Articles | Volume 11, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2051-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-2051-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
11 Apr 2018
Research article |
| 11 Apr 2018
| 11 Apr 2018
Evaluating the lower-tropospheric COSMIC GPS radio occultation sounding quality over the Arctic
Xiao Yu
Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, Texas A&M
University – Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, Texas A&M
University – Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
Chi O. Ao
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology,
Pasadena, California 91109, USA
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Manisha Ganeshan, Dong L. Wu, Joseph A. Santanello, Jie Gong, Chi Ao, Panagiotis Vergados, and Kevin J. Nelson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1389–1403, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1389-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1389-2025, 2025
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This study explores the potential of two newly launched commercial Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) satellite missions for advancing Arctic lower-atmospheric studies. The products have a good sampling of the lower Arctic atmosphere and are useful to derive the planetary boundary layer (PBL) height during winter months. This research is a step towards closing the observation gap in polar regions due to the decomissioning of Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC-1) GNSS RO mission and the lack of high-latitude coverage by its successor (COSMIC-2).
Sara Vannah, Stephen S. Leroy, Chi O. Ao, E. Robert Kursinski, Kevin J. Nelson, Kuo-Nung Wang, and Feiqin Xie
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4127, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4127, 2025
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Uncertainty estimation for GNSS radio occultation (RO) soundings in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) depends on the algorithms used to process the RO data. We compare the refractivity retrievals from three RO processing centers — each with their own retrieval algorithm — in the PBL, finding a strong underestimation of refractivity in regions with the strongest refractivity gradients, especially in JPL processing, as well as areas of weak overestimation of refractivity near the Poles.
Ramon Padullés, Estel Cardellach, Antía Paz, Santi Oliveras, Douglas C. Hunt, Sergey Sokolovskiy, Jan-Peter Weiss, Kuo-Nung Wang, F. Joe Turk, Chi O. Ao, and Manuel de la Torre Juárez
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5643–5663, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5643-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5643-2024, 2024
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This dataset provides, for the first time, combined observations of clouds and precipitation with coincident retrievals of atmospheric thermodynamics obtained from the same space-based instrument. Furthermore, it provides the locations of the ray trajectories of the observations along various precipitation-related products interpolated into them with the aim of fostering the use of such dataset in scientific and operational applications.
Thomas E. Winning Jr., Feiqin Xie, and Kevin J. Nelson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6851–6863, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6851-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6851-2024, 2024
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The effect of ducting due to the presence of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) is prevalent over the northeastern Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles to Honolulu, USA. The ducting-induced refractivity bias in the radiosonde climatology and ERA5 data is highly correlated with the height of the PBL. The magnitude of bias is linearly dependent on the strength of ducting but not the location, and the overall reanalysis data systematically underestimate the height of the PBL by as much as 120 m.
Kuo-Nung Wang, Chi O. Ao, Mary G. Morris, George A. Hajj, Marcin J. Kurowski, Francis J. Turk, and Angelyn W. Moore
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 583–599, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-583-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-583-2024, 2024
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In this article, we described a joint retrieval approach combining two techniques, RO and MWR, to obtain high vertical resolution and solve for temperature and moisture independently. The results show that the complicated structure in the lower troposphere can be better resolved with much smaller biases, and the RO+MWR combination is the most stable scenario in our sensitivity analysis. This approach is also applied to real data (COSMIC-2/Suomi-NPP) to show the promise of joint RO+MWR retrieval.
Kevin J. Nelson, Feiqin Xie, Bryan C. Chan, Ashish Goel, Jonathan Kosh, Tyler G. R. Reid, Corey R. Snyder, and Paul M. Tarantino
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 941–954, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-941-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-941-2023, 2023
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Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) remote sensing is effective for atmospheric profiling. The capability of a low-cost and scalable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) GNSS receiver on board high-altitude balloons is tested in two campaigns. Preliminary results demonstrate high-quality refractivity observations from the COTS RO receiver, which is worth further improvement for dense atmospheric observations over a targeted region.
Anthony J. Mannucci, Chi O. Ao, Byron A. Iijima, Thomas K. Meehan, Panagiotis Vergados, E. Robert Kursinski, and William S. Schreiner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4971–4987, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4971-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4971-2022, 2022
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The Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) technique is a satellite-based method for producing highly accurate vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and pressure. RO profiles are used to monitor global climate trends, particularly in that region of the atmosphere that includes the lower stratosphere. Two data sets spanning 1995–1997 that were produced from the first RO satellite are highly accurate and can be used to assess global atmospheric models.
Andrea K. Steiner, Florian Ladstädter, Chi O. Ao, Hans Gleisner, Shu-Peng Ho, Doug Hunt, Torsten Schmidt, Ulrich Foelsche, Gottfried Kirchengast, Ying-Hwa Kuo, Kent B. Lauritsen, Anthony J. Mannucci, Johannes K. Nielsen, William Schreiner, Marc Schwärz, Sergey Sokolovskiy, Stig Syndergaard, and Jens Wickert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 2547–2575, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2547-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-2547-2020, 2020
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High-quality observations are critically important for monitoring the Earth’s changing climate. We provide information on the consistency and long-term stability of observations from GPS radio occultation (RO). We assess, for the first time, RO records from multiple RO missions and all major RO data providers. Our results quantify where RO can be used for reliable trend assessment and confirm its climate quality.
