Gu, Yu; Marquis, Jared W.

2017-10-01

Aerosol, together with cirrus clouds, play a fundamental role in the earth-atmosphere system radiation budget, especially at tropical latitudes, where the Earth surface coverage by cirrus cloud can easily reach 70%. In this study we evaluate the combined aerosol and cirrus cloud net radiative effects in a wild and barren region like South East Asia. This part of the world is extremely vulnerable to climate change and it is source of important anthropogenic and natural aerosol emissions. The analysis has been carried out by computing cirrus cloud and aerosol net radiative effects through the Fu-Liou-Gu atmospheric radiative transfer model, adequately adapted to input lidar measurements, at surface and top-of-the atmosphere. The aerosol radiative effects were computed respectively using the retrieved lidar extinction from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization in 2011 and 2012 and the lidar on-board of Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations for the South East Asia Region (27N-12S, 77E-132E) with 5° x 5° spatial resolution. To assess the cirrus cloud radiative effect, we used the ground-based Micro Pulse Lidar Network measurements at Singapore permanent observational site. Results put in evidence that strong aerosol emission areas are related on average to a net surface cooling. On the contrary, cirrus cloud radiative effect shows a net daytime positive warming of the system earth-atmosphere. This effect is weak over the ocean where the albedo is lower and never counter-balances the net cooling produced by aerosols. The net cooling is stronger in 2011, with an associated reduction in precipitations by the four of the five rain-gauges stations deployed in three regions as Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java with respect to 2012. We can speculate that aerosol emissions may be associated with lower rainfall, however some very important phenomena as El Nino Southern Oscillation , Madden-Julian Oscillation, Monsoon and Indian Dipole are not

Assessment of optical properties variation and discrimination of aerosol and cloud with a multiple-wavelength elastic-Raman lidar in New York City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arapi, A.; Wu, Y.; Moshary, F.; Blake, R.; Liou-Mark, J.

2017-12-01

Aerosol and cloud play important roles on the Earth's energy budget, which is an important component of climate research. The radiative effects of aerosol-cloud interaction are still highly uncertain and the accuracy of their representation in climate models depends on the accuracy of their measurements. This study evaluates the potential to determine the existence of hydrated aerosols near clouds based on a ground-based multiple-wavelength elastic-Raman lidar at 1064-532-355nm and satellite measurement in New York City area (NYC), east coast of US. The main goal of this study is to examine the variations of color-ratio (spectral or wavelength dependence of backscatter) and relative backscatter to identify patterns between aerosol and cloud. In this presentation, we show the time-height distribution and variation of lidar-measured relative backscatter and color-ratio for some case studies. Then, we employ an aerosol-cloud discrimination algorithm to separate aerosols and clouds according to the color-ratio differences. We demonstrate the significant variation of aerosol optical properties near the low-level clouds in summer, which indicates the potential interaction or transient zone between aerosols and clouds. Finally, we show the preliminary evaluation of the aerosol and cloud product from the satellite retrievals when the ground-lidar observes the transported smoke plumes in NYC area.

Using Space Lidar Observations to Decompose Longwave Cloud Radiative Effect Variations Over the Last Decade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vaillant de Guélis, Thibault; Chepfer, Hélène; Noel, Vincent; Guzman, Rodrigo; Winker, David M.; Plougonven, Riwal

2017-12-01

Measurements of the longwave cloud radiative effect (LWCRE) at the top of the atmosphere assess the contribution of clouds to the Earth warming but do not quantify the cloud property variations that are responsible for the LWCRE variations. The CALIPSO space lidar observes directly the detailed profile of cloud, cloud opacity, and cloud cover. Here we use these observations to quantify the influence of cloud properties on the variations of the LWCRE observed between 2008 and 2015 in the tropics and at global scale. At global scale, the method proposed here gives good results except over the Southern Ocean. We find that the global LWCRE variations observed over ocean are mostly due to variations in the opaque cloud properties (82%); transparent cloud columns contributed 18%. Variation of opaque cloud cover is the first contributor to the LWCRE evolution (58%); opaque cloud temperature is the second contributor (28%).

Demonstration of a diode-laser-based high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) for quantitative profiling of clouds and aerosols.

PubMed

Hayman, Matthew; Spuler, Scott

2017-11-27

We present a demonstration of a diode-laser-based high spectral resolution lidar. It is capable of performing calibrated retrievals of aerosol and cloud optical properties at a 150 m range resolution with less than 1 minute integration time over an approximate range of 12 km during day and night. This instrument operates at 780 nm, a wavelength that is well established for reliable semiconductor lasers and detectors, and was chosen because it corresponds to the D2 rubidium absorption line. A heated vapor reference cell of isotopic rubidium 87 is used as an effective and reliable aerosol signal blocking filter in the instrument. In principle, the diode-laser-based high spectral resolution lidar can be made cost competitive with elastic backscatter lidar systems, yet delivers a significant improvement in data quality through direct retrieval of quantitative optical properties of clouds and aerosols.

Airborne LIDAR Measurements of Water Vapor, Ozone, Clouds, and Aerosols in the Tropics Near Central America During the TC4 Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kooi, Susan; Fenn, Marta; Ismail, Syed; Ferrare, Richard; Hair, John; Browell, Edward; Notari, Anthony; Butler, Carolyn; Burton, Sharon; Simpson, Steven

2008-01-01

Large scale distributions of ozone, water vapor, aerosols, and clouds were measured throughout the troposphere by two NASA Langley lidar systems on board the NASA DC-8 aircraft as part of the Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling Experiment (TC4) over Central and South America and adjacent oceans in the summer of 2007. Special emphasis was placed on the sampling of convective outflow and transport, sub-visible cirrus clouds, boundary layer aerosols, Saharan dust, volcanic emissions, and urban and biomass burning plumes. This paper presents preliminary results from this campaign, and demonstrates the value of coordinated measurements by the two lidar systems.

