Remote Sensing of Clouds, Water Vapor, and Near-Surface Winds under Various Aerosol Conditions during CAMP2Ex

Abstract:

The Cloud, Aerosol and Monsoon Processes Philippines Experiment (CAMP²Ex) field campaign took place from August – October 2019. CAMP²Ex science objectives include understanding aerosol-cloud interaction under various Meteorological conditions, and how these Meteorological phenomena affect aerosol distribution in the atmosphere. Numerous instruments were flown on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) P-3 aircraft during 19 CAMP²Ex science flights, including the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR) the Airborne Third Generation Precipitation Radar (APR-3), and the High Spectral Resolution Lidar 2 (HSRL2).

Geophysical retrieval equations for cloud liquid water, columnar water vapor, and near-surface wind speed using AMPR brightness temperatures have been derived and tested using CAMP²Ex data. Water vapor and wind speed retrievals have been validated using in situ observations, such as dropsondes and shipborne instruments. This presentation will demonstrate these AMPR-based retrievals during CAMP²Ex, including discussions of retrieval uncertainties. Specific CAMP²Ex flights will be presented in greater detail, including inferences of other Meteorological phenomena in clear air and around precipitating and non-precipitating clouds, such as background wind speeds and potential identification of gust fronts.

These analyses will be supplemented with APR-3 reflectivity and Doppler velocity data to infer microphysical processes occurring within and around selected clouds of interest. In cases where multiple remote-sensing measurements were obtained for the same cloud, a time-evolution analysis of these features may be performed. Throughout these analyses, HSRL2 data will be used to quantify aerosol properties beneath the P-3, and variations in the AMPR/APR-3 observations with respect to various aerosol conditions will be discussed.