Ramon Padullés, Chi O. Ao, F. Joseph Turk, Manuel de la Torre Juárez, Byron Iijima, Kuo Nung Wang, and Estel Cardellach
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1299–1313, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1299-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1299-2020, 2020
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In this study we thoroughly address the calibration and validation of the new polarimetric radio occultation (PRO) observables. These represent an innovative way to obtain vertical profiles of precipitation along with thermodynamic observations of the same scene. First we perform the on-orbit calibration of the measurement. Then, we show how the PRO observables are sensitive to the presence and intensity of rain by looking for coincident precipitation measurements from independent missions.
Ramon Padullés, Estel Cardellach, Kuo-Nung Wang, Chi O. Ao, F. Joseph Turk, and Manuel de la Torre-Juárez
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 11697–11708, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11697-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-11697-2018, 2018
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In this paper we have assessed the positive difference observed between radio-occultation-retrieved refractivity and that of weather analyses and reanalyses when heavy precipitation is present. The impact of the precipitation media on the refractivity observable has been evaluated, showing that precipitation itself cannot explain the magnitude of the observed difference. Instead, the difference is shown to be linked to high specific-humidity conditions, which in turn are linked to rain.
Panagiotis Vergados, Anthony J. Mannucci, Chi O. Ao, Olga Verkhoglyadova, and Byron Iijima
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1193–1206, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1193-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1193-2018, 2018
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This study cross-compares the 10-year record of GPS radio occultation (GPS-RO) specific humidity product against independent databases (e.g., AIRS satellite, NASA/MERRA, and ERA-Interim). Our objective is to investigate the suitability of the GPS-RO humidity as a climate variable, which the science community could use in climate research. GPS-RO offers high vertical resolution, low sensitivity to clouds, and long-term stability making GPS-RO humidity a valuable complementary data set.
Feiqin Xie, Loknath Adhikari, Jennifer S. Haase, Brian Murphy, Kuo-Nung Wang, and James L. Garrison
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 763–780, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-763-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-763-2018, 2018
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The GPS signal going through the atmosphere will experience refraction or bending, which can be precisely measured and used to infer the atmospheric properties. This paper demonstrates that high-quality atmospheric measurement with less than ~ 0.4 K is achievable from a GPS recording system with a simple antenna mounted on top of an aircraft cruising at ~ 13 km. Such a simple airborne GPS system can be implemented on commercial aircraft to provide valuable data for weather models in the future.
Kuo-Nung Wang, Manuel de la Torre Juárez, Chi O. Ao, and Feiqin Xie
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4761–4776, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4761-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4761-2017, 2017
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Refractivity retrievals from GNSS radio occultation (RO) are known to be negatively biased within the planetary boundary layer (PBL). We propose an optimization-based reconstruction method in this paper to correct the negative bias with external measurements of precipitable water (PW). Our results show that the proposed method can greatly reduce the bias and better characterize the PBL.
Esayas Shume and Chi Ao
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 3175–3182, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3175-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-3175-2016, 2016
R. Padullés, E. Cardellach, M. de la Torre Juárez, S. Tomás, F. J. Turk, S. Oliveras, C. O. Ao, and A. Rius
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 635–649, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-635-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-635-2016, 2016
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The ROHP-PAZ mission will collect, for the first time, GPS radio occultations at two polarizations with the aim of characterizing rain. Prior to the mission's launch (2016), a field campaign has been conducted to identify and understand the measurements. In this study we present the set-up and the results of such a campaign: the main finding is the confirmation of sensitivity to heavy rain and, unexpectedly, to other frozen hydrometeors. This is key information for the spaceborne experiment.
