NSASR

NSA Scanning Radar IOP

1 May 2013 - 26 June 2013

Lead Scientist: Johannes Verlinde

Observatory: NSA

Low-level mixed-phase clouds, frequently present over the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) site, have a strong radiative impact on the surface radiation budget. These clouds are poorly understood and not handled in current Global Models. It is the goal of the NSA site to provide necessary data about cloud and radiation processes at high latitudes to address this concern. Observations from the Scanning ARM Cloud Radars (SACRs) and Scanning ARM Precipitation Radars (SAPRs) are vital to improving our ability to document the meso-scale structure of these cloud systems and improving our ability to retrieve qualitative (e.g., phase) and quantitative (water content, particle size and shape) cloud microphysical information as well as macrophysical (cloud coverage, depths and morphology) and dynamics. To this end, it is important that we optimize the way these cloud systems are sampled using the ARM radars and assess the ability to provide high quality measurements. The objectives of the IOP are:

• assess the quality of the 3-cm wave precipitation scanning radar observations for a variety of sampling modes
• assess the real-time signal processing of the 3-cm wave precipitation scanning radar by collecting I/Q time series, and
• assess the potential of the 8.6 millimeter wave scanning radar to provide the meso-scale coverage expected from the 3-cm wave precipitation scanning radar.