Articles | Volume 16, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2795-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2795-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
06 Jun 2023
Research article |
| 06 Jun 2023
| 06 Jun 2023
The classification of atmospheric hydrometeors and aerosols from the EarthCARE radar and lidar: the A-TC, C-TC and AC-TC products
Abdanour Irbah
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Laboratoire Atmosphére, Milieux et Observations Spatiales, Guyancourt, France
Julien Delanoë
Laboratoire Atmosphére, Milieux et Observations Spatiales, Guyancourt, France
Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
David P. Donovan
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, the Netherlands
Pavlos Kollias
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Shannon Mason
European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts, Reading, UK
National Centre for Earth Observation, University of Reading, Reading, UK
Robin J. Hogan
European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts, Reading, UK
Aleksandra Tatarevic
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
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Susmitha Sasikumar, Alessandro Battaglia, Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras, and Pavlos Kollias
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3573, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3573, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
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The study present a method to estimate how much the radar signal is weakened as it passes through rain or clouds, designed to implement in the new EarthCARE satellite cloud profiling radar data. The approach builds on the method used in the CloudSat mission, with key improvements that make it robust under non-ideal instrument conditions in the early mission phase. This leads to more reliable retrieval of clouds and rainfall during initial satellite operations.
Paolo Andreozzi, Mark D. Fielding, Robin J. Hogan, Richard M. Forbes, Samuel Rémy, Birger Bohn, and Ulrich Löhnert
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3790, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-3790, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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Aerosols significantly contribute to the Earth’s climate, but models still struggle at representing them. Here we use satellite observations of clouds to improve aerosols in our weather and air-quality model. We show that African wildfires induce too bright simulated clouds and that our model removes too much aerosol from ice-containing clouds. This showcases how our approach effectively targets poorly observed aerosol processes, potentially informing weather forecasting and climate models.
Guillaume Feger, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, Thibaut Dauhut, Julien Delanoë, and Pierre Coutris
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7447–7465, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7447-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7447-2025, 2025
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Saharan air at the trade wind layer, cold pools, and dry upper troposphere has these three main factors inhibiting the cyclogenesis of the Pierre Henri mesoscale convective system. The findings were obtained through observations made during two flights of the Clouds-Atmospheric Dynamics-Dust Interactions in West Africa (CADDIWA) campaign and a convection-permitting simulation run with the Meso-NH model. They provide new insights into the complex dynamics of cyclogenesis in the Cabo Verde region and challenge the existing model of the Saharan Air Layer (SAL).
Howard W. Barker, Jason N. S. Cole, Najda Villefranque, Zhipeng Qu, Almudena Velázquez Blázquez, Carlos Domenech, Shannon L. Mason, and Robin J. Hogan
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 3095–3107, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3095-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3095-2025, 2025
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Measurements made by three instruments aboard EarthCARE are used to retrieve estimates of cloud and aerosol properties. A radiative closure assessment of these retrievals is performed by the ACMB-DF processor. Radiative transfer models acting on retrieved information produce broadband radiances commensurate with measurements made by EarthCARE’s broadband radiometer. Measured and modelled radiances for small domains are compared, and the likelihood of them differing by 10 W m2 defines the closure.
Victor J. H. Trees, Ping Wang, Job I. Wiltink, Piet Stammes, Daphne M. Stam, David P. Donovan, and A. Pier Siebesma
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2197, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2197, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
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We present MONKI (Monte Carlo KNMI), an efficient and accurate radiative transfer code written in Fortran. MONKI computes total and polarised radiances reflected and transmitted by planetary atmospheres, accounting for polarisation in all scattering orders. MONKI handles both homogeneous atmospheres and 3D cloud structures. MONKI has been validated, and produces reliable results even for planets with optically thick, strongly polarising atmospheres.
Aymeric Dziduch, Guillaume Mioche, Quentin Coopman, Clément Bazantay, Julien Delanoë, and Olivier Jourdan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2698, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2698, 2025
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Low-level clouds play a central role in the Arctic climate, modulating the surface energy budget with competing warming and cooling effects. In this study, radar-lidar satellite products are used to investigate the geographical and seasonal variations of different cloud types observed over eight years. Oceanic regions are characterized by high occurrences of low-level mixed-phase clouds, which are influenced by atmospheric stability conditions, surface temperatures and cold air outbreaks.
Théophane Costabloz, Frédéric Burnet, Christine Lac, Pauline Martinet, Julien Delanoë, Susana Jorquera, and Maroua Fathalli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6539–6573, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6539-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6539-2025, 2025
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This study documents vertical profiles of liquid water content (LWC) in fogs from in situ measurements collected during the SOFOG3D field campaign in 2019–2020. The analysis of 140 vertical profiles reveals a reverse trend in LWC, maximum values at ground decreasing with height, during stable conditions in optically thin fogs, evolving towards quasi-adiabatic characteristics when fogs become thick. These results offer new perspectives for better constraining fog numerical simulations.
Sandrine Bony, Basile Poujol, Brett McKim, Nicolas Rochetin, Marie Lothon, Julia Windmiller, Nicolas Maury, Clarisse Dufaux, Louis Jaffeux, Patrick Chazette, and Julien Delanoë
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2839, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2839, 2025
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Space photographs of the Earth show that clouds form diverse, common but poorly understood cloud patterns. The analysis of observations gathered from research aircraft over the tropical ocean shows that the merging of thermals and clouds in the first kilometer of the atmosphere plays a key role in controlling the size, depth and spacing of clouds. This reveals a fundamental process through which clouds interact with each other and with their environment.
Zackary Mages, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras, Paloma Borque, and Mariko Oue
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6025–6045, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6025-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6025-2025, 2025
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Convective clouds are a key component of the climate system. Using remote sensing observations during two field experiments in Houston, Texas, we identify four diurnal patterns of shallow convective clouds. We find areas more frequently experiencing shallow convective clouds, and we find areas where the vertical extent of shallow convective clouds is higher and where they are more likely to precipitate. This provides insight into the complicated environment that forms these clouds in Houston.
Jiseob Kim, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras, Alessandro Battaglia, and Ivy Tan
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2697, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2697, 2025
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The EarthCARE satellite’s Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) can now measure how fast particles fall within clouds from space. In this study, we compared these new satellite measurements with ground-based radar data and found that, after proper corrections, the CPR gives reliable results, especially in ice clouds. This means scientists can confidently use EarthCARE data to better understand clouds and improve weather and climate predictions.
Martin de Graaf, Maarten Sneep, Mark ter Linden, L. Gijsbert Tilstra, David P. Donovan, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, and J. Pepijn Veefkind
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2553–2571, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2553-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2553-2025, 2025
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The aerosol layer height (ALH) from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) has been constantly improved since its release in 2019. Over bright surfaces, fitting the albedo improved the retrieval, as shown for a set of situations, ranging from multiple layers of smoke to thick desert dust plumes and low-altitude industrial pollution. The latest results of the operational ALH are compared to profiles from the ATmospheric LIDar (ATLID) on board the recently launched EarthCARE mission.
Francesco Manconi, Alessandro Battaglia, and Pavlos Kollias
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2295–2310, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2295-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2295-2025, 2025
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The paper aims to study the ground reflection, or clutter, of the signal from a spaceborne radar in the context of ESA's WIVERN (WInd VElocity Radar Nephoscop) mission, which will observe in-cloud winds. Using topography and land type data, with a model of the satellite orbit and rotating antenna, simulations of scans have been run over the Piedmont region of Italy. These measurements cover the full range of the ground clutter over land for WIVERN and have allowed for analyses of the precision and accuracy of velocity observations.
Jialin Yan, Mariko Oue, Pavlos Kollias, Edward Luke, and Fan Yang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2149, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2149, 2025
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In this study, we analyzed over six years of ground-based radar and weather balloon data collected in northern Alaska. We found that ice particle changes depend strongly on temperature, humidity conditions and turbulence. We also found that turbulence and the presence of supercooled liquid water often occur together, and when they do, ice particle growth is especially strong. These findings help scientists to improve weather models.
Aida Galfione, Alessandro Battaglia, Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras, and Pavlos Kollias
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1914, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1914, 2025
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Convection drives atmospheric circulation but is difficult to observe and model. EarthCARE's radar provides the first space-based vertical wind data, capturing updrafts and downdrafts. Combined with satellite imagery from other sensors, it offers a broader view of convective storms. While resolution limits detail, cloud-top cooling helps track storm development. This combined approach improves understanding and modeling of convection.