P. Vergados, A. J. Mannucci, C. O. Ao, J. H. Jiang, and H. Su
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1789–1797, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1789-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1789-2015, 2015
A. K. Steiner, D. Hunt, S.-P. Ho, G. Kirchengast, A. J. Mannucci, B. Scherllin-Pirscher, H. Gleisner, A. von Engeln, T. Schmidt, C. Ao, S. S. Leroy, E. R. Kursinski, U. Foelsche, M. Gorbunov, S. Heise, Y.-H. Kuo, K. B. Lauritsen, C. Marquardt, C. Rocken, W. Schreiner, S. Sokolovskiy, S. Syndergaard, and J. Wickert
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 1469–1484, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1469-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-1469-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Others (Wind, Precipitation, Temperature, etc.) | Technique: Remote Sensing | Topic: Validation and Intercomparisons
Exploring commercial Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) products for planetary boundary layer studies in the Arctic
Testing ground-based observations of wave activity in the (lower and upper) atmosphere as possible (complementary) indicators of streamer events
Quality assessment of YUNYAO radio occultation data in the neutral atmosphere
Turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rate estimated from a WindCube Doppler lidar and the LQ7 1.3 GHz radar wind profiler in the convective boundary layer
Comparison of temperature and wind profiles between ground-based remote sensing observations and numerical weather prediction model in complex Alpine topography: the Meiringen campaign
Cluster analysis of vertical polarimetric radio occultation profiles and corresponding liquid and ice water paths from Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) microwave data
Enhanced quantitative precipitation estimation through the opportunistic use of Ku TV-SAT links via a dual-channel procedure
The added value and potential of long-term radio occultation data for climatological wind field monitoring
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Description and validation of the Japanese algorithm for radiative flux and heating rate products with all four EarthCARE instruments: pre-launch test with A-Train
Atmospheric stability from microwave radiometer observations for on/offshore wind energy applications
Improving the estimate of higher-order moments from lidar observations near the top of the convective boundary layer
Research on Atmospheric Temperature Fine Measurements from near surface to 60 km Altitude Based on An Integrated LIDAR System
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Observing atmospheric rivers using GNSS radio occultation data
Atmospheric motion vector (AMV) error characterization and bias correction by leveraging independent lidar data: a simulation using an observing system simulation experiment (OSSE) and optical flow AMVs
Rotary-wing drone-induced flow – comparison of simulations with lidar measurements
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Application of Doppler sodar in short-term forecasting of PM10 concentration in the air in Krakow (Poland)
Radiative closure tests of collocated hyperspectral microwave and infrared radiometers
Effects of clouds and aerosols on downwelling surface solar irradiance nowcasting and short-term forecasting
Verification of parameterizations for clear sky downwelling longwave irradiance in the Arctic
Global evaluation of fast radiative transfer model coefficients for early meteorological satellite sensors
GPROF V7 and beyond: assessment of current and potential future versions of the GPROF passive microwave precipitation retrievals against ground radar measurements over the continental US and the Pacific Ocean
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On the use of routine airborne observations for evaluation and monitoring of satellite observations of thermodynamic profiles
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Long-term validation of Aeolus L2B wind products at Punta Arenas, Chile, and Leipzig, Germany
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Evaluation of tropospheric water vapour and temperature profiles retrieved from MetOp-A by the Infrared and Microwave Sounding scheme
Validation of the Aeolus L2B wind product with airborne wind lidar measurements in the polar North Atlantic region and in the tropics
An improved vertical correction method for the inter-comparison and inter-validation of integrated water vapour measurements
An assessment of reprocessed GPS/MET observations spanning 1995–1997
Turbulence parameters measured by the Beijing mesosphere–stratosphere–troposphere radar in the troposphere and lower stratosphere with three models: comparison and analyses
Comparison of planetary boundary layer height from ceilometer with ARM radiosonde data
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Three-way calibration checks using ground-based, ship-based, and spaceborne radars
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Manisha Ganeshan, Dong L. Wu, Joseph A. Santanello, Jie Gong, Chi Ao, Panagiotis Vergados, and Kevin J. Nelson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1389–1403, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1389-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1389-2025, 2025
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This study explores the potential of two newly launched commercial Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) satellite missions for advancing Arctic lower-atmospheric studies. The products have a good sampling of the lower Arctic atmosphere and are useful to derive the planetary boundary layer (PBL) height during winter months. This research is a step towards closing the observation gap in polar regions due to the decomissioning of Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC-1) GNSS RO mission and the lack of high-latitude coverage by its successor (COSMIC-2).
Michal Kozubek, Lisa Kuchelbacher, Jaroslav Chum, Tereza Sindelarova, Franziska Trinkl, and Katerina Podolska
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1373–1388, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1373-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1373-2025, 2025
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Waves are important as main drivers of different stratispheric patterns (streamers). We analyse changes in waves and infrasound characteristics related to streamers using continuous Doppler soundings and arrays of microbarometers in Czechia. Ground measurements using infrasound arrays showed that gravity wave propagation azimuths were more random during streamers than during calm conditions. Measurements in the ionosphere during streamers did not differ from those expected for the given time.
Xiaoze Xu, Wei Han, Jincheng Wang, Zhiqiu Gao, Fenghui Li, Yan Cheng, and Naifeng Fu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1339–1353, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1339-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1339-2025, 2025
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Commercial Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) satellites are generally cheap and can generate a large volume of globally distributed observations in a short period of time. To evaluate the practical application value of these data, we must assess their quality. We evaluate the quality of YUNYAO RO data. By using the “three-cornered hat” method and comparing with data from Metop-C and COSMIC-2, it was found that the YUNYAO GNSS-RO data are of high quality.
Hubert Luce and Masanori Yabuki
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1193–1208, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1193-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1193-2025, 2025
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Over a 3-week period, simultaneous measurements were conducted using a Doppler lidar and a 1.3 GHz radar wind profiler in Japan. Although the instruments had no range overlap, turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rates were estimated through various methods in convective boundary layers. Hourly averaged estimates showed good agreement, within a factor of approximately 2, suggesting that both instruments and methods provide consistent dissipation rate values.