Global Lidar Measurements of Clouds and Aerosols from Space Using the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hlavka, Dennis L.; Palm, S. P.; Welton, E. J.; Hart, W. D.; Spinhirne, J. D.; McGill, M.; Mahesh, A.; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) is scheduled for launch on the ICESat satellite as part of the NASA EOS mission in 2002. GLAS will be used to perform high resolution surface altimetry and will also provide a continuously operating atmospheric lidar to profile clouds, aerosols, and the planetary boundary layer with horizontal and vertical resolution of 175 and 76.8 m, respectively. GLAS is the first active satellite atmospheric profiler to provide global coverage. Data products include direct measurements of the heights of aerosol and cloud layers, and the optical depth of transmissive layers. In this poster we provide an overview of the GLAS atmospheric data products, present a simulated GLAS data set, and show results from the simulated data set using the GLAS data processing algorithm. Optical results from the ER-2 Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL), which uses many of the same processing algorithms as GLAS, show algorithm performance with real atmospheric conditions during the Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI 2000).

Observing ice particle growth along fall streaks in mixed-phase clouds using spectral polarimetric radar data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfitzenmaier, Lukas; Unal, Christine M. H.; Dufournet, Yann; Russchenberg, Herman W. J.

2018-06-01

The growth of ice crystals in presence of supercooled liquid droplets represents the most important process for precipitation formation in the mid-latitudes. However, such mixed-phase interaction processes remain relatively unknown, as capturing the complexity in cloud dynamics and microphysical variabilities turns to be a real observational challenge. Ground-based radar systems equipped with fully polarimetric and Doppler capabilities in high temporal and spatial resolutions such as the S-band transportable atmospheric radar (TARA) are best suited to observe mixed-phase growth processes. In this paper, measurements are taken with the TARA radar during the ACCEPT campaign (analysis of the composition of clouds with extended polarization techniques). Besides the common radar observables, the 3-D wind field is also retrieved due to TARA unique three beam configuration. The novelty of this paper is to combine all these observations with a particle evolution detection algorithm based on a new fall streak retrieval technique in order to study ice particle growth within complex precipitating mixed-phased cloud systems. In the presented cases, three different growth processes of ice crystals, plate-like crystals, and needles are detected and related to the presence of supercooled liquid water. Moreover, TARA observed signatures are assessed with co-located measurements obtained from a cloud radar and radiosondes. This paper shows that it is possible to observe ice particle growth processes within complex systems taking advantage of adequate technology and state of the art retrieval algorithms. A significant improvement is made towards a conclusive interpretation of ice particle growth processes and their contribution to rain production using fall streak rearranged radar data.

Building a LiDAR point cloud simulator: Testing algorithms for high resolution topographic change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrea, Dario; Abellán, Antonio; Derron, Marc-Henri; Jaboyedoff, Michel

2014-05-01

Terrestrial laser technique (TLS) is becoming a common tool in Geosciences, with clear applications ranging from the generation of a high resolution 3D models to the monitoring of unstable slopes and the quantification of morphological changes. Nevertheless, like every measurement techniques, TLS still has some limitations that are not clearly understood and affect the accuracy of the dataset (point cloud). A challenge in LiDAR research is to understand the influence of instrumental parameters on measurement errors during LiDAR acquisition. Indeed, different critical parameters interact with the scans quality at different ranges: the existence of shadow areas, the spatial resolution (point density), and the diameter of the laser beam, the incidence angle and the single point accuracy. The objective of this study is to test the main limitations of different algorithms usually applied on point cloud data treatment, from alignment to monitoring. To this end, we built in MATLAB(c) environment a LiDAR point cloud simulator able to recreate the multiple sources of errors related to instrumental settings that we normally observe in real datasets. In a first step we characterized the error from single laser pulse by modelling the influence of range and incidence angle on single point data accuracy. In a second step, we simulated the scanning part of the system in order to analyze the shifting and angular error effects. Other parameters have been added to the point cloud simulator, such as point spacing, acquisition window, etc., in order to create point clouds of simple and/or complex geometries. We tested the influence of point density and vitiating point of view on the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) alignment and also in some deformation tracking algorithm with same point cloud geometry, in order to determine alignment and deformation detection threshold. We also generated a series of high resolution point clouds in order to model small changes on different environments

CfRadial - CF NetCDF for Radar and Lidar Data in Polar Coordinates.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dixon, M. J.; Lee, W. C.; Michelson, D.; Curtis, M.

2016-12-01

Since 1990, NCAR has supported over 20 different data formats for radar and lidar data in polar coordinates. Researchers, students and operational users spend unnecessary time handling a multitude of unique formats. CfRadial grew out of the need to simplify the use of these data and thereby to improve efficiency in research and operations. CfRadial adopts the well-known NetCDF framework, along with the Climate and Forecasting (CF) conventions such that data and metadata are accurately represented. Mobile platforms are also supported. The first major release, CfRadial version 1.1, occurred in February 2011, followed by minor updates. CfRadial has been adopted by NCAR as well as other agencies in the US and the UK. CfRadial development was boosted in 2015 through a two-year NSF EarthCube grant to improve CF in general. Version 1.4 was agreed upon in May 2016, adding explicit support for quality control fields and spectra. In Europe and Australia, EUMETNET OPERA's HDF5-based ODIM_H5 standard has been rapidly embraced as the modern standard for exchanging weather radar data for operations. ODIM_H5 exploits data groups, hierarchies, and built-in compression, characteristics that have been added to NetCDF4. A meeting of the WMO Task Team on Weather Radar Data Exchange (TT-WRDE) was held at NCAR in Boulder in July 2016, with a goal of identifying a single global standard for radar and lidar data in polar coordinates. CfRadial and ODIM_H5 were considered alongside the older and more rigid table-driven WMO BUFR and GRIB2 formats. TT-WRDE recommended that CfRadial 1.4 be merged with the sweep-oriented structure of ODIM_H5, making use of NetCDF groups, to produce a single format that will encompass the best ideas of both formats. That has led to the emergence of the CfRadial 2.0 standard. This format should meet the objectives of both the NSF EarthCube CF 2.0 initiative and the WMO TT-WRDE. It has the added benefit of improving data exchange between operational and research

