SGP3DOBS

Continental fair-weather cumuli (FWC) have important impacts on vertical transports of energy and moisture in boundary layer. State-of-the-art observational constraints are needed to advance FWC parameterization development and evaluation in models. As a part of the Climate Model Development and Validation (CMDV) “Coupling Mechanistically the Convective Motions and Cloud Macrophysics in a Climate Model” (CM4) project, the SGP 3-D Observations of Fair Weather Cumuli experiment employs Doppler Lidar Range Height Indicator (RHI) scanning to collect data for studying FWC in a 3-dimentional domain at the ARM Southern Great Plains Megasite (SGP). Concurrently, three recently installed pairs of stereo cameras will provide cloud field observations from three different views. With Doppler Lidar cross-wind RHI scanning observations of FWC, we will:

• Retrieve sub-cloud layer turbulence (vertical velocity and mass flux) in a 3-D domain; • Validate the 3-D gridded cloud field from stereo photogrammetry with scanning Doppler Lidar measurements; • Estimate shallow cumulus lateral entrainment rate and its relation to environmental conditions.

The results will help researchers to better understand impacts of sub-cloud layer turbulence processes on 3-D FWC cloud fields and provide 3-d domain validations of FWC simulations in models.

Timeline