The Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX)

Houze, Robert A.; McMurdie, Lynn A.; Petersen, Walter A.; Schwaller, M.; Baccus, William; Lundquist, Jessica D.; Mass, Clifford F.; Nijssen, Bart; Rutledge, Steven A.; Hudak, David; Tanelli, Simone; Mace, Gerald G.; Poellot, Michael R.; Lettenmaier, Dennis P.; Zagrodnik, Joseph P.; Rowe, Angela K.; DeHart, Jennifer C.; Madaus, Luke; Barnes, Hannah C.

doi:10.1175/bams-d-16-0182.1

Cited by 150 publications

(124 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Although precipitation processes and instrument challenges (e.g., ground clutter) are different between ocean and land portions of the study domain, this comparison highlights important considerations regarding GPM‐DPR's performance in representing regional precipitation patterns with a relatively short period of accumulated data. There have been several field campaigns and comprehensive validation experiments, such as the Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX; Houze et al, ), that have specifically focused on quantifying the performance of GPM‐DPR instrumentation and algorithms in measuring reflectivity and deriving related precipitation products. The comparisons presented here are based on spatiotemporal sampling over multiple seasons and are intended to illustrate how low‐sampling frequency affects subsequent analyses, rather than as an evaluation of instrumentation or algorithm performance.…”

Section: Gpm‐dpr In Situ Validationmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…The hypothesis that differences were attributable to sampling deficiency and not measurement or algorithm error is further supported by previous analyses from the OLYMPEX experiment, which demonstrated that airborne instrumentation and algorithms similar to those developed for GPM‐DPR are ideally suited to measure orographic precipitation processes (Houze et al, ). Additionally, GPM‐DPR's predecessor, TRMM‐PR, proved capable of reproducing orographic precipitation gradients in various mountain regions over its lengthy temporal record (e.g., Anders et al, ).…”

Section: Gpm‐dpr In Situ Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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GPM Satellite Radar Measurements of Precipitation and Freezing Level in Atmospheric Rivers: Comparison With Ground‐Based Radars and Reanalyses

et al. 2017

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Atmospheric rivers (ARs) account for more than 90% of the total meridional water vapor flux in midlatitudes, and 25–50% of the annual precipitation in the coastal western United States. In this study, reflectivity profiles from the Global Precipitation Measurement Dual‐Frequency Precipitation Radar (GPM‐DPR) are used to evaluate precipitation and temperature characteristics of ARs over the western coast of North America and the eastern North Pacific Ocean. Evaluation of GPM‐DPR bright‐band height using a network of ground‐based vertically pointing radars along the West Coast demonstrated exceptional agreement, and comparison with freezing level height from reanalyses over the eastern North Pacific Ocean also consistently agreed, indicating that GPM‐DPR can be used to independently validate freezing level in models. However, precipitation comparison with gridded observations across the western United States indicated deficiencies in GPM‐DPR's ability to reproduce the spatial distribution of winter precipitation, likely related to sampling frequency. Over the geographically homogeneous oceanic portion of the domain, sampling frequency was not problematic, and significant differences in the frequency and intensity of precipitation between GPM‐DPR and reanalyses highlighted biases in both satellite‐observed and modeled AR precipitation. Reanalyses precipitation rates below the minimum sensitivity of GPM‐DPR accounted for a 20% increase in total precipitation, and 25% of radar‐derived precipitation rates were greater than the 99th percentile precipitation rate in reanalyses. Due to differences in the proportions of precipitation in convective, stratiform bright‐band, and non‐bright‐band conditions, AR conditions contributed nearly 10% more to total precipitation in GPM‐DPR than reanalyses.

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Section: Gpm‐dpr In Situ Validationmentioning

confidence: 75%

Section: Gpm‐dpr In Situ Validationmentioning

confidence: 99%

GPM Satellite Radar Measurements of Precipitation and Freezing Level in Atmospheric Rivers: Comparison With Ground‐Based Radars and Reanalyses

et al. 2017

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“…Further, the field of severe thunderstorm research has the potential to provide significant insights, where numerous methods of thermodynamic and debris transport analyses exist, much like how approaches can be borrowed from volcanology (Bodine et al, 2014(Bodine et al, , 2016Broeke & Jauernic, 2014;Snow et al, 1995;Snyder & Ryzhkov, 2015). The adaptation of these methods to wildfire should be informed by targeted field campaigns using various remote sensing platforms (radar and lidar active sensing as well as airborne and spaceborne platforms) with more focus on transition of research to operations (Bluestein, 1999;Houze et al, 2017;Lareau & Clements, 2016;McCarthy et al, 2018). A framework for analysis of wildfire with radar data would be best delivered as science-based tools that meet the unique needs of intelligence gathering for wildfires.…”