Observations of Kelvin-Helmholtz instability at a cloud base with the middle and upper atmosphere (MU) and weather radars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luce, Hubert; Mega, Tomoaki; Yamamoto, Masayuki K.; Yamamoto, Mamoru; Hashiguchi, Hiroyuki; Fukao, Shoichiro; Nishi, Noriyuki; Tajiri, Takuya; Nakazato, Masahisa

2010-10-01

Using the very high frequency (46.5 MHz) middle and upper atmosphere radar (MUR), Ka band (35 GHz) and X band (9.8 GHz) weather radars, a Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability occurring at a cloud base and its impact on modulating cloud bottom altitudes are described by a case study on 8 October 2008 at the Shigaraki MU Observatory, Japan (34.85°N, 136.10°E). KH braids were monitored by the MUR along the slope of a cloud base gradually rising with time around an altitude of ˜5.0 km. The KH braids had a horizontal wavelength of about 3.6 km and maximum crest-to-trough amplitude of about 1.6 km. Nearly monochromatic and out of phase vertical air motion oscillations exceeding ±3 m s-1 with a period of ˜3 min 20 s were measured by the MUR above and below the cloud base. The axes of the billows were at right angles of the wind and wind shear both oriented east-north-east at their altitude. The isotropy of the radar echoes and the large variance of Doppler velocity in the KH billows (including the braids) indicate the presence of strong turbulence at the Bragg (˜3.2 m) scale. After the passage of the cloud system, the KH waves rapidly damped and the vertical scale of the KH braids progressively decreased down to about 100 m before their disappearance. The radar observations suggest that the interface between clear air and cloud was conducive to the presence of the dynamical shear instability by reducing static stability (and then the Richardson number) near the cloud base. Downward cloudy protuberances detected by the Ka band radar had vertical and horizontal scales of about 0.6-1.1 and 3.2 km, respectively, and were clearly associated with the downward air motions. Observed oscillations of the reflectivity-weighted Doppler velocity measured by the X band radar indicate that falling ice particles underwent the vertical wind motions generated by the KH instability to form the protuberances. The protuberances at the cloud base might be either KH billow clouds or perhaps

Line-Based Registration of Panoramic Images and LiDAR Point Clouds for Mobile Mapping.

PubMed

Cui, Tingting; Ji, Shunping; Shan, Jie; Gong, Jianya; Liu, Kejian

2016-12-31

For multi-sensor integrated systems, such as the mobile mapping system (MMS), data fusion at sensor-level, i.e., the 2D-3D registration between an optical camera and LiDAR, is a prerequisite for higher level fusion and further applications. This paper proposes a line-based registration method for panoramic images and a LiDAR point cloud collected by a MMS. We first introduce the system configuration and specification, including the coordinate systems of the MMS, the 3D LiDAR scanners, and the two panoramic camera models. We then establish the line-based transformation model for the panoramic camera. Finally, the proposed registration method is evaluated for two types of camera models by visual inspection and quantitative comparison. The results demonstrate that the line-based registration method can significantly improve the alignment of the panoramic image and the LiDAR datasets under either the ideal spherical or the rigorous panoramic camera model, with the latter being more reliable.

Line-Based Registration of Panoramic Images and LiDAR Point Clouds for Mobile Mapping

PubMed Central

Cui, Tingting; Ji, Shunping; Shan, Jie; Gong, Jianya; Liu, Kejian

2016-01-01

For multi-sensor integrated systems, such as the mobile mapping system (MMS), data fusion at sensor-level, i.e., the 2D-3D registration between an optical camera and LiDAR, is a prerequisite for higher level fusion and further applications. This paper proposes a line-based registration method for panoramic images and a LiDAR point cloud collected by a MMS. We first introduce the system configuration and specification, including the coordinate systems of the MMS, the 3D LiDAR scanners, and the two panoramic camera models. We then establish the line-based transformation model for the panoramic camera. Finally, the proposed registration method is evaluated for two types of camera models by visual inspection and quantitative comparison. The results demonstrate that the line-based registration method can significantly improve the alignment of the panoramic image and the LiDAR datasets under either the ideal spherical or the rigorous panoramic camera model, with the latter being more reliable. PMID:28042855

The Status of the ACRF Millimeter Wave Cloud Radars (MMCRs), the Path Forward for Future MMCR Upgrades, the Concept of 3D Volume Imaging Radar and the UAV Radar

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

P Kollias; MA Miller; KB Widener

2005-12-30

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility (ACRF) operates millimeter wavelength cloud radars (MMCRs) in several climatological regimes. The MMCRs, are the primary observing tool for quantifying the properties of nearly all radiatively important clouds over the ACRF sites. The first MMCR was installed at the ACRF Southern Great Plains (SGP) site nine years ago and its original design can be traced to the early 90s. Since then, several MMCRs have been deployed at the ACRF sites, while no significant hardware upgrades have been performed. Recently, a two-stage upgrade (first C-40 Digitalmore » Signal Processors [DSP]-based, and later the PC-Integrated Radar AcQuisition System [PIRAQ-III] digital receiver) of the MMCR signal-processing units was completed. Our future MMCR related goals are: 1) to have a cloud radar system that continues to have high reliability and uptime and 2) to suggest potential improvements that will address increased sensitivity needs, superior sampling and low cost maintenance of the MMCRs. The Traveling Wave Tube (TWT) technology, the frequency (35-GHz), the radio frequency (RF) layout, antenna, the calibration and radar control procedure and the environmental enclosure of the MMCR remain assets for our ability to detect the profile of hydrometeors at all heights in the troposphere at the ACRF sites.« less

Improvements to the CERES Cloud Detection Algorithm using Himawari 8 Data and Validation using CALIPSO and CATS Lidar Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trepte, Q.; Minnis, P.; Palikonda, R.; Yost, C. R.; Rodier, S. D.; Trepte, C. R.; McGill, M. J.