Alexandre Bugnard, Martine Collaud Coen, Maxime Hervo, Daniel Leuenberger, Marco Arpagaus, and Samuel Monhart
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 1039–1061, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1039-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1039-2025, 2025
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Temperature (T) and wind profiles were measured by a Doppler wind lidar and a microwave radiometer in Meiringen in a medium-sized Alpine valley. Ground-based T inversions and thermal winds were studied during the 10 months of the campaign. The comparison between the observations and the COSMO-1E model provides good model performance for monthly climatologies. T inversions are however frequently missed, and important differences for particular cases are found, especially for foehn events.
Jonas E. Katona, Manuel de la Torre Juárez, Terence L. Kubar, F. Joseph Turk, Kuo-Nung Wang, and Ramon Padullés
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 953–970, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-953-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-953-2025, 2025
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Polarimetric radio occultations (PROs) use polarized radio signals from satellites to detect moisture and precipitation in Earth's atmosphere. By applying nonlinear regression and k-means cluster analysis to over 2 years of PRO and non-PRO data, this study shows how deviations from a refractivity model relate to vertical profiles of water vapor pressure (moisture) and that differences between components of PRO signals correlate directly with vertical profiles of water path (precipitation).
Louise Gelbart, Laurent Barthès, François Mercier-Tigrine, Aymeric Chazottes, and Cécile Mallet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 351–370, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-351-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-351-2025, 2025
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In this paper, we present and evaluate a new method for the quantitative estimation of precipitation from a low-cost sensor. Based on previous work measuring the attenuation of an electromagnetic signal from a broadcast television satellite, we make this approach more accurate so it can be easily deployed and used operationally in areas where rainfall measurements are critical for applications like flood monitoring. In this article, the method is validated in France and applied in Côte d'Ivoire.
Irena Nimac, Julia Danzer, and Gottfried Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 265–286, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-265-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-265-2025, 2025
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Due to the shortcomings of available observations, having accurate global 3D wind fields remains a challenge. A promising option is radio occultation (RO) satellite data, which enable the derivation of winds based on wind approximations. We test how well RO winds describe the ERA5 winds. We separate the total wind difference into the approximation bias and the systematic difference between the two datasets. The results show the utility of RO winds for climate monitoring and analyses.
Isadora L. Coimbra, Jakob Mann, José M. L. M. Palma, and Vasco T. P. Batista
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 287–303, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-287-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-287-2025, 2025
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Dual-lidar measurements are explored here as a cost-effective alternative for measuring the wind at great heights. From measurements at a mountainous site, we showed that this methodology can accurately capture mean wind speeds and turbulence under different flow conditions, and we recommended optimal lidar placement and sampling rates. This methodology allows the construction of vertical wind profiles up to 430 m, surpassing traditional meteorological mast heights and single-lidar capabilities.
Akira Yamauchi, Kentaroh Suzuki, Eiji Oikawa, Miho Sekiguchi, Takashi M. Nagao, and Haruma Ishida
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6751–6767, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6751-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6751-2024, 2024
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A Japanese team developed the Level 2 atmospheric radiation flux and heating rate product for EarthCARE, which offers vertical profiles of longwave and shortwave radiative fluxes and heating rates. This study outlines the algorithm for the radiative product and its comparative validation against satellite and ground-based observations. It also analyzes errors in radiative fluxes at various scales and their dependence on cloud type, with ice-containing clouds identified as a primary error source.
Domenico Cimini, Rémi Gandoin, Stephanie Fiedler, Claudia Acquistapace, Andrea Balotti, Sabrina Gentile, Edoardo Geraldi, Christine Knist, Pauline Martinet, Saverio T. Nilo, Giandomenico Pace, Bernhard Pospichal, and Filomena Romano
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-186, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-186, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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Atmospheric stability indicates whether air vertical motion is dumped or amplified. This is important for wind energy applications as it affects wind turbine wakes and thus the yield of wind parks. The paper provides an assessment of stability metrics measured by ground-based microwave radiometers in different climatological conditions and with instrument types, on- and offshore. Results indicate that special precaution may be required offshore to achieve typical onshore performances.
Tessa E. Rosenberger, David D. Turner, Thijs Heus, Girish N. Raghunathan, Timothy J. Wagner, and Julia Simonson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6595–6602, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6595-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6595-2024, 2024
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This work used model output to show that considering the changes in boundary layer depth over time in the calculations of variables such as fluxes and variance yields more accurate results than cases where calculations were done at a constant height. This work was done to improve future observations of these variables at the top of the boundary layer.
Zhangjun Wang, Tiantian Guo, Xianxin Li, Chao Chen, Dong Liu, Luoyuan Qu, Hui Li, and Xiufen Wang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2647, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2647, 2024
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A dual-field, integrated lidar system has been developed to detect atmospheric temperatures from near surface to 60 km over Qingdao, China. Temperature profiles from near surface to 60 km are derived by pure rotational Raman and Rayleigh scattering techniques using a single integrated lidar system. The results prove the system can make fine measurements of the atmospheric temperature profiles from near surface to 60 km.
Julia Danzer, Magdalena Pieler, and Gottfried Kirchengast
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4979–4995, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4979-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4979-2024, 2024
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We investigated the potential of radio occultation (RO) data for climate-oriented wind field monitoring, focusing on the equatorial band within ±5° latitude. In this region, the geostrophic balance breaks down, and the equatorial balance approximation takes over. The study encourages the use of RO wind fields for mesoscale climate monitoring for the equatorial region, showing a small improvement in the troposphere when including the meridional wind in the zonal-mean total wind speed.
