A Combined Measurement and Modelling Source Apportionment of Long-Range Transported Dust and its Impacts on Cloud and Precipitation Formation in California

Main Scientific Objectives: - Observe the vertical cloud/aerosol/thermodynamic structure of heavy to extreme winter-time coastal precipitation events associated with the Atmospheric River (AR)

- Assess relative contribution of Asian and African dust and the impact of long-range transport on U.S. west coast AR events

- Provide validation data to asses the utility and skill of advanced two-moment cloud microphysical parameterizations in AR forecasts

Main Technical Objective:

Integrate new and existing advanced cloud instrumentation into a coherent resource for use in advanced coastal cloud observational-based research projects

Piotr J. Flatau (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

Jerome M. Schmidt (NRL)

Jessie Creamean (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science)

Doug Westphal (NRL)

NRL/Scripps Cloud Monitoring InstrumentationA) Radiometrics 35 Channel Microwave Profiler (NRL): - Vertical Profiles of Temperature, Humidity & Cloud Water (to 10km) - Cloud Base height and temperature, Surface P,T, RH

B) OTT2 Parsivel Laser Disdrometer (NRL): - Surface Particle size distribution and fall speeds (32 bins) - Liquid (D = 0.2mm to 5mm), Solid (D = 0.2 to 25mm)

C) METEK Micro Rain Radar (Scripps): Precipitation sized particles (0-6km), LWC rain rate, Reflectivity, Doppler

D) Prede All-Sky Camera (NRL): Cloud type and fractional coverage

E) Sigma Space MicroPulse dual Polarization Lidar (Scripps): Aerosol & Cloud

F) Novalynx Professional 12” Tipping Bucket rain gauge (NRL)

G) Sun tracker for precise radiation measurements (Scripps)

H) Viasala CL51 Ceilometer (NRL)

A

D E

BC

FF

G

H

Summary

AEstablish a pilot NRL Coastal Cloud and Precipitation Observatory (NCCPO)

Observe cloud, aerosol, and thermodynamic structureassociated with the AR and associated extremewinter-time coastal precipitation-based events.

Provide validation data to asses the utility and skill of advanced model physics and coastal precipitation forecasts

Evaluate and improve satellite retrievals of coastal cloud properties

Develop a shared capability for use in a variety of NRL, National, and International research initiatives

Radiometer-derived thermodynamic frontalstructure

Knupp et al (2009)