2016-12-01

Geostationary satellites provide continuous cloud and meteorological observations important for weather forecasting and for understanding climate processes. The Himawari-8 satellite represents a new generation of measurement capabilities with significantly improved resolution and enhanced spectral information. The satellite was launched in October 2014 by the Japanese Meteorological Agency and is centered at 140° E to provide coverage over eastern Asia and the western Pacific region. A cloud detection algorithm was developed as part of the CERES Cloud Mask algorithm using the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), a 16 channel multi-spectral imager. The algorithm was originally designed for use with Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) data and has been adapted for Himawari-8 AHI measurements. This paper will describe the improvements in the Himawari cloud mask including daytime ocean low cloud and aerosol discrimination, nighttime thin cirrus detection, and Australian desert and coastal cloud detection. The statistics from matched CERES Himawari cloud mask results with CALIPSO lidar data and with new observations from the CATS lidar will also be presented. A feature of the CATS instrument on board the International Space Station is that it gives information at different solar viewing times to examine the diurnal variation of clouds and this provides an ability to evaluate the performance of the cloud mask for different sun angles.

Lidar observations of high altitude cirrus near the tropical tropopause

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parameswaran, K.; Kumar, S. Sunil; Krishna Murthy, B.

High altitude cirrus plays a significant role in atmospheric chemistry, radiation and troposphere-stratosphere exchanges. Studies on their global morphology using satellite data (SAGE) suggests that over the tropics these clouds occur quite frequently in the altitude region around 14 to 16 km with favoured locations centred over Southern Asia, India and Mexico. A monostatic Nd:YAG lidar (operating at 532 nm wavelength) located at National MST Radar Facility (NMRF), Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E) provides an excellent opportunity to study the properties of these clouds. Lidar observations for ~120 nights during the period January 1999 to March 2000 are used to investigate the physical and optical properties of these clouds aswell as their spatial (altitude) and temporal variability. Based on optical depth ( c ) cirrus clouds are classified as Sub-visual Cirrus (SVC) with c 0.03, Thin Cirrus (TC) with 0.030.3. While SVCs are observed anywhere in the altitude region 12 to 18 km, with favoured altitude above 15 km, TCs and DCs usually occur around 14.5+/-1km. The altitude region 14 to 16km appears to be more conducive for cirrus formation. Even though the geometrical thickness (vertical extent) of these clouds varies from 0.3 to 3 km, they are mostly confined to altitudes below the level of tropopause temperature inversion. The cloud optical depth maximises around the post-mid-night period. These clouds also introduce significant depolarisation for the backscattered radiation indicating presence of abundant non-spherical particles presumably ice-crystals. Under favourable conditions these ice-crystals get aligned horizontally to enhance the co - polarized component of lidar backscatter signal through specular reflection, leading to a decrease in cloud depolarisation () below the ambient molecular depolarisation (m ). Such conditions are usually encountered in the case of optically dense clouds. Altitude profile of backscatter ratio

Statistics of optical and geometrical properties of cirrus cloud over tibetan plateau measured by lidar and radiosonde

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Guangyao; Wu, Songhua; Song, Xiaoquan; Zhai, Xiaochun

2018-04-01

Cirrus clouds affect the energy budget and hydrological cycle of the earth's atmosphere. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays a significant role in the global and regional climate. Optical and geometrical properties of cirrus clouds in the TP were measured in July-August 2014 by lidar and radiosonde. The statistics and temperature dependences of the corresponding properties are analyzed. The cirrus cloud formations are discussed with respect to temperature deviation and dynamic processes.

Drivers in the Scaling Between Precipitation and Cloud Radiative Impacts in Deep Convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rapp, A. D.; Sun, L.; Smalley, K.

2017-12-01

The coupling between changes in radiation and precipitation has been demonstrated by a number of studies and suggests an important link between cloud and precipitation processes for defining climate sensitivity. Precipitation and radiative fluxes from CloudSat/CALIPSO retrieval products are used to examine the relationship between precipitation and cloud radiative impacts through two dimensionless parameters. The surface radiative cooling impact, Rc, represents the ratio of the surface shortwave cloud radiative effect to latent heating (LH) from precipitation. The atmospheric radiative heating impact, Rh, represents the ratio of the atmospheric cloud radiative effect to LH from precipitation. Together, these parameters describe the relationship between precipitation processes and how efficiently clouds cools the surface or heats the atmosphere. Deep convective clouds are identified using the 2B-GEOPROF-LIDAR joint radar-lidar product and the cloud radiative impact parameters are calculated from the 2B-FLXHR-LIDAR fluxes and 2C-RAIN-PROFILE precipitation. Deep convective clouds will be sampled according to their dynamic and thermodynamic regimes to provide insights into the factors that control the scaling between precipitation and radiative impacts. Preliminary results from analysis of precipitating deep convective pixels indicates a strong increase (decrease) in the ratio of atmospheric heating (surface cooling) and precipitation with thermodynamic environment, especially increasing water vapor; however, it remains to be seen whether these results hold when integrated over an entire deep convective cloud system. Analysis of the dependence of Rc and Rh on the cloud horizontal and vertical structure is also planned, which should lead to a better understanding of the role of non-precipitating anvil characteristics in modulating the relationship between precipitation and surface and atmospheric radiative effects.

Analysis of polarization radar returns from ice clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battaglia, A.; Sturniolo, O.; Prodi, F.