Jérôme Kopp, Alessandro Hering, Urs Germann, and Olivia Martius
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4529–4552, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4529-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4529-2024, 2024
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We present a verification of two products based on weather radars to detect the presence of hail and estimate its size. Radar products are remote detection of hail, so they must be verified against ground-based observations. We use reports from users of the Swiss Weather Services phone app to do the verification. We found that the product estimating the presence of hail provides fair results but that it should be recalibrated and that estimating the hail size with radar is more challenging.
Bahareh Rahimi and Ulrich Foelsche
Atmos. Meas. Tech. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-81, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-2024-81, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for AMT
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This study explores the use of GNSS-RO data to improve understanding of the vertical structure of humidity in Atmospheric Rivers (ARs). Specific humidity profiles and IWV values from GNSS-RO are evaluated to assess if this method offers additional insights into ARs' vertical characteristics. The results suggest that combining GNSS-RO data, with its high vertical resolution, with SSMI/S data, known for high horizontal resolution, provides a more complete view of the 3D structure of ARs.
Hai Nguyen, Derek Posselt, Igor Yanovsky, Longtao Wu, and Svetla Hristova-Veleva
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3103–3119, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3103-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3103-2024, 2024
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Accurate global wind estimation is crucial for weather prediction and environmental modeling. Our study investigates a method to refine atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) by comparing them with high-precision active-sensor winds. Leveraging supervised learning, we discovered that using high-precision active-sensor data can significantly reduce biases in passive-sensor winds in addition to providing estimates of the wind errors, thereby improving their reliability.
Liqin Jin, Mauro Ghirardelli, Jakob Mann, Mikael Sjöholm, Stephan Thomas Kral, and Joachim Reuder
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2721–2737, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2721-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2721-2024, 2024
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Three-dimensional wind fields can be accurately measured by sonic anemometers. However, the traditional mast-mounted sonic anemometers are not flexible in various applications, which can be potentially overcome by drones. Therefore, we conducted a proof-of-concept study by applying three continuous-wave Doppler lidars to characterize the complex flow around a drone to validate the results obtained by CFD simulations. Both methods show good agreement, with a velocity difference of 0.1 m s-1.
Vasura Jayaweera, Robert J. Sica, Giovanni Martucci, and Alexander Haefele
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1081, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1081, 2024
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Our study presents a new method, the solar background calibration method, which improves temperature determinations in rotational Raman lidar systems. By utilizing backgrounds solar radiation, this technique offers more continuous and reliable temperatures independent of external measuring instruments. This new method enhances our ability to monitor and understand atmospheric trends and their association to climate change with greater accuracy.
Ewa Agnieszka Krajny, Leszek Ośródka, and Marek Jan Wojtylak
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2451–2464, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2451-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2451-2024, 2024
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The use of sodar data to support an air quality forecasting system is encouraging.
The sodar model is a complement to forecasting methods because it is useful due to its simplicity and speed of calculations. It does not require emission data, for which it is difficult to quickly verify temporal and spatial variability.
The use of simple formulas of regression models in forecasting, while maintaining their multivariate nature, facilitates the optimisation of the prediction process.
Lei Liu, Natalia Bliankinshtein, Yi Huang, John R. Gyakum, Philip M. Gabriel, Shiqi Xu, and Mengistu Wolde
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2219–2233, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2219-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2219-2024, 2024
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We conducted a radiance closure experiment using a unique combination of two hyperspectral radiometers, one operating in the microwave and the other in the infrared. By comparing the measurements of the two hyperspectrometers to synthetic radiance simulated from collocated atmospheric profiles, we affirmed the proper performance of the two instruments and quantified their radiometric uncertainty for atmospheric sounding applications.
Kyriakoula Papachristopoulou, Ilias Fountoulakis, Alkiviadis F. Bais, Basil E. Psiloglou, Nikolaos Papadimitriou, Ioannis-Panagiotis Raptis, Andreas Kazantzidis, Charalampos Kontoes, Maria Hatzaki, and Stelios Kazadzis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1851–1877, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1851-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1851-2024, 2024
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The upgraded systems SENSE2 and NextSENSE2 focus on improving the quality of solar nowcasting and forecasting. SENSE2 provides real-time estimates of solar irradiance across a wide region every 15 min. NextSENSE2 offers short-term forecasts of irradiance up to 3 h ahead. Evaluation with actual data showed that the instantaneous comparison yields the most discrepancies due to the uncertainties of cloud-related information and satellite versus ground-based spatial representativeness limitations.
Giandomenico Pace, Alcide di Sarra, Filippo Cali Quaglia, Virginia Ciardini, Tatiana Di Iorio, Antonio Iaccarino, Daniela Meloni, Giovanni Muscari, and Claudio Scarchilli
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1617–1632, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1617-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1617-2024, 2024
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This study investigates the performances of 17 formulas to determine the clear sky longwave downward irradiance in the Arctic environment. The formulas need to be tuned to the environmental conditions of the studied region and, to date, few of them have been developed and/or tested in the Arctic. The best formulas provide biases and root mean squared errors respectively smaller than 1 and 5 W m-2. We intend to use these results to estimate the longwave cloud radiative perturbation.
