Application of Aircraft Observations over Beijing in Cloud Microphysical Property Retrievals from CloudSat

Cloud microphysical property retrievals from the active microwave instrument on a satellite require the cloud droplet size distribution obtained from aircraft observations as a priori data in the iteration procedure.The cloud lognormal size distributions derived from 12 flights over Beijing,China,in 2008-09 were characterized to evaluate and improve regional CloudSat cloud water content retrievals.We present the distribution parameters of stratiform cloud droplet （diameter ＜500 tm and ＜1500 μm） and discuss the effect of large particles on distribution parameter fitting.Based on three retrieval schemes with different lognormal size distribution parameters,the vertical distribution of cloud liquid and ice water content were derived and then compared with the aircraft observations.The results showed that the liquid water content （LWC） retrievals from large particle size distributions were more consistent with the vertical distribution of cloud water content profiles derived from in situ data on 25 September 2006.We then applied two schemes with different a priori data derived from flight data to CloudSat overpasses in northern China during April-October in 2008 and 2009.The CloudSat cloud water path （CWP） retrievals were compared with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer （MODIS） liquid water path （LWP） data.The results indicated that considering a priori data including large particle size information can significantly improve the consistency between the CloudSat CWP and MODIS CWP.These results strongly suggest that it is necessary to consider particles with diameters greater than 50 tm in CloudSat LWC retrievals.

Study on Size Distributions of Airborne Particles by Aircraft Observation in Spring over Eastern Coastal Areas of China

The authors studied the size distributions of particles at an altitude of 2000 m by aircraft observation over eastern costal areas of China from Zhuhai, Guangdong to Dalian, Liaoning (0.47-30 μm, 57 channels, including number concentration distribution, surface area concentration distribution and mass concentration distribution). In these cities, the average daily concentrations of PM10 are very high. They are among the most heavily polluted cities in China. The main pollution sources are anthropogenic activities such as wood, coal and oil burning. The observed size distributions show a broad spectrum and unique multi-peak characteristics, indicating no significant impacts of individual sources from urban areas. These results are far different from the distribution type at ground level. It may reflect the comprehensive effect of the regional pollution characteristics. Monitoring results over big cities could to some extent reflect their pollution characteristics.

Aircraft observation of cloud microphysical characteristics of pre-stratiform-cloud precipitation in Jiangxi Province

Based on Droplet Measurement Technologies data of a pre-stratiform-cloud precipitation event in Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province, on 11 November 2015, and combined with radar data, this paper comprehensively analyzes the macro-and microphysical characteristics of cloud in the upper trough.The results show that：（1） Detection takes place in the early stage of precipitation and the cloud has multiple layers. The cloud type is stratiform（Sc） and the height of the cloud base is 1009 m, 1009–1700 m is the low Sc layer, 1700–3000 m is the no-cloud level, and 3000 to the maximum height detected is another Sc layer.（2） The Sc is inhomogeneous in the horizontal and vertical directions.The particle number concentration and the effective diameter below the 0 °C layer is significantly higher than that above the 0 °C layer, which is in accordance with the ‘seeder–feeder＇ mechanism.Above the 0 °C layer is seeder cloud, where needle, column ice crystals and water droplets coexist,and sublimation and coalescence are the main processes. The morphology of ice crystals changes from needle to column, plate, and polymer as height decreases. Below the 0 °C warm layer is a supply cloud, and the particles develop in the supply cloud with abundant liquid water content. Ice melting and coalescence dominate the warm layer, which makes the effective diameter significantly increase. Down to 4150 m, the ice melts completely into raindrops.

Aircraft Measurements of Cloud–Aerosol Interaction over East Inner Mongolia

To investigate the potential effects of aerosols on the microphysical properties of warm clouds, airborne observational data collected from 2009 to 2011 in Tongliao, Inner Mongolia, China, were statistically analyzed in this study. The results demonstrated that the vertical distribution of the aerosol number concentration（N_a） was similar to that of the clean rural continent. The average aerosol effective diameter（D_e） was maintained at approximately 0.4 μm at all levels. The data obtained during cloud penetrations showed that there was a progressive increase in the cloud droplet concentration（N_c） and liquid water content（LWC） from outside to inside the clouds, while the Nawas negatively related to the Ncand LWC at the same height. The fluctuation of the N_a, Ncand LWC during cloud penetration was more obvious under polluted conditions（Type 1） than under clean conditions（Type 2）. Moreover, the wet scavenging of cloud droplets had a significant impact on the accumulation mode of aerosols, especially on particles with diameters less than 0.4 μm. The minimum wet scavenging coefficient within the cloud was close to 0.02 under Type 1 conditions, while it increased to 0.1 under Type 2 conditions,which proved that the cloud wet scavenging effect under Type 1 conditions was stronger than that under Type 2 conditions.Additionally, cloud droplet spectra under Type 1 conditions were narrower, and their horizontal distributions were more homogeneous than those under Type 2 conditions.

Evaluating the performance of a WRF microphysics ensemble through comparisons with aircraft observations

observation data obtained in a mesoscale convective system are compared to Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF)model simulations using four microphysics schemes(Morrison,WSM6,P3,SBM)with different complexities.The main purpose of this paper is to assess the performance of the microphysics ensemble in terms of cloud microphysical properties.Results show that although the vertical distributions of liquid water content(LWC)and ice water content(IWC)simulated by the four members are quite different in the convective cloud region,they are relatively uniform in the stratiform cloud region.Overall,the results of the Morrison scheme are very similar to the ensemble average,and both of them are closer to the observations compared to the other schemes.Besides,the authors also note that all members still overpredict the LWC by a factor of 2–8 in some regions,resulting in large deviation between the observation and ensemble average.