Section: Journal Of Geophysical Research: Atmospheresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfire and Weather Radar: A Review

et al. 2019

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Research in the pursuit of better understanding of fire behavior and fire‐atmosphere interaction has frequently encountered a dearth of observational data, especially from events that cause most impact. Here we show that meteorological radar has been demonstrated as an effective tool for profiling the microphysics, thermodynamics, and fire behavior feedback of wildfire plumes, including for cases with deep and moist convection occurring in the fire plume. A synthesis of knowledge on the use of radar for the analysis of wildfire is presented, and the new term pyrometeor is introduced to describe the range of scatterers observed by radar, the reflectivity signature of which is determined by interacting processes of wildfire behavior and atmospheric convection. The reflectivity theories of pyrometeors are compared, and it is shown that there are gaps in knowledge on the size distributions of pyrometeors as well as the complex dielectrics. Observational case studies are compared across plume microphysics, plume thermodynamics and deep pyroconvection, and operational usage of radar to monitor wildfire. The dominant hypothesis of reflectivity is scattering from ash particles, though theories for scattering such as from larger debris exist, although evidence is limited for any hypothesis. Vortices have also been identified using Doppler velocity radar data, but there is limited understanding of their cause and influence on fire‐atmosphere interactions. Recommendations are provided for methods and data sets to advance the application of radar for observing and understanding wildfires, including for plume microphysics and atmosphere‐fire interactions.

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“…Figure provides one example sampled by ground‐based radar, aircraft, and an overpass of the GPM‐CO. As evident in Figure , orographic perturbation of the prevailing low‐level flow and associated enhancements of the precipitation process were important during OLYMPEX (see also Houze et al ., ; Zagrodnick et al ., ). In fact, Figure b suggests that orographic enhancements occurring below 2 km (Figure c,d) may be difficult to directly observe using GPM DPR observations.…”

Section: Ground Validation Activities and Contributions To The Gpm MImentioning

confidence: 99%

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's scientific achievements and societal contributions: reviewing four years of advanced rain and snow observations

Skofronick-Jackson

Kirschbaum

Petersen

et al. 2018

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

142

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Precipitation represents a life‐critical energy and hydrologic exchange between the Earth's atmosphere and its surface. As such, knowledge of where, when and how much rain and snow falls is essential for scientific research and societal applications. Building on the 17‐year success of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory (GPM‐CO) is the first US National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) satellite mission specifically designed with sensors to observe the structure and intensities of both rain and falling snow. The GPM‐CO has proved to be a worthy successor to TRMM, extending and improving high‐quality active and passive microwave observations across all times of day. The GPM‐CO launched in early 2014, is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), with sensors that include the NASA‐provided GPM Microwave Imager and the JAXA‐provided Dual‐frequency Precipitation Radar. These sensors were devised with high accuracy standards enabling them to be used as a reference for inter‐calibrating a constellation of partner satellite data. These inter‐calibrated partner satellite retrievals are used with infrared data to produce merged precipitation estimates at temporal scales of 30 min and spatial scales of 0.1° × 0.1°. Precipitation estimates from the GPM‐CO and partner constellation satellites, provided in near real time and later reprocessed with all ancillary data, are an indispensable source of precipitation data for operational and scientific users. Advances have been made using GPM data, primarily in improving sensor calibration, retrieval algorithms, and ground validation measurements, and used to further our understanding of the characteristics of liquid and frozen precipitation and the science of water and hydrological cycles for climate/weather forecasting. These advances have extended to societal benefits related to water resources, operational numerical weather prediction, hurricane monitoring, prediction, and disaster response, extremes, and disease.

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The Olympic Mountains Experiment (OLYMPEX)

Abstract: OLYMPEX is a comprehensive field campaign to study how precipitation in Pacific storms is modified by passage over coastal mountains.

Cited by 150 publications

References 33 publications

GPM Satellite Radar Measurements of Precipitation and Freezing Level in Atmospheric Rivers: Comparison With Ground‐Based Radars and Reanalyses

GPM Satellite Radar Measurements of Precipitation and Freezing Level in Atmospheric Rivers: Comparison With Ground‐Based Radars and Reanalyses

Wildfire and Weather Radar: A Review

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission's scientific achievements and societal contributions: reviewing four years of advanced rain and snow observations

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