The ARM Radar Network: At the Leading Edge of Cloud and Precipitation Observations

Abstract

Improving our ability to predict future weather and climate conditions is strongly linked to achieving significant advancements in our understanding of cloud and precipitation processes. Observations are critical to making these advancements because they both improve our understanding of these processes and provide constraints on numerical models. Historically, instruments for observing cloud properties have limited cloud–aerosol investigations to a small subset of cloud-process interactions. To address these challenges, the last decade has seen the U.S. DOE ARM facility significantly upgrade and expand its surveillance radar capabilities toward providing holistic and multiscale observations of clouds and precipitation. These upgrades include radars that operate at four frequency bands covering a wide range of scattering regimes, improving upon the information contained in earlier ARM observations. The traditional ARM emphasis on the vertical column is maintained, providing more comprehensive, calibrated, and multiparametric measurements of clouds and precipitation. In addition, the ARM radar network now features multiple scanning dual-polarization Doppler radars to exploit polarimetric and multi-Doppler capabilities that provide a wealth of information on storm microphysics and dynamics under a wide range of conditions. Although the diversity in wavelengths and detection capabilities are unprecedented, there is still considerable work ahead before the full potential of these radar advancements is realized. This includes synergy with other observations, improved forward and inverse modeling methods, and well-designed data–model integration methods. The overarching goal is to provide a comprehensive characterization of a complete volume of the cloudy atmosphere and to act as a natural laboratory for the study of cloud processes.

Spaceborne Cloud and Precipitation Radars: Status, Challenges, and Ways Forward

“…Soon after, ground-based facilities were equipped with multiwavelength capabilities (centimeter-and millimeter-wavelength radars; see Table 1 for band nomenclature) to capture both clouds and precipitation. Examples of such facilities include those operated by the DOE ARM program, the JOYCE facility, the Chilbolton Observatory and the Barbados Cloud Observatory (Brown & Lewis, 2005;Kollias et al, 2016Kollias et al, , 2020Löhnert et al, 2015;Stevens et al, 2016).…”

Estimating total attenuation using Rayleigh targets at cloud top: applications in multilayer and mixed-phase clouds observed by ground-based multifrequency radars

“…6a, no point can be shown during rainy periods (before 01:00, between 07:00 and 08:00, between 9:00 and 13:00, and after 16:00 UTC) because the presence of raindrops violates the MWR retrieval assumptions (scattering effects are assumed to be negligible). Nevertheless, the retrieved PIA during these periods might be useful because it can provide information on the integrated amount of rain and help to constrain radar retrievals, given that the effect of wet radome attenuation can be mitigated (as it was the case for the W-band radar used during TRIPEx, which was equipped with strong blowers Küchler et al, 2017).…”

Supercooled Liquid Water Detection Capabilities from Ka-Band Doppler Profiling Radars: Moment-Based Algorithm Formulation and Assessment

“…The study employs publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) observatory at the North Slope of Alaska [35] and the University of Wisconsin-Madison's HSRL portal (available at www.arm.gov,hsrl. ssec.wisc.edu accessed on 24 June 2021).…”