Using a modified T-matrix code, some polarimetric single-scattering radar parameters ( Zh,v, LDR h,v, ρhv, ZDR and δhv) from populations of ice crystals in ice phase at 94 GHz, modeled with axisymmetric prolate and oblate spheroidal shapes for a Γ-size distribution with different α parameter ( α=0, 1, 2) and characteristic dimension Lm varying from 0.1 to 1.8 mm, have been computed. Some of the results for different radar elevation angles and different orientation distribution for fixed water content are shown. Deeper analysis has been carried out for pure extensive radar polarimetric variables; all of them are strongly dependent on the shapes (characterised by the aspect ratio), the canting angle and the radar elevation angle. Quantities like ZDR or δhv at side incidence or LDR h and ρhv at vertical incidence can be used to investigate the preferred orientation of the particles and, in some cases, their habits. We analyze scatterplots using couples of pure extensive variables. The scatterplots with the most evident clustering properties for the different habits seem to be those in the ( ZDR [ χ=0°], δhv [ χ=0°]), in the ( ZDR [ χ=0°], LDR h [ χ=90°]) and in the ( ZDR [ χ=0°], ρhv [ χ=90°]) plane. Among these, the most appealing one seems to be that involving ZDR and ρhv variables. To avoid the problem of having simultaneous measurements with a side and a vertical-looking radar, we believe that measurements of these two extensive variables using a radar with an elevation angle around 45° can be an effective instrument to identify different habits. In particular, this general idea can be useful for future space-borne polarimetric radars involved in the studies of high ice clouds. It is also believed that these results can be used in next challenge of developing probabilistic and expert methods for identifying hydrometeor types by W-band radars.

A study of cloud microphysics and precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau by radar observations and cloud-resolving model simulations: Cloud Microphysics over Tibetan Plateau

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gao, Wenhua; Sui, Chung-Hsiung; Fan, Jiwen

Cloud microphysical properties and precipitation over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are unique because of the high terrains, clean atmosphere, and sufficient water vapor. With dual-polarization precipitation radar and cloud radar measurements during the Third Tibetan Plateau Atmospheric Scientific Experiment (TIPEX-III), the simulated microphysics and precipitation by the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) with the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences (CAMS) microphysics and other microphysical schemes are investigated through a typical plateau rainfall event on 22 July 2014. Results show that the WRF-CAMS simulation reasonably reproduces the spatial distribution of 24-h accumulated precipitation, but has limitations in simulating time evolutionmore » of precipitation rates. The model-calculated polarimetric radar variables have biases as well, suggesting bias in modeled hydrometeor types. The raindrop sizes in convective region are larger than those in stratiform region indicated by the small intercept of raindrop size distribution in the former. The sensitivity experiments show that precipitation processes are sensitive to the changes of warm rain processes in condensation and nucleated droplet size (but less sensitive to evaporation process). Increasing droplet condensation produces the best area-averaged rain rate during weak convection period compared with the observation, suggesting a considerable bias in thermodynamics in the baseline simulation. Increasing the initial cloud droplet size causes the rain rate reduced by half, an opposite effect to that of increasing droplet condensation.« less

Power laws for the backscattering matrices in the case of lidar sensing of cirrus clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kustova, Natalia V.; Konoshonkin, Alexander V.; Borovoi, Anatoli; Okamoto, Hajime; Sato, Kaori; Katagiri, Shuichiro

2017-11-01

The data bank for the backscattering matrixes of cirrus clouds that was calculated earlier by the authors and was available in the internet for free access has been replaced in the case of randomly oriented crystals by simple analytic equations. Four microphysical ratios conventionally measured by lidars have been calculated for different shapes and the effective size of the crystals. These values could be used for retrieving shapes of the crystals in cirrus clouds.

Cloud Physics Lidar: Instrument Description and Initial Measurement Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McGill, Matthew; Hlavka, Dennis; Hart, William; Scott, V. Stanley; Spinhirne, James; Schmid, Beat

2002-01-01

The Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) is a new custom-built instrument for the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft. The CPL can provide multiwavelength measurements of cirrus, subvisual cirrus, and aerosols with high temporal and spatial resolution. Its state-of-the-art technology gives it a high repetition rate, and photon-counting detection, and includes a low-pulse-energy laser. The CPL was first deployed at the Southern African Regional Science Initiative's 2000 field campaign during August and September 2000. This paper provides an overview of the instrument and initial data results to illustrate the measurement capability of the CPL.

LOSA-M3: multi-wave polarization scanning lidar for research of the troposphere and cirrus clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kokhanenko, G. P.; Balin, Yu. S.; Klemasheva, M. G.; Penner, I. E.; Nasonov, S. V.; Samoilova, S. V.

2017-11-01

Lidar is designed to study the aerosol fields of the troposphere and the polarization characteristics of crystal clouds. Two laser wavelengths are used - 1064 and 532 nm, elastic scattering signals and spontaneous Raman scattering of nitrogen (607 nm) are recorded. Lidar is made in a mobile version, allowing its transportation by road and working under expeditionary conditions. The lidar transceiver is placed on a scanning column, which allows to change the direction of sounding within the upper hemisphere at a speed of 1 degree per second. The polarization characteristics of the transmitter and receiver can be changed by rotating the phase plates synchronously with the the laser pulses. In combination with conical scanning of the lidar, this makes it possible to detect the anisotropy of scattering and the possible azimuthal orientation of the crystal particles.

Orbiting lidar simulations. I - Aerosol and cloud measurements by an independent-wavelength technique

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, P. B.; Morley, B. M.; Livingston, J. M.; Grams, G. W.; Patterson, E. M.

1982-01-01

Aerosol and cloud measurements have been simulated for a Space Shuttle lidar. Expected errors - in signal, transmission, density, and calibration - are calculated algebraically and checked by simulating measurements and retrievals using random-number generators. By day, vertical structure is retrieved for tenuous clouds, Saharan aerosols, and boundary layer aerosols (at 0.53 and 1.06 micron) as well as strong volcanic stratospheric aerosols (at 0.53 micron). By night, all these constituents are retrieved plus upper tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols (at 1.06 micron), mesospheric aerosols (at 0.53 micron), and noctilucent clouds (at 1.06 and 0.53 micron). The vertical resolution was 0.1-0.5 km in the troposphere, 0.5-2.0 km above, except 0.25-1.0 km in the mesospheric cloud and aerosol layers; horizontal resolution was 100-2000 km.