Bruna Barbosa Silveira, Emma Catherine Turner, and Jérôme Vidot
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1279–1296, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1279-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1279-2024, 2024
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A fast radiative transfer model, used to speed up the full spectral simulation of meteorological satellite channels in weather forecast models, is tested using 25 000 modelled atmospheres. The differences between calculations from the fast and the high-resolution reference models are examined for nine historic weather satellite instruments. The study confirms that a reduced set of 83 atmospheric profiles is robust enough to estimate the scale of the differences obtained from the larger sample.
Simon Pfreundschuh, Clément Guilloteau, Paula J. Brown, Christian D. Kummerow, and Patrick Eriksson
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 515–538, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-515-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-515-2024, 2024
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The latest version of the GPROF retrieval algorithm that produces global precipitation estimates using observations from the Global Precipitation Measurement mission is validated against ground-based radars. The validation shows that the algorithm accurately estimates precipitation on scales ranging from continental to regional. In addition, we validate candidates for the next version of the algorithm and identify principal challenges for further improving space-borne rain measurements.
Linda Bogerd, Hidde Leijnse, Aart Overeem, and Remko Uijlenhoet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 247–259, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-247-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-247-2024, 2024
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Algorithms merge satellite radiometer data from various frequency channels, each tied to a different footprint size. We studied the uncertainty associated with sampling (over the Netherlands using 4 years of data) as precipitation is highly variable in space and time by simulating ground-based data as satellite footprints. Though sampling affects precipitation estimates, it doesn’t explain all discrepancies. Overall, uncertainties in the algorithm seem more influential than how data is sampled.
Hua Lu, Min Xie, Wei Zhao, Bojun Liu, Tijian Wang, and Bingliang Zhuang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 167–179, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-167-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-167-2024, 2024
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Observations of vertical wind in regions with complex terrain are essential, but they are always sparse and have poor representation. Data verification and quality control are conducted on the wind profile radar and Aeolus wind products in this study, trying to compensate for the limitations of wind field observations. The results shed light on the comprehensive applications of multi-source wind profile data in complicated terrain regions with sparse ground-based wind observations.
Timothy J. Wagner, Thomas August, Tim Hultberg, and Ralph A. Petersen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1–14, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1-2024, 2024
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Commercial passenger and freight aircraft need to know the temperature and pressure of the environments they fly through in order to safely operate. In this paper, we investigate how these observations can be used to evaluate and monitor the performance of satellite observations. Normally weather balloons are used for this, but in places like the United States there are many more airplane flights than weather balloon launches. This makes it much easier to compare them to satellites.
Maria Lívia L. M. Gava, Simone M. S. Costa, and Anthony C. S. Porfírio
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5429–5441, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5429-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5429-2023, 2023
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This study assesses the effectiveness of two geostationary satellite-based sunshine duration datasets over Brazil. Statistical parameters were used to evaluate the performance of the products. The results showed generally good agreement between satellite and ground observations, with some regional discrepancies. Overall, both satellite products offer reliable data for various applications, which benefit from their high spatial resolution and low time latency.
Hubert Luce, Lakshmi Kantha, and Hiroyuki Hashiguchi
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5091–5101, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5091-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5091-2023, 2023
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The potential ability of clear air radars to measure turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) dissipation rate ε in the atmosphere is a major asset of these instruments because of their continuous measurements. In the present work, we successfully tested the relevance of a model relating ε to the width of the Doppler spectrum peak and wind shear for shear-generated turbulence and we provide a physical interpretation of an empirical model in this context.
Sheila Kirkwood, Evgenia Belova, Peter Voelger, Sourav Chatterjee, and Karathazhiyath Satheesan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4215–4227, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4215-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4215-2023, 2023
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We compared 2 years of wind measurements by the Aeolus satellite with winds from two wind-profiler radars in Arctic Sweden and coastal Antarctica. Biases are similar in magnitude to results from other locations. They are smaller than in earlier studies due to more comparison points and improved criteria for data rejection. On the other hand, the standard deviation is somewhat higher because of degradation of the Aeolus lidar.
Haichen Zuo and Charlotte Bay Hasager
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3901–3913, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3901-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3901-2023, 2023
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Aeolus is a satellite equipped with a Doppler wind lidar to detect global wind profiles. This study evaluates the impact of Aeolus winds on surface wind forecasts over tropical oceans and high-latitude regions based on the ECMWF observing system experiments. We find that Aeolus can slightly improve surface wind forecasts for the region > 60° N, especially from day 5 onwards. For other study regions, the impact of Aeolus is nearly neutral or limited, which requires further investigation.