Peristera Paschou, Nikolaos Siomos, Eleni Marinou, Antonis Gkikas, Samira Moussa Idrissa, Daniel Tetteh Quaye, Désire Degbe Fiogbe Attannon, Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri, Charikleia Meleti, David Patric Donovan, George Georgoussis, Tommaso Parrinello, Thorsten Fehr, Jonas von Bismarck, and Vassilis Amiridis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1152, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1152, 2025
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This study presents the results from a validation study on the Level 2A products (aerosol optical properties) of the European Space Agency’s Aeolus mission. Measurements from the eVe lidar, a combined linear/circular polarization and Raman lidar and ESA’s ground reference system, that have been collected during the ASKOS/JATAC campaign are compared with collocated Aeolus Level 2A profiles obtained from the latest version (Baseline 16) of the available SCA, MLE, and AEL-PRO Aeolus algorithms.
Konstantinos Rizos, Emmanouil Proestakis, Thanasis Georgiou, Antonis Gkikas, Eleni Marinou, Peristera Paschou, Kalliopi Artemis Voudouri, Athanasios Tsikerdekis, David Donovan, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, Angela Benedetti, Holger Baars, Athena Augusta Floutsi, Nikos Benas, Martin Stengel, Christian Retscher, Edward Malina, and Vassilis Amiridis
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1175, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1175, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Measurement Techniques (AMT).
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The Aeolus satellite's lidar system had limitations in detecting certain atmospheric layers and distinguishing between aerosol and cloud types. To improve accuracy, a new dust detection product was developed. By combining data from various sources and validating it with ground-based measurements, this enhanced product performs better than the original. It helps improve dust transport models and weather predictions, making it a valuable tool for atmospheric monitoring and forecasting.
Jean-François Grailet, Robin J. Hogan, Nicolas Ghilain, David Bolsée, Xavier Fettweis, and Marilaure Grégoire
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 1965–1988, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-1965-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-1965-2025, 2025
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The MAR (Modèle Régional Atmosphérique) is a regional climate model used for weather forecasting and studying the climate over various regions. This paper presents an update of MAR thanks to which it can precisely decompose solar radiation, in particular in the UV (ultraviolet) and photosynthesis ranges, both being critical to human health and ecosystems. As a first application of this new capability, this paper presents a method for predicting UV indices with MAR.
Nitika Yadlapalli Yurk, Matthew Lebsock, Juan Socuellamos, Raquel Rodriguez Monje, Ken Cooper, and Pavlos Kollias
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-618, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-618, 2025
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Current knowledge of the link between clouds and climate is limited by lack of observations of the drop size distribution (DSD) within clouds, especially for the smallest drops. We demonstrate a method of retrieving DSDs down to small drop sizes using observations of drizzling marine layer clouds captured by the CloudCube millimeter-wave Doppler radar. We compare the shape of the observed spectra to theoretical expectations of radar echoes to solve for DSDs at each time and elevation.
Sarah Wugofski, Matthew R. Kumjian, Mariko Oue, and Pavlos Kollias
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-671, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-671, 2025
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Doppler spectral data inform on how particles of varying vertical velocities contribute to total backscattered power observed. Through examining three case studies, consistent features in radar moment data were found to be characteristic of multi-modal spectra. We quantified how spectrum width and mean Doppler velocity can be used to determine whether or not a layer is multi-modal. The identification criteria and methods are described in Part 1 and assessed in Part 2.
Marco Coppola, Alessandro Battaglia, Frederic Tridon, and Pavlos Kollias
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-416, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-416, 2025
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The WIVERN conically scanning Doppler W-band radar, has the potential, for the first time, to map the mesoscale and synoptic variability of cloud dynamics, and precipitation microphysics. This study shows that the oblique angle of incidence will be advantageous compared to standard nadir-looking radars due to substantial clutter suppression over ocean surface. This feature will enable the detection and quantification of light and moderate precipitation, with improved proximity to the surface.
Robert Schoetter, Robin James Hogan, Cyril Caliot, and Valéry Masson
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 405–431, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-405-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-405-2025, 2025
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Radiation is relevant to the atmospheric impact on people and infrastructure in cities as it can influence the urban heat island, building energy consumption, and human thermal comfort. A new urban radiation model, assuming a more realistic form of urban morphology, is coupled to the urban climate model Town Energy Balance (TEB). The new TEB is evaluated with a reference radiation model for a variety of urban morphologies, and an improvement in the simulated radiative observables is found.
Lukas Pfitzenmaier, Pavlos Kollias, Nils Risse, Imke Schirmacher, Bernat Puigdomenech Treserras, and Katia Lamer
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 101–115, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-101-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-101-2025, 2025
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The Python tool Orbital-Radar transfers suborbital radar data (ground-based, airborne, and forward-simulated numerical weather prediction model) into synthetic spaceborne cloud profiling radar data, mimicking platform-specific instrument characteristics, e.g. EarthCARE or CloudSat. The tool's novelty lies in simulating characteristic errors and instrument noise. Thus, existing data sets are transferred into synthetic observations and can be used for satellite calibration–validation studies.
Victor J. H. Trees, Ping Wang, Piet Stammes, Lieuwe G. Tilstra, David P. Donovan, and A. Pier Siebesma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 73–91, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-73-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-73-2025, 2025
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Our study investigates the impact of cloud shadows on satellite-based aerosol index measurements over Europe by TROPOMI. Using a cloud shadow detection algorithm and simulations, we found that the overall effect on the aerosol index is minimal. Interestingly, we found that cloud shadows are significantly bluer than their shadow-free surroundings, but the traditional algorithm already (partly) automatically corrects for this increased blueness.
Lev D. Labzovskii, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, David P. Donovan, Jos de Kloe, L. Gijsbert Tilstra, Ad Stoffelen, Damien Josset, and Piet Stammes
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 7183–7208, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7183-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-7183-2024, 2024
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The Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument (ALADIN) on the Aeolus satellite was the first of its kind to measure high-resolution vertical profiles of aerosols and cloud properties from space. We present an algorithm that produces Aeolus lidar surface returns (LSRs), containing useful information for measuring UV reflectivity. Aeolus LSRs matched well with existing UV reflectivity data from other satellites, like GOME-2 and TROPOMI, and demonstrated excellent sensitivity to modeled snow cover.
Juan M. Socuellamos, Raquel Rodriguez Monje, Matthew D. Lebsock, Ken B. Cooper, and Pavlos Kollias
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6965–6981, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6965-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6965-2024, 2024
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This article presents a novel technique to estimate liquid water content (LWC) profiles in shallow warm clouds using a pair of collocated Ka-band (35 GHz) and G-band (239 GHz) radars. We demonstrate that the use of a G-band radar allows retrieving the LWC with 3 times better accuracy than previous works reported in the literature, providing improved ability to understand the vertical profile of LWC and characterize microphysical and dynamical processes more precisely in shallow clouds.
Kaah P. Menang, Stefan A. Buehler, Lukas Kluft, Robin J. Hogan, and Florian E. Roemer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3051, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3051, 2024
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We investigated how the uncertainty in representing water vapour continuum absorption in the shortwave affects clear-sky shortwave radiative feedback. For current surface temperature, the impact is modest (<2 %). In a warmer world, continuum induced error in estimated shortwave feedback is up to ~5 %. Using the MT_CKD model in radiative transfer calculations may lead to an underestimation of the shortwave feedback. Constraining shortwave continuum will contribute to reducing these discrepancies.
Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras and Pavlos Kollias
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 6301–6314, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6301-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-6301-2024, 2024
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The paper presents a comprehensive approach to improve the geolocation accuracy of spaceborne radar and lidar systems, crucial for the successful interpretation of data from the upcoming EarthCARE mission. The paper details the technical background of the presented methods and various examples of geolocation analyses, including a short period of CloudSat observations when the star tracker was not operating properly and lifetime statistics from the CloudSat and CALIPSO missions.
Ping Wang, David Patrick Donovan, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, Jos de Kloe, Dorit Huber, and Katja Reissig
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5935–5955, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5935-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5935-2024, 2024
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We describe the new feature mask (AEL-FM) and aerosol profile retrieval (AEL-PRO) algorithms developed for Aeolus lidar and present the evaluation of the Aeolus products using CALIPSO data for dust aerosols over Africa. We have found that Aeolus and CALIPSO show similar aerosol patterns in the collocated orbits and have good agreement for the extinction coefficients for the dust aerosols, especially for the cloud-free scenes. The finding is applicable to Aeolus L2A product Baseline 17.
