Three-dimensional observations of atmospheric humidity with a scanning differential absorption Lidar

Behrendt, Andreas; Wulfmeyer, Volker; Riede, Andrea; Wagner, Gerd; Pal, Sandip; Bauer, H.; Radlach, M.; Späth, Florian

doi:10.1117/12.835143

Cited by 46 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These convergent flow structures resulted in the development of shallow convection at the northern tip of the Vosges mountains, which are visible in the satellite image. Figure 11 presents the WV profiles measured with the IPM DIAL system over supersite H. The results confirm the outstanding resolution of DIAL measurements in the lower troposphere with resolutions of 1 s and 15 m, respectively (Wulfmeyer and Walther, 2001a,b;Behrendt et al, 2009). Turbulent processes in the CBL are resolved which were capped by a strong inversion layer.…”

Section: Thermally Induced Flow Systemssupporting

confidence: 63%

The Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS): the scientific strategy, the field phase, and research highlights

Wulfmeyer

Behrendt

Kottmeier

et al. 2011

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

Self Cite

194

136

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Within the framework of the international field campaign COPS (Convective and Orographically-induced Precipitation Study), a large suite of state-of-the-art meteorological instrumentation was operated, partially combined for the first time. This includes networks of in situ and remote-sensing systems such as the Global Positioning System as well as a synergy of multi-wavelength passive and active remote-sensing instruments such as advanced radar and lidar systems. The COPS field phase was performed from 01 June to 31 August 2007 in a low-mountain area in southwestern Germany/eastern France covering the Vosges mountains, the Rhine valley and the Black Forest mountains. The collected data set covers the entire evolution of convective precipitation events in complex terrain from their initiation, to their development and mature phase until their decay. Eighteen Intensive Observation Periods with 37 operation days and eight additional Special Observation Periods were performed, providing a comprehensive data set covering different forcing conditions. In this article, an overview of the COPS scientific strategy, the field phase, and its first accomplishments is given. Highlights of the campaign are illustrated with several measurement examples. It is demonstrated that COPS research provides new insight into key processes leading to convection initiation and to the modification of precipitation by orography, in the improvement of quantitative precipitation forecasting by the assimilation of new observations, and in the performance of ensembles of convection-permitting models in complex terrain.

show abstract

Section: Thermally Induced Flow Systemssupporting

confidence: 63%

The Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS): the scientific strategy, the field phase, and research highlights

Wulfmeyer

Behrendt

Kottmeier

et al. 2011

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

Self Cite

194

136

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In our study, the Brunt-Vaisala frequency was not measured so we keep this exciting possibility to determine the entrainment flux for future research. Remotely sensed measurements of the Brunt-Vaisala frequency are now possible with water vapour DIAL (Behrendt et al 2009) or Raman lidar in combination with temperature rotational Raman lidar (Radlach et al 2008). (3) Moistening and drying of the CBL can be determined if a relationship between the vertical velocity variance and w * is derived (Sorbjan 2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Water Vapour Raman Lidar Resolve Profiles of Turbulent Variables in the Convective Boundary Layer?

Wulfmeyer

Pal

Turner

et al. 2010

Boundary-Layer Meteorol

Self Cite

111

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

High-resolution water vapour measurements made by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Raman lidar operated at the Southern Great Plains Climate Research Facility site near Lamont, Oklahoma, U.S.A. are presented. Using a 2-h measurement period for the convective boundary layer (CBL) on 13 September 2005, with temporal and spatial resolutions of 10 s and 75 m, respectively, spectral and autocovariance analyses of water vapour mixing ratio time series are performed. It is demonstrated that the major part of the inertial subrange was detected and that the integral scale was significantly larger than the time resolution. Consequently, the major part of the turbulent fluctuations was resolved. Different methods to retrieve noise error profiles yield consistent results and compare well with noise profiles estimated using Poisson statistics of the Raman lidar signals. Integral scale, mixing-ratio variance, skewness, and kurtosis profiles were determined including error bars with respect to statistical and sampling errors. The integral scale ranges between 70 and 130 s at the top of the CBL. Within the CBL, up to the third order, noise errors are significantly smaller than sampling errors and the absolute values of turbulent variables, respectively. The mixing-ratio variance profile rises monotonically from ≈0.07 to ≈3.7 g 2 kg −2 in the entrainment zone. The skewness is nearly zero up to 0.6 z/z i , becomes −1 around 0.7-0.8 z/z i , crosses zero at about 0.95 z/z i , and reaches about 1.7 at 1.1 z/z i (here, z is the height and z i is the CBL depth). The noise errors are too large to derive fourth-order moments with sufficient accuracy. Consequently, to the best of our knowledge, the ARM Raman lidar is the first water vapour Raman lidar with demonstrated capability to retrieve profiles of turbulent variables up to the third order during daytime throughout the atmospheric CBL.

show abstract

“…The ground-based University of Hohenheim (UHOH) lidar system was operated at Hornisgrinde,Germany (48.604 • N,8.204 • E, 1161 m above sea level, see its location in Figure 1(b)) from June-August 2007 (Behrendt et al, 2009). It is a differential absorption lidar system sensing the atmosphere in the near-infrared, around 820 nm, and provides water-vapour number density as its primary measured parameter.…”

Section: Lidar Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐range transport of Saharan dust and its radiative impact on precipitation forecast: a case study during the Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS)

Chaboureau

Richard

Pinty

et al. 2011

Quart J Royal Meteoro Soc

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

From Lagrangian back trajectories it was found that the dust was mobilized from sources in Mauritania six days earlier, while the dry layer subsided over the north Atlantic. Off the Moroccan coasts, the dry layer folded down beneath the dusty air mass and the two-layer structure was advected to the Rhine valley in about two days. By heating the atmosphere, the dust layer changed the static stability of the atmosphere and thus the occurrence of convection. A study of sensitivity to the radiative effect of dust showed a better prediction of precipitation when a dust prognostic scheme was used rather than climatology or when dust effects were ignored. This result suggests that dust episodes that occur prior to convective events might be important for quantitative precipitation forecasts.

show abstract

Three-dimensional observations of atmospheric humidity with a scanning differential absorption Lidar

Cited by 46 publications

References 11 publications

The Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS): the scientific strategy, the field phase, and research highlights

The Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS): the scientific strategy, the field phase, and research highlights

Can Water Vapour Raman Lidar Resolve Profiles of Turbulent Variables in the Convective Boundary Layer?

Long‐range transport of Saharan dust and its radiative impact on precipitation forecast: a case study during the Convective and Orographically‐induced Precipitation Study (COPS)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About