Holger Baars, Joshua Walchester, Elizaveta Basharova, Henriette Gebauer, Martin Radenz, Johannes Bühl, Boris Barja, Ulla Wandinger, and Patric Seifert
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3809–3834, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3809-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3809-2023, 2023
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In 2018, the Aeolus satellite of the European Space Agency (ESA) was launched to improve weather forecasts through global measurements of wind profiles. Given the novel lidar technique onboard, extensive validation efforts have been needed to verify the observations. For this reason, we performed long-term validation measurements in Germany and Chile. We found significant improvement in the data products due to a new algorithm version and can confirm the general validity of Aeolus observations.
Hubert Luce, Lakshmi Kantha, Hiroyuki Hashiguchi, Dale Lawrence, Abhiram Doddi, Tyler Mixa, and Masanori Yabuki
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3561–3580, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3561-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3561-2023, 2023
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Doppler radars can be used to estimate turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rates in the atmosphere. The performance of various models is evaluated from comparisons between UHF wind profiler and in situ measurements with UAVs. For the first time, we assess a model supposed to be valid for weak stratification or strong shear conditions. This model provides better agreements with in situ measurements than the classical model based on the hypothesis of a stable stratification.
Chengfeng Feng and Zhaoxia Pu
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2691–2708, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2691-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2691-2023, 2023
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This study demonstrates the positive impacts of assimilating Aeolus Mie-cloudy and Rayleigh-clear near-real-time horizontal line-of-sight winds on the analysis and forecasts of Hurricane Ida (2021) and a mesoscale convective system associated with an African easterly wave using the mesoscale community Weather Research and Forecasting model and the NCEP Gridpoint Statistical Interpolation-based three-dimensional ensemble-variational hybrid data assimilation system.
Tim Trent, Richard Siddans, Brian Kerridge, Marc Schröder, Noëlle A. Scott, and John Remedios
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1503–1526, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1503-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1503-2023, 2023
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Modern weather satellites provide essential information on our lower atmosphere's moisture content and temperature structure. This measurement record will span over 40 years, making it a valuable resource for climate studies. This study characterizes atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles from a European Space Agency climate project. Using weather balloon measurements, we demonstrated the performance of this dataset was within the tolerances required for future climate studies.
Benjamin Witschas, Christian Lemmerz, Alexander Geiß, Oliver Lux, Uwe Marksteiner, Stephan Rahm, Oliver Reitebuch, Andreas Schäfler, and Fabian Weiler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 7049–7070, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7049-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-7049-2022, 2022
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In August 2018, the first wind lidar Aeolus was launched into space and has since then been providing data of the global wind field. The primary goal of Aeolus was the improvement of numerical weather prediction. To verify the quality of Aeolus wind data, DLR performed four airborne validation campaigns with two wind lidar systems. In this paper, we report on results from the two later campaigns, performed in Iceland and the tropics.
Olivier Bock, Pierre Bosser, and Carl Mears
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5643–5665, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5643-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5643-2022, 2022
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Integrated water vapour measurements are often compared for the calibration and validation of instruments or techniques. Measurements made at different altitudes must be corrected to account for the vertical variation of water vapour. This paper shows that the widely used empirical correction model has severe limitations that are overcome using the proposed model. The method is applied to the inter-comparison of GPS and satellite microwave radiometer data in a tropical mountainous area.
Anthony J. Mannucci, Chi O. Ao, Byron A. Iijima, Thomas K. Meehan, Panagiotis Vergados, E. Robert Kursinski, and William S. Schreiner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4971–4987, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4971-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4971-2022, 2022
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The Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) technique is a satellite-based method for producing highly accurate vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and pressure. RO profiles are used to monitor global climate trends, particularly in that region of the atmosphere that includes the lower stratosphere. Two data sets spanning 1995–1997 that were produced from the first RO satellite are highly accurate and can be used to assess global atmospheric models.
Ze Chen, Yufang Tian, Yinan Wang, Yongheng Bi, Xue Wu, Juan Huo, Linjun Pan, Yong Wang, and Daren Lü
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4785–4800, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4785-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4785-2022, 2022
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Small-scale turbulence plays a vital role in the vertical exchange of heat, momentum and mass in the atmosphere. There are currently three models that can use spectrum width data of MST radar to calculate turbulence parameters. However, few studies have explored the applicability of the three calculation models. We compared and analysed the turbulence parameters calculated by three models. These results can provide a reference for the selection of models for calculating turbulence parameters.
Damao Zhang, Jennifer Comstock, and Victor Morris
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4735–4749, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4735-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4735-2022, 2022
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The planetary boundary layer is the lowest part of the atmosphere. Its structure and depth (PBLHT) significantly impact air quality, global climate, land–atmosphere interactions, and a wide range of atmospheric processes. To test the robustness of the ceilometer-estimated PBLHT under different atmospheric conditions, we compared ceilometer- and radiosonde-estimated PBLHTs using multiple years of U.S. DOE ARM measurements at various ARM observatories located around the world.
Rachel Robey and Julie K. Lundquist
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4585–4622, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4585-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4585-2022, 2022
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Our work investigates the behavior of errors in remote-sensing wind lidar measurements due to turbulence. Using a virtual instrument, we measured winds in simulated atmospheric flows and decomposed the resulting error. Dominant error mechanisms, particularly vertical velocity variations and interactions with shear, were identified in ensemble data over three test cases. By analyzing the underlying mechanisms, the response of the error behavior to further varying flow conditions may be projected.