David Patrick Donovan, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, and Ping Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 5301–5340, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5301-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-5301-2024, 2024
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ATLID (atmospheric lidar) is the lidar to be flown on the Earth Clouds and Radiation Explorer satellite (EarthCARE). EarthCARE is a joint European–Japanese satellite mission that was launched in May 2024. ATLID is an advanced lidar optimized for cloud and aerosol property profile measurements. This paper describes some of the key novel algorithms being applied to this lidar to retrieve cloud and aerosol properties. Example results based on simulated data are presented and discussed.
Manfred Wendisch, Susanne Crewell, André Ehrlich, Andreas Herber, Benjamin Kirbus, Christof Lüpkes, Mario Mech, Steven J. Abel, Elisa F. Akansu, Felix Ament, Clémantyne Aubry, Sebastian Becker, Stephan Borrmann, Heiko Bozem, Marlen Brückner, Hans-Christian Clemen, Sandro Dahlke, Georgios Dekoutsidis, Julien Delanoë, Elena De La Torre Castro, Henning Dorff, Regis Dupuy, Oliver Eppers, Florian Ewald, Geet George, Irina V. Gorodetskaya, Sarah Grawe, Silke Groß, Jörg Hartmann, Silvia Henning, Lutz Hirsch, Evelyn Jäkel, Philipp Joppe, Olivier Jourdan, Zsofia Jurányi, Michail Karalis, Mona Kellermann, Marcus Klingebiel, Michael Lonardi, Johannes Lucke, Anna E. Luebke, Maximilian Maahn, Nina Maherndl, Marion Maturilli, Bernhard Mayer, Johanna Mayer, Stephan Mertes, Janosch Michaelis, Michel Michalkov, Guillaume Mioche, Manuel Moser, Hanno Müller, Roel Neggers, Davide Ori, Daria Paul, Fiona M. Paulus, Christian Pilz, Felix Pithan, Mira Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Maximilian Ringel, Nils Risse, Gregory C. Roberts, Sophie Rosenburg, Johannes Röttenbacher, Janna Rückert, Michael Schäfer, Jonas Schaefer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Jörg Schmidt, Sebastian Schmidt, Johannes Schneider, Sabrina Schnitt, Anja Schwarz, Holger Siebert, Harald Sodemann, Tim Sperzel, Gunnar Spreen, Bjorn Stevens, Frank Stratmann, Gunilla Svensson, Christian Tatzelt, Thomas Tuch, Timo Vihma, Christiane Voigt, Lea Volkmer, Andreas Walbröl, Anna Weber, Birgit Wehner, Bruno Wetzel, Martin Wirth, and Tobias Zinner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8865–8892, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8865-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8865-2024, 2024
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The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe. Warm-air intrusions (WAIs) into the Arctic may play an important role in explaining this phenomenon. Cold-air outbreaks (CAOs) out of the Arctic may link the Arctic climate changes to mid-latitude weather. In our article, we describe how to observe air mass transformations during CAOs and WAIs using three research aircraft instrumented with state-of-the-art remote-sensing and in situ measurement devices.
Johannes Röttenbacher, André Ehrlich, Hanno Müller, Florian Ewald, Anna E. Luebke, Benjamin Kirbus, Robin J. Hogan, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8085–8104, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8085-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8085-2024, 2024
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Weather prediction models simplify the physical processes related to light scattering by clouds consisting of complex ice crystals. Whether these simplifications are the cause for uncertainties in their prediction can be evaluated by comparing them with measurement data. Here we do this for Arctic ice clouds over sea ice using airborne measurements from two case studies. The model performs well for thick ice clouds but not so well for thin ones. This work can be used to improve the model.
Clémantyne Aubry, Julien Delanoë, Silke Groß, Florian Ewald, Frédéric Tridon, Olivier Jourdan, and Guillaume Mioche
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3863–3881, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3863-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3863-2024, 2024
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Radar–lidar synergy is used to retrieve ice, supercooled water and mixed-phase cloud properties, making the most of the radar sensitivity to ice crystals and the lidar sensitivity to supercooled droplets. A first analysis of the output of the algorithm run on the satellite data is compared with in situ data during an airborne Arctic field campaign, giving a mean percent error of 49 % for liquid water content and 75 % for ice water content.
Karina McCusker, Anthony J. Baran, Chris Westbrook, Stuart Fox, Patrick Eriksson, Richard Cotton, Julien Delanoë, and Florian Ewald
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3533–3552, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3533-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3533-2024, 2024
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Polarised radiative transfer simulations are performed using an atmospheric model based on in situ measurements. These are compared to large polarisation measurements to explore whether such measurements can provide information on cloud ice, e.g. particle shape and orientation. We find that using oriented particle models with shapes based on imagery generally allows for accurate simulations. However, results are sensitive to shape assumptions such as the choice of single crystals or aggregates.
Robin J. Hogan, Anthony J. Illingworth, Pavlos Kollias, Hajime Okamoto, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3081–3083, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3081-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3081-2024, 2024
Kristofer S. Tuftedal, Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras, Mariko Oue, and Pavlos Kollias
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5637–5657, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5637-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5637-2024, 2024
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This study analyzed coastal convective cells from June through September 2018–2021. The cells were classified and their lifecycles were analyzed to better understand their characteristics. Features such as convective-core growth, for example, are shown. The study found differences in the initiation location of shallow convection and in the aerosol loading in deep convective environments. This work provides a foundation for future analyses of convection or other tracked events elsewhere.
Nicole Docter, Anja Hünerbein, David P. Donovan, Rene Preusker, Jürgen Fischer, Jan Fokke Meirink, Piet Stammes, and Michael Eisinger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 2507–2519, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2507-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-2507-2024, 2024
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MSI is the imaging spectrometer on board EarthCARE and will provide across-track information on clouds and aerosol properties. The MSI solar channels exhibit a spectral misalignment effect (SMILE) in the measurements. This paper describes and evaluates how the SMILE will affect the cloud and aerosol retrievals that do not account for it.
Hanno Müller, André Ehrlich, Evelyn Jäkel, Johannes Röttenbacher, Benjamin Kirbus, Michael Schäfer, Robin J. Hogan, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4157–4175, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4157-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4157-2024, 2024
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A weather model is used to compare solar radiation with measurements from an aircraft campaign in the Arctic. Model and observations agree on the downward radiation but show differences in the radiation reflected by the surface and the clouds, which in the model is too low above sea ice and too high above open ocean. The model–observation bias is reduced above open ocean by a realistic fraction of clouds and less cloud liquid water and above sea ice by less dark sea ice and more cloud droplets.
Zeen Zhu, Fan Yang, Pavlos Kollias, Raymond A. Shaw, Alex B. Kostinski, Steve Krueger, Katia Lamer, Nithin Allwayin, and Mariko Oue
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 1133–1143, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1133-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-1133-2024, 2024
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In this article, we demonstrate the feasibility of applying advanced radar technology to detect liquid droplets generated in the cloud chamber. Specifically, we show that using radar with centimeter-scale resolution, single drizzle drops with a diameter larger than 40 µm can be detected. This study demonstrates the applicability of remote sensing instruments in laboratory experiments and suggests new applications of ultrahigh-resolution radar for atmospheric sensing.
Shannon L. Mason, Howard W. Barker, Jason N. S. Cole, Nicole Docter, David P. Donovan, Robin J. Hogan, Anja Hünerbein, Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puigdomènech Treserras, Zhipeng Qu, Ulla Wandinger, and Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 875–898, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-875-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-875-2024, 2024
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When the EarthCARE mission enters its operational phase, many retrieval data products will be available, which will overlap both in terms of the measurements they use and the geophysical quantities they report. In this pre-launch study, we use simulated EarthCARE scenes to compare the coverage and performance of many data products from the European Space Agency production model, with the intention of better understanding the relation between products and providing a compact guide to users.
Anja Hünerbein, Sebastian Bley, Hartwig Deneke, Jan Fokke Meirink, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, and Andi Walther
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 261–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-261-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-261-2024, 2024
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The ESA cloud, aerosol and radiation mission EarthCARE will provide active profiling and passive imaging measurements from a single satellite platform. The passive multi-spectral imager (MSI) will add information in the across-track direction. We present the cloud optical and physical properties algorithm, which combines the visible to infrared MSI channels to determine the cloud top pressure, optical thickness, particle size and water path.