Comparison of a UAV-derived point-cloud to Lidar data at Haig Glacier, Alberta, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bash, E. A.; Moorman, B.; Montaghi, A.; Menounos, B.; Marshall, S. J.

2016-12-01

The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is expanding rapidly in glaciological research as a result of technological improvements that make UAVs a cost-effective solution for collecting high resolution datasets with relative ease. The cost and difficult access traditionally associated with performing fieldwork in glacial environments makes UAVs a particularly attractive tool. In the small, but growing, body of literature using UAVs in glaciology the accuracy of UAV data is tested through the comparison of a UAV-derived DEM to measured control points. A field campaign combining simultaneous lidar and UAV flights over Haig Glacier in April 2015, provided the unique opportunity to directly compare UAV data to lidar. The UAV was a six-propeller Mikrokopter carrying a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF1 camera with a 12 Megapixel Live MOS sensor and Lumix G 20 mm lens flown at a height of 90 m, resulting in sub-centimetre ground resolution per image pixel. Lidar data collection took place April 20, while UAV flights were conducted April 20-21. A set of 65 control points were laid out and surveyed on the glacier surface on April 19 and 21 using a RTK GPS with a vertical uncertainty of 5 cm. A direct comparison of lidar points to these control points revealed a 9 cm offset between the control points and the lidar points on average, but the difference changed distinctly from points collected on April 19 versus those collected April 21 (7 cm and 12 cm). Agisoft Photoscan was used to create a point-cloud from imagery collected with the UAV and CloudCompare was used to calculate the difference between this and the lidar point cloud, revealing an average difference of less than 17 cm. This field campaign also highlighted some of the benefits and drawbacks of using a rotary UAV for glaciological research. The vertical takeoff and landing capabilities, combined with quick responsiveness and higher carrying capacity, make the rotary vehicle favourable for high-resolution photos when

Three-dimensional reconstruction of indoor whole elements based on mobile LiDAR point cloud data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Yuejian; Mao, Wenbo; Bi, Jiantao; Ji, Wei; He, Zhanjun

2014-11-01

Ground-based LiDAR is one of the most effective city modeling tools at present, which has been widely used for three-dimensional reconstruction of outdoor objects. However, as for indoor objects, there are some technical bottlenecks due to lack of GPS signal. In this paper, based on the high-precision indoor point cloud data which was obtained by LiDAR, an international advanced indoor mobile measuring equipment, high -precision model was fulfilled for all indoor ancillary facilities. The point cloud data we employed also contain color feature, which is extracted by fusion with CCD images. Thus, it has both space geometric feature and spectral information which can be used for constructing objects' surface and restoring color and texture of the geometric model. Based on Autodesk CAD platform and with help of PointSence plug, three-dimensional reconstruction of indoor whole elements was realized. Specifically, Pointools Edit Pro was adopted to edit the point cloud, then different types of indoor point cloud data was processed, including data format conversion, outline extracting and texture mapping of the point cloud model. Finally, three-dimensional visualization of the real-world indoor was completed. Experiment results showed that high-precision 3D point cloud data obtained by indoor mobile measuring equipment can be used for indoor whole elements' 3-d reconstruction and that methods proposed in this paper can efficiently realize the 3 -d construction of indoor whole elements. Moreover, the modeling precision could be controlled within 5 cm, which was proved to be a satisfactory result.

The Cloudsat Mission and the EOS Constellation: A New Dimension of Space-Based Observation of Clouds and Precipitation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stephens, Graeme L.; Vane, Deborah G.; Boain, Ronald; Mace, Gerald; Sassen, Kenneth; Wang, Zhien; Illingworth, Anthony; OConnor, Ewan; Rossow, William; Durden, Stephen L.;

Aerosol and cloud sensing with the Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Winker, D. M.; McCormick, M. P.

1994-01-01

The Lidar In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) is a multi-wavelength backscatter lidar developed by NASA Langley Research Center to fly on the Space Shuttle. The LITE instrument is built around a three-wavelength ND:YAG laser and a 1-meter diameter telescope. The laser operates at 10 Hz and produces about 500 mJ per pulse at 1064 nm and 532 nm, and 150 mJ per pulse at 355 nm. The objective of the LITE program is to develop the engineering processes required for space lidar and to demonstrate applications of space-based lidar to remote sensing of the atmosphere. The LITE instrument was designed to study a wide range of cloud and aerosol phenomena. To this end, a comprehensive program of scientific investigations has been planned for the upcoming mission. Simulations of on-orbit performance show the instrument has sufficient sensitivity to detect even thin cirrus on a single-shot basis. Signal averaging provides the capability of measuring the height and structure of the planetary boundary layer, aerosols in the free troposphere, the stratospheric aerosol layer, and density profiles to an altitude of 40 km. The instrument has successfully completed a ground-test phase and is scheduled to fly on the Space Shuttle Discovery for a 9-day mission in September 1994.

A case study on large-scale dynamical influence on bright band using cloud radar during the Indian summer monsoon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jha, Ambuj K.; Kalapureddy, M. C. R.; Devisetty, Hari Krishna; Deshpande, Sachin M.; Pandithurai, G.

2018-02-01

The present study is a first of its kind attempt in exploring the physical features (e.g., height, width, intensity, duration) of tropical Indian bright band using a Ka-band cloud radar under the influence of large-scale cyclonic circulation and attempts to explain the abrupt changes in bright band features, viz., rise in the bright band height by 430 m and deepening of the bright band by about 300 m observed at around 14:00 UTC on Sep 14, 2016, synoptically as well as locally. The study extends the utility of cloud radar to understand how the bright band features are associated with light precipitation, ranging from 0 to 1.5 mm/h. Our analysis of the precipitation event of Sep 14-15, 2016 shows that the bright band above (below) 3.7 km, thickness less (more) than 300 m can potentially lead to light drizzle of 0-0.25 mm/h (drizzle/light rain) at the surface. It is also seen that the cloud radar may be suitable for bright band study within light drizzle limits than under higher rain conditions. Further, the study illustrates that the bright band features can be determined using the polarimetric capability of the cloud radar. It is shown that an LDR value of - 22 dB can be associated with the top height of bright band in the Ka-band observations which is useful in the extraction of the bright band top height and its width. This study is useful for understanding the bright band phenomenon and could be potentially useful in establishing the bright band-surface rain relationship through the perspective of a cloud radar, which would be helpful to enhance the cloud radar-based quantitative estimates of precipitation.