Donato Summa, Fabio Madonna, Noemi Franco, Benedetto De Rosa, and Paolo Di Girolamo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4153–4170, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4153-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4153-2022, 2022
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The evolution of the atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH) has an important impact on meteorology. However, the complexity of the phenomena occurring within the ABL and the influence of advection and local accumulation processes often prevent an unambiguous determination of the ABLH. The paper reports results from an inter-comparison effort involving different sensors and techniques to measure the ABLH. Correlations between the ABLH and other atmospheric variables are also assessed.
Haichen Zuo, Charlotte Bay Hasager, Ioanna Karagali, Ad Stoffelen, Gert-Jan Marseille, and Jos de Kloe
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4107–4124, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4107-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4107-2022, 2022
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The Aeolus satellite was launched in 2018 for global wind profile measurement. After successful operation, the error characteristics of Aeolus wind products have not yet been studied over Australia. To complement earlier validation studies, we evaluated the Aeolus Level-2B11 wind product over Australia with ground-based wind profiling radar measurements and numerical weather prediction model equivalents. The results show that the Aeolus can detect winds with sufficient accuracy over Australia.
Carmen González, José M. Vilaplana, José A. Bogeat, and Antonio Serrano
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4125–4133, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4125-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4125-2022, 2022
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Monitoring ultraviolet (UV) radiation is important since it can have harmful effects on the biosphere. Array spectroradiometers are increasingly used to measure UV as they are more versatile than scanning spectroradiometers. In this study, the long-term performance of the BTS-2048-UV-S-WP array spectroradiometer was assessed. The results show that the BTS can reliably measure both the UV index and UV radiation in the 300–360 nm range. Moreover, the BTS was stable and showed no seasonal behavior.
Charlotte Rahlves, Frank Beyrich, and Siegfried Raasch
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2839–2856, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2839-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2839-2022, 2022
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Lidars can measure the wind profile in the lower part of the atmosphere, provided that the wind field is horizontally uniform and does not change during the time of the measurement. These requirements are mostly not fulfilled in reality, and the lidar wind measurement will thus hold a certain error. We investigate different strategies for lidar wind profiling using a lidar simulator implemented in a numerical simulation of the wind field. Our findings can help to improve wind measurements.
Katherine E. Lukens, Kayo Ide, Kevin Garrett, Hui Liu, David Santek, Brett Hoover, and Ross N. Hoffman
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2719–2743, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2719-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2719-2022, 2022
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Winds that are crucial to weather forecasting derived from two different techniques – tracking satellite images (AMVs) and direct measurement of molecular and aerosol motions by Doppler lidar (Aeolus satellite winds) – are compared. We find that AMVs and Aeolus winds are highly correlated. Aeolus Mie-cloudy winds have great potential value as a comparison standard for AMVs. Larger differences are found in the Southern Hemisphere related to higher wind speed and higher vertical variation in wind.
Marijn Floris van Dooren, Anantha Padmanabhan Kidambi Sekar, Lars Neuhaus, Torben Mikkelsen, Michael Hölling, and Martin Kühn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1355–1372, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1355-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1355-2022, 2022
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The remote sensing technique lidar is widely used for wind speed measurements for both industrial and academic applications. Lidars can measure wind statistics accurately but cannot fully capture turbulent fluctuations in the high-frequency range, since they are partly filtered out. This paper therefore investigates the turbulence spectrum measured by a continuous-wave lidar and analytically models the lidar's measured spectrum with a Lorentzian filter function and a white noise term.
Alain Protat, Valentin Louf, Joshua Soderholm, Jordan Brook, and William Ponsonby
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 915–926, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-915-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-915-2022, 2022
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This study uses collocated ship-based, ground-based, and spaceborne radar observations to validate the concept of using the GPM spaceborne radar observations to calibrate national weather radar networks to the accuracy required for operational severe weather applications such as rainfall and hail nowcasting.
Wagner Wolff, Aart Overeem, Hidde Leijnse, and Remko Uijlenhoet
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 485–502, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-485-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-485-2022, 2022
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The existing infrastructure for cellular communication is promising for ground-based rainfall remote sensing. Rain-induced signal attenuation is used in dedicated algorithms for retrieving rainfall depth along commercial microwave links (CMLs) between cell phone towers. This processing is a source of many uncertainties about input data, algorithm structures, parameters, CML network, and local climate. Application of a stochastic optimization method leads to improved CML rainfall estimates.
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Short summary
Atmospheric observations from GPS receiver satellites offer uniform spatial coverage over the Arctic. The GPS profiles sensing deep into the lowest 300 m of the atmosphere only reach 50–60 % in summer but over 70 % in other seasons. The profile uncertainty due to different data centers is within 0.07 % in refractivity, 0.72 K in temperature, and 0.05 g kg-1 in humidity below 10 km. A systematic negative bias of 1 % in refractivity below 2 km is only seen in the summer due to moisture impact.
Atmospheric observations from GPS receiver satellites offer uniform spatial coverage over the...