Cheikh Dione, Martial Haeffelin, Frédéric Burnet, Christine Lac, Guylaine Canut, Julien Delanoë, Jean-Charles Dupont, Susana Jorquera, Pauline Martinet, Jean-François Ribaud, and Felipe Toledo
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15711–15731, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15711-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15711-2023, 2023
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This paper documents the role of thermodynamics and turbulence in the fog life cycle over southwestern France. It is based on a unique dataset collected during the SOFOG3D field campaign in autumn and winter 2019–2020. The paper gives a threshold for turbulence driving the different phases of the fog life cycle and the role of advection in the night-time dissipation of fog. The results can be operationalised to nowcast fog and improve short-range forecasts in numerical weather prediction models.
Moritz Haarig, Anja Hünerbein, Ulla Wandinger, Nicole Docter, Sebastian Bley, David Donovan, and Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5953–5975, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5953-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5953-2023, 2023
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The atmospheric lidar (ATLID) and Multi-Spectral Imager (MSI) will be carried by the EarthCARE satellite. The synergistic ATLID–MSI Column Products (AM-COL) algorithm described in the paper combines the strengths of ATLID in vertically resolved profiles of aerosol and clouds (e.g., cloud top height) with the strengths of MSI in observing the complete scene beside the satellite track and in extending the lidar information to the swath. The algorithm is validated against simulated test scenes.
Leonie Villiger, Marina Dütsch, Sandrine Bony, Marie Lothon, Stephan Pfahl, Heini Wernli, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Patrick Chazette, Pierre Coutris, Julien Delanoë, Cyrille Flamant, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Martin Werner, and Franziska Aemisegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14643–14672, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14643-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14643-2023, 2023
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This study evaluates three numerical simulations performed with an isotope-enabled weather forecast model and investigates the coupling between shallow trade-wind cumulus clouds and atmospheric circulations on different scales. We show that the simulations reproduce key characteristics of shallow trade-wind clouds as observed during the field experiment EUREC4A and that the spatial distribution of stable-water-vapour isotopes is shaped by the overturning circulation associated with these clouds.
David P. Donovan, Pavlos Kollias, Almudena Velázquez Blázquez, and Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5327–5356, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5327-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5327-2023, 2023
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The Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer mission (EarthCARE) is a multi-instrument cloud–aerosol–radiation-oriented satellite for climate and weather applications. For this satellite mission to be successful, the development and implementation of new techniques for turning the measured raw signals into useful data is required. This paper describes how atmospheric model data were used as the basis for creating realistic high-resolution simulated data sets to facilitate this process.
Zhipeng Qu, David P. Donovan, Howard W. Barker, Jason N. S. Cole, Mark W. Shephard, and Vincent Huijnen
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4927–4946, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4927-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4927-2023, 2023
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The EarthCARE satellite mission Level 2 algorithm development requires realistic 3D cloud and aerosol scenes along the satellite orbits. One of the best ways to produce these scenes is to use a high-resolution numerical weather prediction model to simulate atmospheric conditions at 250 m horizontal resolution. This paper describes the production and validation of three EarthCARE test scenes.
Megan A. Stretton, William Morrison, Robin J. Hogan, and Sue Grimmond
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 5931–5947, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5931-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5931-2023, 2023
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Cities' materials and forms impact radiative fluxes. We evaluate the SPARTACUS-Urban multi-layer approach to modelling longwave radiation, describing realistic 3D geometry statistically using the explicit DART (Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer) model. The temperature configurations used are derived from thermal camera observations. SPARTACUS-Urban accurately predicts longwave fluxes, with a low computational time (cf. DART), but has larger errors with sunlit/shaded surface temperatures.
Imke Schirmacher, Pavlos Kollias, Katia Lamer, Mario Mech, Lukas Pfitzenmaier, Manfred Wendisch, and Susanne Crewell
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4081–4100, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4081-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4081-2023, 2023
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CloudSat’s relatively coarse spatial resolution, low sensitivity, and blind zone limit its assessment of Arctic low-level clouds, which affect the surface energy balance. We compare cloud fractions from CloudSat and finely resolved airborne radar observations to determine CloudSat’s limitations. Cloudsat overestimates cloud fractions above its blind zone, especially during cold-air outbreaks over open water, and misses a cloud fraction of 32 % and half of the precipitation inside its blind zone.
Ulla Wandinger, Moritz Haarig, Holger Baars, David Donovan, and Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 4031–4052, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4031-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-4031-2023, 2023
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We introduce the algorithms that have been developed to derive cloud top height and aerosol layer products from observations with the Atmospheric Lidar (ATLID) onboard the Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE). The products provide information on the uppermost cloud and geometrical and optical properties of aerosol layers in an atmospheric column. They can be used individually but also serve as input for algorithms that combine observations with EarthCARE’s lidar and imager.
Zeen Zhu, Pavlos Kollias, and Fan Yang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3727–3737, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3727-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3727-2023, 2023
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We show that large rain droplets, with large inertia, are unable to follow the rapid change of velocity field in a turbulent environment. A lack of consideration for this inertial effect leads to an artificial broadening of the Doppler spectrum from the conventional simulator. Based on the physics-based simulation, we propose a new approach to generate the radar Doppler spectra. This simulator provides a valuable tool to decode cloud microphysical and dynamical properties from radar observation.
Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, David P. Donovan, and Ping Wang
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3631–3651, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3631-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3631-2023, 2023
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The Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation (EarthCARE) satellite mission features the UV lidar ATLID. The ATLID FeatureMask algorithm provides a high-resolution detection probability mask which is used to guide smoothing strategies within the ATLID profile retrieval algorithm, one step further in the EarthCARE level-2 processing chain, in which the microphysical retrievals and target classification are performed.
Shannon L. Mason, Robin J. Hogan, Alessio Bozzo, and Nicola L. Pounder
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 3459–3486, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3459-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3459-2023, 2023
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We present a method for accurately estimating the contents and properties of clouds, snow, rain, and aerosols through the atmosphere, using the combined measurements of the radar, lidar, and radiometer instruments aboard the upcoming EarthCARE satellite, and evaluate the performance of the retrieval, using test scenes simulated from a numerical forecast model. When EarthCARE is in operation, these quantities and their estimated uncertainties will be distributed in a data product called ACM-CAP.
Peter Ukkonen and Robin J. Hogan
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 3241–3261, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-3241-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-3241-2023, 2023
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Climate and weather models suffer from uncertainties resulting from approximated processes. Solar and thermal radiation is one example, as it is computationally too costly to simulate precisely. This has led to attempts to replace radiation codes based on physical equations with neural networks (NNs) that are faster but uncertain. In this paper we use global weather simulations to demonstrate that a middle-ground approach of using NNs only to predict optical properties is accurate and reliable.
Kamil Mroz, Bernat Puidgomènech Treserras, Alessandro Battaglia, Pavlos Kollias, Aleksandra Tatarevic, and Frederic Tridon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2865–2888, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2865-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2865-2023, 2023
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We present the theoretical basis of the algorithm that estimates the amount of water and size of particles in clouds and precipitation. The algorithm uses data collected by the Cloud Profiling Radar that was developed for the upcoming Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE) satellite mission. After the satellite launch, the vertical distribution of cloud and precipitation properties will be delivered as the C-CLD product.
Ulla Wandinger, Athena Augusta Floutsi, Holger Baars, Moritz Haarig, Albert Ansmann, Anja Hünerbein, Nicole Docter, David Donovan, Gerd-Jan van Zadelhoff, Shannon Mason, and Jason Cole
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2485–2510, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2485-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2485-2023, 2023
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We introduce an aerosol classification model that has been developed for the Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation Explorer (EarthCARE). The model provides a consistent description of microphysical, optical, and radiative properties of common aerosol types such as dust, sea salt, pollution, and smoke. It is used for aerosol classification and assessment of radiation effects based on the synergy of active and passive observations with lidar, imager, and radiometer of the multi-instrument platform.
Martin de Graaf, Karolina Sarna, Jessica Brown, Elma V. Tenner, Manon Schenkels, and David P. Donovan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5373–5391, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5373-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5373-2023, 2023
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Clouds over the oceans reflect sunlight and cool the earth. Simultaneous measurements were performed of cloud droplet sizes and smoke particles in and near the cloud base over Ascension Island, a remote island in the Atlantic Ocean, to determine the sensitivity of cloud droplets to smoke from the African continent. The smoke was found to reduce cloud droplet sizes, which makes the cloud droplets more susceptible to evaporation, reducing cloud lifetime.