Features of Point Clouds Synthesized from Multi-View ALOS/PRISM Data and Comparisons with LiDAR Data in Forested Areas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ni, Wenjian; Ranson, Kenneth Jon; Zhang, Zhiyu; Sun, Guoqing

2014-01-01

LiDAR waveform data from airborne LiDAR scanners (ALS) e.g. the Land Vegetation and Ice Sensor (LVIS) havebeen successfully used for estimation of forest height and biomass at local scales and have become the preferredremote sensing dataset. However, regional and global applications are limited by the cost of the airborne LiDARdata acquisition and there are no available spaceborne LiDAR systems. Some researchers have demonstrated thepotential for mapping forest height using aerial or spaceborne stereo imagery with very high spatial resolutions.For stereo imageswith global coverage but coarse resolution newanalysis methods need to be used. Unlike mostresearch based on digital surface models, this study concentrated on analyzing the features of point cloud datagenerated from stereo imagery. The synthesizing of point cloud data from multi-view stereo imagery increasedthe point density of the data. The point cloud data over forested areas were analyzed and compared to small footprintLiDAR data and large-footprint LiDAR waveform data. The results showed that the synthesized point clouddata from ALOSPRISM triplets produce vertical distributions similar to LiDAR data and detected the verticalstructure of sparse and non-closed forests at 30mresolution. For dense forest canopies, the canopy could be capturedbut the ground surface could not be seen, so surface elevations from other sourceswould be needed to calculatethe height of the canopy. A canopy height map with 30 m pixels was produced by subtracting nationalelevation dataset (NED) fromthe averaged elevation of synthesized point clouds,which exhibited spatial featuresof roads, forest edges and patches. The linear regression showed that the canopy height map had a good correlationwith RH50 of LVIS data with a slope of 1.04 and R2 of 0.74 indicating that the canopy height derived fromPRISM triplets can be used to estimate forest biomass at 30 m resolution.

Instantaneous Coastline Extraction from LIDAR Point Cloud and High Resolution Remote Sensing Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Y.; Zhoing, L.; Lai, Z.; Gan, Z.

2018-04-01

A new method was proposed for instantaneous waterline extraction in this paper, which combines point cloud geometry features and image spectral characteristics of the coastal zone. The proposed method consists of follow steps: Mean Shift algorithm is used to segment the coastal zone of high resolution remote sensing images into small regions containing semantic information;Region features are extracted by integrating LiDAR data and the surface area of the image; initial waterlines are extracted by α-shape algorithm; a region growing algorithm with is taking into coastline refinement, with a growth rule integrating the intensity and topography of LiDAR data; moothing the coastline. Experiments are conducted to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed method.

The Characteristics of Ice Cloud Properties in China Derived from DARDAR data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, T.; Zheng, Y.

2017-12-01

Ice clouds play an important role in modulating the Earth radiation budget and global hydrological cycle.Thus,study the properties of ice clouds has the vital significance on the interaction between the atmospheric models,cloud,radiation and climate .The world has explore the combination of two or several kinds of sensor data to solve the complementary strengths and error reduction to improve accuracy of ice cloud at the present , but for China ,has be lack of research on combination sensor data to analysis properties of ice cloud.To reach a wider range of ice cloud, a combination of the CloudSat radar and the CALIPSO lidar is used to derive ice cloud properties. These products include the radar/lidar product (DARDAR) developed at the University of Reading.The China probability distribution of ice cloud occurrence frequency, ice water path, ice water content and ice cloud effective radius were presented based on DARDAR data from 2012 to 2016,the distribution and vertical sturctures was discussed.The results indicate that the ice cloud occurrence frequency distribution takes on ascend trend in the last 4 years and has obvious seasonal variation, the high concentration area in the northeastern part of the Tibetan Plateau,ice cloud occurrence frequency is relatively high in northwest area.the increased of ice cloud occurrence frequency play an integral role of the climate warming in these four years; the general trend for the ice water path is southeast area bigger than northwest area, in winter the IWP is the smallest, biggest in summer; the IWC is the biggest in summer, and the vertical height distribution higher than other seasons; ice cloud effective radius and ice water content had similar trend..There were slight declines in ice cloud effective radius with increase height of China,in the summer ice effective radius is generally larger.The ice cloud impact Earth radiation via their albedo an greenhouse effects, that is, cooling the Earth by reflecting solar

Retrievals of ice cloud microphysical properties of deep convective systems using radar measurements: Convective Cloud Microphysical Retrieval

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tian, Jingjing; Dong, Xiquan; Xi, Baike

This study presents new algorithms for retrieving ice cloud microphysical properties (ice water content (IWC) and median mass diameter (Dm)) for the stratiform and thick anvil regions of Deep Convective Systems (DCSs) using Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD) reflectivity and recently developed empirical relationships from aircraft in situ measurements during the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E). A classic DCS case on 20 May 2011 is used to compare the retrieved IWC profiles with other retrieval and cloud-resolving model simulations. The mean values of each retrieved and simulated IWC fall within one standard derivation of the other two. The statistical results frommore » six selected cases during MC3E show that the aircraft in situ derived IWC and Dm are 0.47 ± 0.29 g m-3 and 2.02 ± 1.3 mm, while the mean values of retrievals have a positive bias of 0.16 g m-3 (34%) and a negative bias of 0.39 mm (19%). To validate the newly developed retrieval algorithms from this study, IWC and Dm are performed with other DCS cases during Bow Echo and Mesoscale Convective Vortex Experiment (BAMEX) field campaign using composite gridded NEXRAD reflectivity and compared with in situ IWC and Dm from aircraft. A total of 64 1-min collocated aircraft and radar samples are available for comparisons, and the averages of radar retrieved and aircraft in situ measured IWCs are 1.22 g m-3 and 1.26 g m-3 with a correlation of 0.5, and their averaged Dm values are 2.15 and 1.80 mm. These comparisons have shown that the retrieval algorithms 45 developed during MC3E can retrieve similar ice cloud microphysical properties of DCS to aircraft in situ measurements during BAMEX with median errors of ~40% and ~25% for IWC and Dm retrievals, respectively. This is indicating our retrieval algorithms are suitable for other midlatitude continental DCS ice clouds, especially at stratiform rain and thick anvil regions. In addition, based on the averaged IWC and Dm values during

Modeling the performance of direct-detection Doppler lidar systems including cloud and solar background variability.

