PARSIVEL

Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment: Parsivel Disdrometer Support

22 April 2011 - 6 June 2011

Lead Scientist: Mathew Schwaller

Observatory: SGP

The Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) took place in and around the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) Central Facility site, with an Intensive Operations Period from April 22, 2011 through June 6, 2011. The experiment was a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) ARM Climate Research Facility (ACRF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration¹s (NASA) Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Ground Validation (GV) program. During MC3E, 2-Dimensional Video Disdrometers (2DVDs) provided measurements of particle size and concentration for particles of 0.3­8 mm in diameter (bin resolution of 0.20 mm), axis ratio distribution, and fall-velocity information. Parsivel disdrometers provided measures of rain DSD, particle phase, and fall-velocity. Particle sizes detected by the Parsivels ranged from 0.3 mm to 20 mm, with a geometrically increasing bin size from 0.129 mm at 0.3 mm to 1.03 mm at 8 mm drop diameters. Parameters derived from the disdrometer measurements included total concentration, liquid water content, mean mass diameter, rain rates, and retrieved radar reflectivity. These observations offered an important constraint on the retrieval of precipitation properties from ground radars and airborne remote sensors.