Pavlos Kollias, Bernat Puidgomènech Treserras, Alessandro Battaglia, Paloma C. Borque, and Aleksandra Tatarevic
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1901–1914, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1901-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1901-2023, 2023
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The Earth Clouds, Aerosols and Radiation (EarthCARE) satellite mission developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) features the first spaceborne 94 GHz Doppler cloud-profiling radar (CPR) with Doppler capability. Here, we describe the post-processing algorithms that apply quality control and corrections to CPR measurements and derive key geophysical variables such as hydrometeor locations and best estimates of particle sedimentation fall velocities.
Zackary Mages, Pavlos Kollias, Zeen Zhu, and Edward P. Luke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 3561–3574, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3561-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3561-2023, 2023
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Cold-air outbreaks (when cold air is advected over warm water and creates low-level convection) are a dominant cloud regime in the Arctic, and we capitalized on ground-based observations, which did not previously exist, from the COMBLE field campaign to study them. We characterized the extent and strength of the convection and turbulence and found evidence of secondary ice production. This information is useful for model intercomparison studies that will represent cold-air outbreak processes.
Pragya Vishwakarma, Julien Delanoë, Susana Jorquera, Pauline Martinet, Frederic Burnet, Alistair Bell, and Jean-Charles Dupont
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 1211–1237, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1211-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-1211-2023, 2023
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Cloud observations are necessary to characterize the cloud properties at local and global scales. The observations must be translated to cloud geophysical parameters. This paper presents the estimation of liquid water content (LWC) using radar and microwave radiometer (MWR) measurements. Liquid water path from MWR scales LWC and retrieves the scaling factor (ln a). The retrievals are compared with in situ observations. A climatology of ln a is built to estimate LWC using only radar information.
Alistair Bell, Pauline Martinet, Olivier Caumont, Frédéric Burnet, Julien Delanoë, Susana Jorquera, Yann Seity, and Vinciane Unger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 5415–5438, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5415-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5415-2022, 2022
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Cloud radars and microwave radiometers offer the potential to improve fog forecasts when assimilated into a high-resolution model. As this process can be complex, a retrieval of model variables is sometimes made as a first step. In this work, results from a 1D-Var algorithm for the retrieval of temperature, humidity and cloud liquid water content are presented. The algorithm is applied first to a synthetic dataset and then to a dataset of real measurements from a recent field campaign.
Mariko Oue, Stephen M. Saleeby, Peter J. Marinescu, Pavlos Kollias, and Susan C. van den Heever
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4931–4950, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4931-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4931-2022, 2022
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This study provides an optimization of radar observation strategies to better capture convective cell evolution in clean and polluted environments as well as a technique for the optimization. The suggested optimized radar observation strategy is to better capture updrafts at middle and upper altitudes and precipitation particle evolution of isolated deep convective clouds. This study sheds light on the challenge of designing remote sensing observation strategies in pre-field campaign periods.
Meryl Wimmer, Gwendal Rivière, Philippe Arbogast, Jean-Marcel Piriou, Julien Delanoë, Carole Labadie, Quitterie Cazenave, and Jacques Pelon
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 863–882, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-863-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-863-2022, 2022
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The effect of deep convection representation on the jet stream above the cold front of an extratropical cyclone is investigated in the global numerical weather prediction model ARPEGE. Two simulations using different deep convection schemes are compared with (re)analysis datasets and NAWDEX airborne observations. A deeper jet stream is observed with the less active scheme. The diabatic origin of this difference is interpreted by backward Lagrangian trajectories and potential vorticity budgets.
Zeen Zhu, Pavlos Kollias, Edward Luke, and Fan Yang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7405–7416, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7405-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7405-2022, 2022
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Drizzle (small rain droplets) is an important component of warm clouds; however, its existence is poorly understood. In this study, we capitalized on a machine-learning algorithm to develop a drizzle detection method. We applied this algorithm to investigate drizzle occurrence and found out that drizzle is far more ubiquitous than previously thought. This study demonstrates the ubiquitous nature of drizzle in clouds and will improve understanding of the associated microphysical process.
Victor J. H. Trees, Ping Wang, Piet Stammes, Lieuwe G. Tilstra, David P. Donovan, and A. Pier Siebesma
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3121–3140, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3121-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3121-2022, 2022
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Cloud shadows are observed by the TROPOMI satellite instrument as a result of its high spatial resolution. These shadows contaminate TROPOMI's air quality measurements, because shadows are generally not taken into account in the models that are used for aerosol and trace gas retrievals. We present the Detection AlgoRithm for CLOud Shadows (DARCLOS) for TROPOMI, which is the first cloud shadow detection algorithm for a satellite spectrometer.
Alessandro Battaglia, Paolo Martire, Eric Caubet, Laurent Phalippou, Fabrizio Stesina, Pavlos Kollias, and Anthony Illingworth
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 3011–3030, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3011-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-3011-2022, 2022
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We present an instrument simulator for a new sensor, WIVERN (WInd VElocity Radar Nephoscope), a conically scanning radar payload with Doppler capabilities, recently down-selected as one of the four candidates for the European Space Agency Earth Explorer 11 program. The mission aims at measuring horizontal winds in cloudy areas. The simulator is instrumental in the definition and consolidation of the mission requirements and the evaluation of mission performances.
Sandrine Bony, Marie Lothon, Julien Delanoë, Pierre Coutris, Jean-Claude Etienne, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Thierry André, Hubert Bellec, Alexandre Baron, Jean-François Bourdinot, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Aurélien Bourdon, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Christophe Caudoux, Patrick Chazette, Michel Cluzeau, Céline Cornet, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Dominique Duchanoy, Cyrille Flamant, Benjamin Fildier, Christophe Gourbeyre, Laurent Guiraud, Tetyana Jiang, Claude Lainard, Christophe Le Gac, Christian Lendroit, Julien Lernould, Thierry Perrin, Frédéric Pouvesle, Pascal Richard, Nicolas Rochetin, Kevin Salaün, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Guillaume Seurat, Bjorn Stevens, Julien Totems, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Gilles Vergez, Jessica Vial, Leonie Villiger, and Raphaela Vogel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2021–2064, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2021-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2021-2022, 2022
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The French ATR42 research aircraft participated in the EUREC4A international field campaign that took place in 2020 over the tropical Atlantic, east of Barbados. We present the extensive instrumentation of the aircraft, the research flights and the different measurements. We show that the ATR measurements of humidity, wind, aerosols and cloudiness in the lower atmosphere are robust and consistent with each other. They will make it possible to advance understanding of cloud–climate interactions.
Beatriz M. Monge-Sanz, Alessio Bozzo, Nicholas Byrne, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Michail Diamantakis, Johannes Flemming, Lesley J. Gray, Robin J. Hogan, Luke Jones, Linus Magnusson, Inna Polichtchouk, Theodore G. Shepherd, Nils Wedi, and Antje Weisheimer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 4277–4302, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4277-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-4277-2022, 2022
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The stratosphere is emerging as one of the keys to improve tropospheric weather and climate predictions. This study provides evidence of the role the stratospheric ozone layer plays in improving weather predictions at different timescales. Using a new ozone modelling approach suitable for high-resolution global models that provide operational forecasts from days to seasons, we find significant improvements in stratospheric meteorological fields and stratosphere–troposphere coupling.
Gwendal Rivière, Meryl Wimmer, Philippe Arbogast, Jean-Marcel Piriou, Julien Delanoë, Carole Labadie, Quitterie Cazenave, and Jacques Pelon
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 1011–1031, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-1011-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-1011-2021, 2021
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Inacurracies in representing processes occurring at spatial scales smaller than the grid scales of the weather forecast models are important sources of forecast errors. This is the case of deep convection representation in models with 10 km grid spacing. We performed simulations of a real extratropical cyclone using a model with different representations of deep convection. These forecasts lead to different behaviors in the ascending air masses of the cyclone and the jet stream aloft.
Sonja Drueke, Daniel J. Kirshbaum, and Pavlos Kollias
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14039–14058, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14039-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14039-2021, 2021
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This numerical study provides insights into the sensitivity of shallow-cumulus dilution to geostrophic vertical wind profile. The cumulus dilution is strongly sensitive to vertical wind shear in the cloud layer, with shallow cumuli being more diluted in sheared environments. On the other hand, wind shear in the subcloud layer leads to less diluted cumuli. The sensitivities are explained by jointly considering the impacts of vertical velocity and the properties of the entrained air.
