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Assessment of the performance of the Chilbolton 3-GHz Advanced Meteorological radar for cloud-top height retrieval

Naud, C.M.; Muller, J.-P.; Slack, E.C.; Wrench, C.L.; Clothiaux, E.E.; (2005) Assessment of the performance of the Chilbolton 3-GHz Advanced Meteorological radar for cloud-top height retrieval. Journal of Applied Meteorology , 44 (6) pp. 876-887. 10.1175/JAM2244.1. Green open access

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Abstract

The Chilbolton 3-GHz Advanced Meteorological Radar (CAMRa), which is mounted on a fully steerable 25 metre dish, can provide three-dimensional information on the presence of hydrometeors. We investigate the potential for this radar to make useful measurements of low-altitude liquid water cloud structure. In order to assess the cloud-height assignment capabilities of the 3-GHz radar, low-level cloud-top heights were retrieved from CAMRa measurements made between May and July 2003 and compared with cloud-top heights retrieved from a vertically pointing 94-GHz radar that operates alongside CAMRa. The average difference between 94-GHz and 3-GHz radar derived cloud-top heights is shown to be -0.1±0.4 km. In order to assess the capability of 3-GHz radar scans to be used for satellite-derived cloud-top height validation, Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) cloud-top heights were compared with both 94-GHz and 3-GHz radar retrievals. The average difference between 94-GHz radar and MISR cloud-top heights is shown to be 0.1±0.3 km while the 3-GHz radar and MISR average cloud-top height difference is shown to be –0.2±0.6 km. In assessing the value of the CAMRa measurements, the problems associated with low reflectivity values from stratiform liquid water clouds, ground clutter, and Bragg scattering resulting from turbulent mixing are all addressed. We show that in spite of the difficulties, the potential exists for CAMRa measurements to contribute significantly to liquid water cloud-top height retrievals leading to the production of twodimensional transects (i.e. maps) of cloud-top height.

Type: Article
Title: Assessment of the performance of the Chilbolton 3-GHz Advanced Meteorological radar for cloud-top height retrieval
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1175/JAM2244.1
Publisher version: http://ams.allenpress.com/amsonline/?request=get-a...
Language: English
UCL classification: UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Civil, Environ and Geomatic Eng
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/703
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