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Interpretation of Radar and Lidar Cloud Data Sets during SHEBA - Beware of Remote Sensors Bearing Gifts |
NOAA/Environmental Technology Laboratory
tuttal@etl.noaa.gov
The NOAA/ETL cloud radar and depolarization lidar operated at the SHEBA ice camp and collected height resolved information on clouds for the duration of the experiment. The radar has a sixth order dependance on particle size, and therefore is extremely sensitive to large ice particles, even in very low concentrations. The much shorter wavelength lidar has only a second order dependance on particle size; while it is more sensitive to smaller particles it will be attenuated by any appreciable amounts of liquid water. Because of these differences, the two instruments can often provide significantly different results for simple cloud geometrical properties such as height of cloud bases, tops, and even cloud fractions. For each sensor, the monthly statistics of cloud geometrical properties is presented, highlighting the differences. The statistics from a subjectively combined data set is presented in a companion poster by Intrieri et al.