Bjorn Stevens, Sandrine Bony, David Farrell, Felix Ament, Alan Blyth, Christopher Fairall, Johannes Karstensen, Patricia K. Quinn, Sabrina Speich, Claudia Acquistapace, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Hugo Bellenger, Eberhard Bodenschatz, Kathy-Ann Caesar, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Gijs de Boer, Julien Delanoë, Leif Denby, Florian Ewald, Benjamin Fildier, Marvin Forde, Geet George, Silke Gross, Martin Hagen, Andrea Hausold, Karen J. Heywood, Lutz Hirsch, Marek Jacob, Friedhelm Jansen, Stefan Kinne, Daniel Klocke, Tobias Kölling, Heike Konow, Marie Lothon, Wiebke Mohr, Ann Kristin Naumann, Louise Nuijens, Léa Olivier, Robert Pincus, Mira Pöhlker, Gilles Reverdin, Gregory Roberts, Sabrina Schnitt, Hauke Schulz, A. Pier Siebesma, Claudia Christine Stephan, Peter Sullivan, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Jessica Vial, Raphaela Vogel, Paquita Zuidema, Nicola Alexander, Lyndon Alves, Sophian Arixi, Hamish Asmath, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Katharina Baier, Adriana Bailey, Dariusz Baranowski, Alexandre Baron, Sébastien Barrau, Paul A. Barrett, Frédéric Batier, Andreas Behrendt, Arne Bendinger, Florent Beucher, Sebastien Bigorre, Edmund Blades, Peter Blossey, Olivier Bock, Steven Böing, Pierre Bosser, Denis Bourras, Pascale Bouruet-Aubertot, Keith Bower, Pierre Branellec, Hubert Branger, Michal Brennek, Alan Brewer, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Björn Brügmann, Stefan A. Buehler, Elmo Burke, Ralph Burton, Radiance Calmer, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Xavier Carton, Gregory Cato Jr., Jude Andre Charles, Patrick Chazette, Yanxu Chen, Michal T. Chilinski, Thomas Choularton, Patrick Chuang, Shamal Clarke, Hugh Coe, Céline Cornet, Pierre Coutris, Fleur Couvreux, Susanne Crewell, Timothy Cronin, Zhiqiang Cui, Yannis Cuypers, Alton Daley, Gillian M. Damerell, Thibaut Dauhut, Hartwig Deneke, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Vincent Douet, Kyla Drushka, Marina Dütsch, André Ehrlich, Kerry Emanuel, Alexandros Emmanouilidis, Jean-Claude Etienne, Sheryl Etienne-Leblanc, Ghislain Faure, Graham Feingold, Luca Ferrero, Andreas Fix, Cyrille Flamant, Piotr Jacek Flatau, Gregory R. Foltz, Linda Forster, Iulian Furtuna, Alan Gadian, Joseph Galewsky, Martin Gallagher, Peter Gallimore, Cassandra Gaston, Chelle Gentemann, Nicolas Geyskens, Andreas Giez, John Gollop, Isabelle Gouirand, Christophe Gourbeyre, Dörte de Graaf, Geiske E. de Groot, Robert Grosz, Johannes Güttler, Manuel Gutleben, Kashawn Hall, George Harris, Kevin C. Helfer, Dean Henze, Calvert Herbert, Bruna Holanda, Antonio Ibanez-Landeta, Janet Intrieri, Suneil Iyer, Fabrice Julien, Heike Kalesse, Jan Kazil, Alexander Kellman, Abiel T. Kidane, Ulrike Kirchner, Marcus Klingebiel, Mareike Körner, Leslie Ann Kremper, Jan Kretzschmar, Ovid Krüger, Wojciech Kumala, Armin Kurz, Pierre L'Hégaret, Matthieu Labaste, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Arlene Laing, Peter Landschützer, Theresa Lang, Diego Lange, Ingo Lange, Clément Laplace, Gauke Lavik, Rémi Laxenaire, Caroline Le Bihan, Mason Leandro, Nathalie Lefevre, Marius Lena, Donald Lenschow, Qiang Li, Gary Lloyd, Sebastian Los, Niccolò Losi, Oscar Lovell, Christopher Luneau, Przemyslaw Makuch, Szymon Malinowski, Gaston Manta, Eleni Marinou, Nicholas Marsden, Sebastien Masson, Nicolas Maury, Bernhard Mayer, Margarette Mayers-Als, Christophe Mazel, Wayne McGeary, James C. McWilliams, Mario Mech, Melina Mehlmann, Agostino Niyonkuru Meroni, Theresa Mieslinger, Andreas Minikin, Peter Minnett, Gregor Möller, Yanmichel Morfa Avalos, Caroline Muller, Ionela Musat, Anna Napoli, Almuth Neuberger, Christophe Noisel, David Noone, Freja Nordsiek, Jakub L. Nowak, Lothar Oswald, Douglas J. Parker, Carolyn Peck, Renaud Person, Miriam Philippi, Albert Plueddemann, Christopher Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Ulrich Pöschl, Lawrence Pologne, Michał Posyniak, Marc Prange, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Jule Radtke, Karim Ramage, Jens Reimann, Lionel Renault, Klaus Reus, Ashford Reyes, Joachim Ribbe, Maximilian Ringel, Markus Ritschel, Cesar B. Rocha, Nicolas Rochetin, Johannes Röttenbacher, Callum Rollo, Haley Royer, Pauline Sadoulet, Leo Saffin, Sanola Sandiford, Irina Sandu, Michael Schäfer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Oliver Schlenczek, Jerome Schmidt, Marcel Schröder, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Andrea Sealy, Christoph J. Senff, Ilya Serikov, Samkeyat Shohan, Elizabeth Siddle, Alexander Smirnov, Florian Späth, Branden Spooner, M. Katharina Stolla, Wojciech Szkółka, Simon P. de Szoeke, Stéphane Tarot, Eleni Tetoni, Elizabeth Thompson, Jim Thomson, Lorenzo Tomassini, Julien Totems, Alma Anna Ubele, Leonie Villiger, Jan von Arx, Thomas Wagner, Andi Walther, Ben Webber, Manfred Wendisch, Shanice Whitehall, Anton Wiltshire, Allison A. Wing, Martin Wirth, Jonathan Wiskandt, Kevin Wolf, Ludwig Worbes, Ethan Wright, Volker Wulfmeyer, Shanea Young, Chidong Zhang, Dongxiao Zhang, Florian Ziemen, Tobias Zinner, and Martin Zöger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4067–4119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, 2021
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The EUREC4A field campaign, designed to test hypothesized mechanisms by which clouds respond to warming and benchmark next-generation Earth-system models, is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. It was the first campaign that attempted to characterize the full range of processes and scales influencing trade wind clouds.
David Meyer, Thomas Nagler, and Robin J. Hogan
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 5205–5215, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5205-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5205-2021, 2021
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A major limitation in training machine-learning emulators is often caused by the lack of data. This paper presents a cheap way to increase the size of training datasets using statistical techniques and thereby improve the performance of machine-learning emulators.
Florian Ewald, Silke Groß, Martin Wirth, Julien Delanoë, Stuart Fox, and Bernhard Mayer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 5029–5047, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5029-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-5029-2021, 2021
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In this study, we show how solar radiance observations can be used to validate and further constrain ice cloud microphysics retrieved from the synergy of radar–lidar measurements. Since most radar–lidar retrievals rely on a global assumption about the ice particle shape, ice water content and particle size biases are to be expected in individual cloud regimes. In this work, we identify and correct these biases by reconciling simulated and measured solar radiation reflected from these clouds.
Karolina Sarna, David P. Donovan, and Herman W. J. Russchenberg
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4959–4970, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4959-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4959-2021, 2021
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We show a method for obtaining cloud optical extinction with a lidar system. We use a scheme in which a lidar signal is inverted based on the estimated value of cloud extinction at the far end of the cloud and apply a correction for multiple scattering within the cloud and a range resolution correction. By applying our technique, we show that it is possible to obtain the cloud optical extinction with an error better than 5 % up to 90 m within the cloud.
Alistair Bell, Pauline Martinet, Olivier Caumont, Benoît Vié, Julien Delanoë, Jean-Charles Dupont, and Mary Borderies
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4929–4946, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4929-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4929-2021, 2021
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This paper presents work towards making retrievals on the liquid water content in fog and low clouds. Future retrievals will rely on a radar simulator and high-resolution forecast. In this work, real observations are used to assess the errors associated with the simulator and forecast. A selection method to reduce errors associated with the forecast is proposed. It is concluded that the distribution of errors matches the requirements for future retrievals.
Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Marie Lothon, Jean-Claude Etienne, Pascal Richard, Sandrine Bony, Julien Lernoult, Hubert Bellec, Gilles Vergez, Thierry Perrin, Julien Delanoë, Tetyana Jiang, Frédéric Pouvesle, Claude Lainard, Michel Cluzeau, Laurent Guiraud, Patrice Medina, and Theotime Charoy
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3379–3398, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3379-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3379-2021, 2021
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During the EUREC4A field experiment that took place over the tropical Atlantic Ocean east of Barbados, the French ATR 42 environment research aircraft of SAFIRE aimed to characterize the shallow cloud properties near cloud base and the turbulent structure of the subcloud layer. The high-frequency measurements of wind, temperature and humidity as well as their translation in terms of turbulent fluctuations, turbulent moments and characteristic length scales of turbulence are presented.
Mariko Oue, Pavlos Kollias, Sergey Y. Matrosov, Alessandro Battaglia, and Alexander V. Ryzhkov
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4893–4913, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4893-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4893-2021, 2021
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Multi-wavelength radar measurements provide capabilities to identify ice particle types and growth processes in clouds beyond the capabilities of single-frequency radar measurements. This study introduces Doppler velocity and polarimetric radar observables into the multi-wavelength radar reflectivity measurement to improve identification analysis. The analysis clearly discerns snowflake aggregation and riming processes and even early stages of riming.
Katia Lamer, Mariko Oue, Alessandro Battaglia, Richard J. Roy, Ken B. Cooper, Ranvir Dhillon, and Pavlos Kollias
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 3615–3629, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3615-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-3615-2021, 2021
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Observations collected during the 25 February 2020 deployment of the VIPR at the Stony Brook Radar Observatory clearly demonstrate the potential of G-band radars for cloud and precipitation research. The field experiment, which coordinated an X-, Ka-, W- and G-band radar, revealed that the differential reflectivity from Ka–G band pair provides larger signals than the traditional Ka–W pairing underpinning an increased sensitivity to smaller amounts of liquid and ice water mass and sizes.
David L. A. Flack, Gwendal Rivière, Ionela Musat, Romain Roehrig, Sandrine Bony, Julien Delanoë, Quitterie Cazenave, and Jacques Pelon
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 233–253, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-233-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-233-2021, 2021
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The representation of an extratropical cyclone in simulations of two climate models is studied by comparing them to observations of the international field campaign NAWDEX. We show that the current resolution used to run climate model projections (more than 100 km) is not enough to represent the life cycle accurately, but the use of 50 km resolution is good enough. Despite these encouraging results, cloud properties (partitioning liquid and solid) are found to be far from the observations.
Nicolas Blanchard, Florian Pantillon, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, and Julien Delanoë
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 37–53, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-37-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-37-2021, 2021
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Rare aircraft observations in the warm conveyor belt outflow associated with an extratropical cyclone are complemented with convection-permitting simulations. They reveal a complex tropopause structure with two jet stream cores, from which one is reinforced by bands of negative potential vorticity. They show that negative potential vorticity takes its origin in mid-level convection, which indirectly accelerates the jet stream and, thus, may influence the downstream large-scale circulation.
Frédéric Szczap, Alaa Alkasem, Guillaume Mioche, Valery Shcherbakov, Céline Cornet, Julien Delanoë, Yahya Gour, Olivier Jourdan, Sandra Banson, and Edouard Bray
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 199–221, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-199-2021, 2021
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Spaceborne lidar and radar are suitable tools to investigate cloud vertical properties on a global scale. This paper presents the McRALI code that provides simulations of lidar and radar signals from the EarthCARE mission. Regarding radar signals, cloud heterogeneity induces a severe bias in velocity estimates. Regarding lidar signals, multiple scattering is not negligible. Our results also give some insight into the reliability of lidar signal modeling using independent column approximation.
Robin J. Hogan and Marco Matricardi
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 6501–6521, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-6501-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-6501-2020, 2020
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A key component of computer models used to predict weather and climate is the radiation scheme, which calculates how solar and infrared radiation heats and cools the atmosphere and surface, including the important role of greenhouse gases. This paper describes the experimental protocol and large datasets for a new project, CKDMIP, to evaluate and improve the accuracy of the treatment of atmospheric gases in the radiation schemes used worldwide, as well as their computational speed.
Felipe Toledo, Julien Delanoë, Martial Haeffelin, Jean-Charles Dupont, Susana Jorquera, and Christophe Le Gac
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6853–6875, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6853-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6853-2020, 2020
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Cloud observations are essential to rainfall, fog and climate change forecasts. One key instrument for these observations is cloud radar. Yet, discrepancies are found when comparing radars from different ground stations or satellites. Our work presents a calibration methodology for cloud radars based on reference targets, including an analysis of the uncertainty sources. The method enables the calibration of reference instruments to improve the quality and value of the cloud radar network data.
Cristofer Jimenez, Albert Ansmann, Ronny Engelmann, David Donovan, Aleksey Malinka, Jörg Schmidt, Patric Seifert, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15247–15263, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15247-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15247-2020, 2020
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A novel lidar method to study cloud microphysical properties (of liquid water clouds) and to study aerosol–cloud interaction (ACI) is developed and presented in this paper. In Part 1, the theoretical framework including an error analysis is given together with an overview of the aerosol information that the same lidar system can obtain. The ACI concept based on aerosol and cloud information is also explained. Applications of the proposed approach to lidar measurements are presented in Part 2.
Cristofer Jimenez, Albert Ansmann, Ronny Engelmann, David Donovan, Aleksey Malinka, Patric Seifert, Robert Wiesen, Martin Radenz, Zhenping Yin, Johannes Bühl, Jörg Schmidt, Boris Barja, and Ulla Wandinger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15265–15284, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15265-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15265-2020, 2020
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Part 2 presents the application of the dual-FOV polarization lidar technique introduced in Part 1. A lidar system was upgraded with a second polarization telescope, and it was deployed at the southernmost tip of South America. A comparison with alternative remote sensing techniques and the evaluation of the aerosol–cloud–wind relation in a convective boundary layer in pristine marine conditions are presented in two case studies, demonstrating the potential of the approach for ACI studies.
Marek Jacob, Pavlos Kollias, Felix Ament, Vera Schemann, and Susanne Crewell
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 5757–5777, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-5757-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-5757-2020, 2020
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We compare clouds in different cloud-resolving atmosphere simulations with airborne remote sensing observations. The focus is on warm shallow clouds in the Atlantic trade wind region. Those clouds are climatologically important but challenging for climate models. We use forward operators to apply instrument-specific thresholds for cloud detection to model outputs. In this comparison, the higher-resolution model better reproduces the layered cloud structure.
Sonja Drueke, Daniel J. Kirshbaum, and Pavlos Kollias
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13217–13239, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13217-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13217-2020, 2020
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This numerical study provides insights into selected environmental sensitivities of shallow-cumulus dilution. Among the parameters under consideration, the dilution of the cloud cores is strongly sensitive to continentality and cloud-layer relative humidity and weakly sensitive to subcloud- and cloud-layer depths. The impacts of all four parameters are interpreted using a similarity theory of shallow cumulus and buoyancy-sorting arguments.
Nicolas Blanchard, Florian Pantillon, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, and Julien Delanoë
Weather Clim. Dynam., 1, 617–634, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-617-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-617-2020, 2020
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The study presents the first results from the airborne RASTA observations measured during the North Atlantic Waveguide and Downstream Impact Experiment (NAWDEX). Our combined Eulerian–Lagrangian analysis found three types of organized convection (frontal, banded and mid-level) in the warm conveyor belt (WCB) of the Stalactite cyclone. The results emphasize that convection embedded in WCBs occurs in a coherent and organized manner rather than as isolated cells.
Alessandro Battaglia, Pavlos Kollias, Ranvir Dhillon, Katia Lamer, Marat Khairoutdinov, and Daniel Watters
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 4865–4883, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4865-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-4865-2020, 2020
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Warm rain accounts for slightly more than 30 % of the total rain amount and 70 % of the total rain area in the tropical belt and usually appears in kilometer-size cells. Spaceborne radars adopting millimeter wavelengths are excellent tools for detecting such precipitation types and for separating between the cloud and rain components. Our work highlights the benefits of operating multifrequency radars and discusses the impact of antenna footprints in quantitative estimates of liquid water paths.