PubMed

McGill, M J; Hart, W D; McKay, J A; Spinhirne, J D

1999-10-20

Previous modeling of the performance of spaceborne direct-detection Doppler lidar systems assumed extremely idealized atmospheric models. Here we develop a technique for modeling the performance of these systems in a more realistic atmosphere, based on actual airborne lidar observations. The resulting atmospheric model contains cloud and aerosol variability that is absent in other simulations of spaceborne Doppler lidar instruments. To produce a realistic simulation of daytime performance, we include solar radiance values that are based on actual measurements and are allowed to vary as the viewing scene changes. Simulations are performed for two types of direct-detection Doppler lidar system: the double-edge and the multichannel techniques. Both systems were optimized to measure winds from Rayleigh backscatter at 355 nm. Simulations show that the measurement uncertainty during daytime is degraded by only approximately 10-20% compared with nighttime performance, provided that a proper solar filter is included in the instrument design.

Different Applications of FORTRACC: From Convective Clouds to thunderstorms and radar fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morales, C.; Machado, L. A.

2009-09-01

The algorithm Forecasting and Tracking the Evolution of Cloud Clusters (ForTraCC), Vila et al. (2008), has been employed operationally in Brazil since 2005 to track and forecast the development of convective clouds. This technique depicts the main morphological features of the cloud systems and most importantly it reconstructs its entire life cycle. Based on this information, several relationships that use the area expansion and convective and stratiform fraction are employed to predict the life time duration and cloud area. Because of these features, the civil defense and power companies are using this information to mitigate the damages in the population. Further developments in FORTRACC included the integration of satellite rainfall retrievals, radar fields and thunderstorm initiation. These improvements try to address the following problems: a) most of the satellite rainfall retrievals do not take into account the life cycle stage that it is a key element on defining the rain area and rain intensity; b) by using the life cycle information it is possible to better predict the precipitation pattern observed in the radar fields; c) cloud signatures are associated to the development of systems that have lightning and no lightning activity. During the presentation, an overview of the different applications of FORTRACC will be presented including case studies and evaluation of the technique. Finally, the presentation will address how the users can have access to the algorithm to implement in their institute.

The HOLO Series: Critical Ground-Based Demonstrations of Holographic Scanning Lidars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkerson, Thomas D.; Sanders, Jason A.; Andrus, Ionio Q.; Schwemmer, Geary K.; Miller, David O.; Guerra, David; Schnick, Jeffrey; Moody, Stephen E.

2000-01-01

Results of two lidar measurement campaigns are presented, HOLO-1 (Utah, March 1999) and HOLO-2 (New Hampshire, June 1999). These tests demonstrate the ability of lidars utilizing holographic optical elements (HOEs) to determine tropospheric wind velocity and direction at cloud altitude. Several instruments were employed. HOLO-1 used the 1,064 mm transmission-HOE lidar (HARLIE, Goddard Space Flight Center), a zenith-staring 532 nm lidar (AROL-2, Utah State University), and a wide-field video camera (SkyCam) for imagery of clouds overhead. HOLO-2 included these instruments plus the 532 nm reflection-HOE lidar (PHASERS, St. Anselm College). HARLIE and PHASERS scan the sky at constant cone angles of 45 deg. and 42 deg. from normal, respectively. The progress of clouds and entire cloud fields across the sky is tracked by the repetitive conical scans of the HOE lidars. AROL-2 provides the attitude information enabling the SkyCam cloud images to be analyzed for independent data on cloud motion. Data from the HOE lidars are reduced by means of correlations, visualization by animation techniques, and kinematic diagrams of cloud feature motion. Excellent agreement is observed between the HOE lidar results and those obtained with video imagery and lidar ranging.

A Fast Synthetic Aperture Radar Raw Data Simulation Using Cloud Computing.

PubMed

Li, Zhixin; Su, Dandan; Zhu, Haijiang; Li, Wei; Zhang, Fan; Li, Ruirui

2017-01-08

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) raw data simulation is a fundamental problem in radar system design and imaging algorithm research. The growth of surveying swath and resolution results in a significant increase in data volume and simulation period, which can be considered to be a comprehensive data intensive and computing intensive issue. Although several high performance computing (HPC) methods have demonstrated their potential for accelerating simulation, the input/output (I/O) bottleneck of huge raw data has not been eased. In this paper, we propose a cloud computing based SAR raw data simulation algorithm, which employs the MapReduce model to accelerate the raw data computing and the Hadoop distributed file system (HDFS) for fast I/O access. The MapReduce model is designed for the irregular parallel accumulation of raw data simulation, which greatly reduces the parallel efficiency of graphics processing unit (GPU) based simulation methods. In addition, three kinds of optimization strategies are put forward from the aspects of programming model, HDFS configuration and scheduling. The experimental results show that the cloud computing based algorithm achieves 4_ speedup over the baseline serial approach in an 8-node cloud environment, and each optimization strategy can improve about 20%. This work proves that the proposed cloud algorithm is capable of solving the computing intensive and data intensive issues in SAR raw data simulation, and is easily extended to large scale computing to achieve higher acceleration.