Mario Mech, Maximilian Maahn, Stefan Kneifel, Davide Ori, Emiliano Orlandi, Pavlos Kollias, Vera Schemann, and Susanne Crewell
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 4229–4251, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4229-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-4229-2020, 2020
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The Passive and Active Microwave TRAnsfer tool (PAMTRA) is a public domain software package written in Python and Fortran for the simulation of microwave remote sensing observations. PAMTRA models the interaction of radiation with gases, clouds, precipitation, and the surface using either in situ observations or model output as input parameters. The wide range of applications is demonstrated for passive (radiometer) and active (radar) instruments on ground, airborne, and satellite platforms.
Cited articles
Barker, H. W., Cole, J. N. S., Qu, Z., Villefranque, N., and Shephard, M.:
Radiative closure assessment of retrieved cloud and aerosol properties for the EarthCARE mission: the ACMB-DF product, Atmos. Meas. Tech., in preparation, 2023. a
Battaglia, A., Augustynek, T., Tanelli, S., and Kollias, P.: Multiple scattering identification in spaceborne W-band radar measurements of deep convective cores, J. Geophys. Res., 116, D19201, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD016142, 2011. a
Burns, D., Kollias, P., Tatarevic, A., Battaglia, A., and Tanelli, S.: The performance of the EarthCARE Cloud Profiling Radar in marine stratiform clouds, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 121, 14525–14537, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025090, 2016. a
Ceccaldi, M., Delanoë, J., Hogan, R. J., Pounder, N. L., Protat, A., and Pelon, J.: From CloudSat-CALIPSO to EarthCare: Evolution of the DARDAR cloud classification and its comparison to airborne radar-lidar observations, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 7962–7981, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50579, 2013. a, b, c, d
Chandra, A. S., Kollias, P., and Albrecht, B. A.: Multiyear Summertime Observations of Daytime Fair-Weather Cumuli at the ARM Southern Great Plains Facility, J. Climate, 26, 10031–10050, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-12-00223.1, 2013. a
Delanoë, J. and Hogan, R. J.: Combined CloudSat-CALIPSO-MODIS retrievals of the properties of ice clouds, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 115, D00H29, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD012346, 2010. a, b, c
do Carmo, J. P., de Villele, G., Wallace, K., Lefebvre, A., Ghose, K., Kanitz, T., Chassat, F., Corselle, B., Belhadj, T., and Bravetti, P.: ATmospheric LIDar (ATLID): Pre-Launch Testing and Calibration of the European Space Agency Instrument That Will Measure Aerosols and Thin Clouds in the Atmosphere, Atmosphere, 12, 76, https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12010076, 2021. a
Donovan, D. P., Klein Baltink, H., Henzing, J. S., de Roode, S. R., and Siebesma, A. P.: A depolarisation lidar-based method for the determination of liquid-cloud microphysical properties, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 237–266, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-237-2015, 2015. a
Fox, N. I. and Illingworth, A. J.: The Retrieval of Stratocumulus Cloud Properties by Ground-Based Cloud Radar, J. Appl. Meteorol., 36, 485–492, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0450(1997)036<0485:TROSCP>2.0.CO;2, 1997. a
Frisch, A. S., Fairall, C. W., and Snider, J. B.: Measurement of Stratus Cloud and Drizzle Parameters in ASTEX with a Kα-Band Doppler Radar and a Microwave Radiometer, J. Atmos. Sci., 52, 2788–2799, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0469(1995)052<2788:MOSCAD>2.0.CO;2, 1995. a
Geerts, B. and Dawei, Y.: Classification and Characterization of Tropical Precipitation Based on High-Resolution Airborne Vertical Incidence Radar. Part I: Classification, J. Appl. Meteorol., 43, 1554–1566, 2004. a
Hu, Y., Vaughan, M., Liu, Z., Lin, B., Yang, P., Flittner, D., Hunt, B., Kuehn, R., Huang, J., Wu, D., Rodier, S., Powell, K., Trepte, C., and Winker, D.: The depolarization–attenuated backscatter relation: CALIPSO lidar measurements vs. theory, Opt. Express, 15, 5327–5332, 2007. a
Hu, Y., Winker, D., Vaughan, M., Lin, B., Omar, A., Trepte, C., Flittner, D., Yang, P., Nasiri, S. L., Baum, B., Holz, R., Sun, W., Liu, Z., Wang, Z., Young, S., Stamnes, K., Huang, J., and Kuehn, R.: CALIPSO/CALIOP Cloud Phase Discrimination Algorithm, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 26, 2293–2309, https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JTECHA1280.1, 2009. a
Huang, Y., Siems, S. T., Manton, M. J., Protat, A., and Delanoë, J.: A study on the low-altitude clouds over the Southern Ocean using the DARDAR-MASK, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 117, D18204, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD017800, 2012. a
Illingworth, A. J., Hogan, R. J., O'Connor, E. J., Bouniol, D., Delanoë, J., Pelon, J., Protat, A., Brooks, M. E., Gaussiat, N., Wilson, D. R., Donovan, D. P., Baltink, H. K., van Zadelhoff, G.-J., Eastment, J. D., Goddard, J. W. F., Wrench, C. L., Haeffelin, M., Krasnov, O. A., Russchenberg, H. W. J., Piriou, J.-M., Vinit, F., Seifert, A., Tompkins, A. M., and Willén, U.: Cloudnet, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 88, 883–898, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-88-6-883, 2007. a, b
Illingworth, A. J., Barker, H. W., Beljaars, A., Ceccaldi, M., Chepfer, H., Clerbaux, N., Cole, J., Delanoë, J., Domenech, C., Donovan, D. P., Fukuda, S., Hirakata, M., Hogan, R. J., Huenerbein, A., Kollias, P., Kubota, T., Nakajima, T., Nakajima, T. Y., Nishizawa, T., Ohno, Y., Okamoto, H., Oki, R., Sato, K., Satoh, M., Shephard, M. W., Velázquez-Blázquez, A., Wandinger, U., Wehr, T., and van Zadelhoff, G.-J.: The EarthCARE Satellite: The Next Step Forward in Global Measurements of Clouds, Aerosols, Precipitation, and Radiation, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 96, 1311–1332, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00227.1, 2015. a, b, c
Kollias, P., Miller, M. A., Johnson, K. L., Jensen, M. P., and Troyan, D. T.: Cloud, thermodynamic, and precipitation observations in West Africa during 2006, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D00E08, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010641, 2009. a
Kollias, P., Rémillard, J., Luke, E., and Szyrmer, W.: Cloud radar Doppler spectra in drizzling stratiform clouds: 1. Forward modeling and remote sensing applications, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 116, D13201, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD015237, 2011. a
Kollias, P., Jo, I., Borque, P., Tatarevic, A., Lamer, K., Bharadwaj, N., Widener, K., Johnson, K., and Clothiaux, E. E.: Scanning ARM Cloud Radars. Part II: Data Quality Control and Processing, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 31, 583–598, https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-13-00045.1, 2014. a
Kollias, P., Puidgomènech Treserras, B., Battaglia, A., Borque, P., and Tatarevic, A.: Processing reflectivity and Doppler velocity from EarthCARE’s cloud profiling radar: the C-FMR, C-CD and C-APC products, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-1284, 2022. a, b
Krasnov, O. and Russchenberg, H.: A synergetic radar-lidar technique for the LWC retrieval in water clouds description and application to cloudnet data, in: The 11th Conference on Mesoscale Processes and the 32nd Conference on Radar Meteorology, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 23–29 October 2005, American Meteorology Society, 1–13, 2005. a
Lamer, K. and Kollias, P.: Observations of fair-weather cumuli over land: Dynamical factors controlling cloud size and cover, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 8693–8701, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL064534, 2015. a
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Short summary
The Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) and ATmospheric LIDar (ATLID) aboard the EarthCARE satellite are used to probe the Earth's atmosphere by measuring cloud and aerosol profiles. ATLID is sensitive to aerosols and small cloud particles and CPR to large ice particles, snowflakes and raindrops. It is the synergy of the measurements of these two instruments that allows a better classification of the atmospheric targets and the description of the associated products, which are the subject of this paper.
The Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) and ATmospheric LIDar (ATLID) aboard the EarthCARE satellite are...
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