Aircraft Observations of Electrical Conductivity in Warm Clouds

Aircraft observations of electrical conductivity and cloud microphsical, dynamical and other electrical parameters were made in warm stratocumulus and cumulus clouds forming during the summer monsoon seasons (June-September) of 1983 and 1985 in the Deccan Plateau region, India. A Gerdien type cylindrical condenser was used for the measurement of electrical conductivity. The variations in the electrical conductivity are observed to be closely associated with the updrafts and downdrafts in the cloud, liquid water content, cloud droplet charge and corona discharge current. The value of electrical conductivity in warm clouds is found to be in the order of 10-12 ohm-1 m-1 which is two orders higher than that observed in clear-air at cloud-base levels in some regions by other investigators.Classical static electricity concepts predict reduced conductivity values inside clouds. Cloud electrical conductivity measurements, particularly in warm clouds are few and the results are contradictory. The recently identified mechanism of vertical mixing in clouds lends support to convective charge separation mechanism with inherent larger than clear-air values for cloud electrical conductivity and therefore consistent with the measurements reported herein.

Comparison of aircraft observations with ensemble forecast model results in terms of the microphysical characteristics of stratiform precipitation

The prediction of the particle number concentration and liquid/ice water content of cloud is significant for many aspects of atmospheric science.However,given the uncertainties in the initial and boundary conditions and imperfections of microphysical schemes,the accurate prediction of these microphysical properties of cloud is still a big challenge.The ensemble approach may be a viable way to reduce forecast uncertainties.In this paper,a large-scale stratiform cloud precipitation process is studied by comparing results of a 10-member ensemble forecast model with aircraft observation data.By means of the ensemble average,the prediction of bulk parameters such as liquid water content and ice water content can be improved in comparison with the control member,but the particle number concentrations are still one to two orders of magnitude less than those from observations.Intercomparison of raindrop size spectra reveals a big distinction between observations and predictions for particles with a diameter less than 1000μm.

Observations and Modeling of Ice Water Content in a Mixed-Phase Cloud System

The ice water content(IWC) distribution in a mixed-phase cloud system was investigated using Cloud-Sat data,aircraft measurements,and the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF) model.Simulated precipitation and IWC were in general agreement with rain gauge,sat-ellite,and aircraft observations.The cloud case was char-acterized by a predominant cold layer and high IWC throughout the cloud-development and precipitation stages.The CloudSat-retrieved products suggested that the IWC was distributed from 4.0 to 8.0 km,with the maximum values(up to 0.5 g m-3) at 5.0-6.0 km at the earlymature stage of cloud development.High IWC(up to 0.8 g m-3) was also detected by airborne probes at 4.2 and 3.6 km at the late-mature stage.The WRF model simulation re-vealed that the predominant riming facilitated rapid ac-cumulation of high IWC at 3.0-6.0 km.

The Microphysical Characteristics of Wintertime Cold Clouds in North China

The microphysical characteristics of wintertime cold clouds in North China were investigated from 22 aircraft observation flights from 2014 to 2017,2020,and 2021.The clouds were generated by mesoscale weather systems with little orographic component.Over the mixed-phase temperature range(–40℃to 0℃),the average fraction of liquid,mixedphase,and ice cloud was 4.9%,23.3%,and 71.8%,respectively,and the probability distribution of ice mass fraction was a half-U-shape,suggesting that ice cloud was the primary cloud type.The wintertime mixed-phase clouds in North China were characterized by large cloud droplet number concentration,small liquid water content(LWC),and small effective diameter of cloud droplets.The main reason for larger cloud droplet number concentration and smaller effective diameter of cloud droplets was the heavy pollution in winter in North China,while for smaller LWC was the lower temperature during flights and the difference in air mass type.With the temperature increasing,cloud droplet number concentration,LWC,and the size of ice particles increased,but ice number concentration and effective diameter of cloud droplets decreased,similar to other mid-latitude regions,indicating the similarity in the temperature dependence of cloud properties of mixed-phase clouds.The variation of the cloud properties and ice habit at different temperatures indicated the operation of the aggregation and riming processes,which were commonly present in the wintertime mixed-phase clouds.This study fills a gap in the aircraft observation of wintertime cold clouds in North China.

Airborne Observations of Cloud Condensation Nuclei Spectra and Aerosols over East Inner Mongolia

A set of vertical profiles of aerosol number concentrations, size distributions and cloud condensation nuclei（CCN）spectra was observed using a passive cloud and aerosol spectrometer（PCASP） and cloud condensation nuclei counter, over the Tongliao area, East Inner Mongolia, China. The results showed that the average aerosol number concentration in this region was much lower than that in heavily polluted areas. Monthly average aerosol number concentrations within the boundary layer reached a maximum in May and a minimum in September, and the variations in CCN number concentrations at different supersaturations showed the same trend. The parameters c and k of the empirical function N = c S^kwere 539 and1.477 under clean conditions, and their counterparts under polluted conditions were 1615 and 1.42. Measurements from the airborne probe mounted on a Yun-12（Y12） aircraft, together with Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model backward trajectories indicated that the air mass from the south of Tongliao contained a high concentration of aerosol particles（1000–2500 cm^（-3）） in the middle and lower parts of the troposphere. Moreover, detailed intercomparison of data obtained on two days in 2010 indicated that the activation efficiency in terms of the ratio of NCCNto N_a（aerosols measured from PCASP） was 0.74（0.4 supersaturations） when the air mass mainly came from south of Tongliao, and this value increased to 0.83 on the relatively cleaner day. Thus, long-range transport of anthropogenic pollutants from heavily polluted mega cities,such as Beijing and Tianjin, may result in slightly decreasing activation efficiencies.

Vertical profiles of aerodynamic size distribution for airborne particles over Yangtze River Delta

Based on the aircraft observations in the summer of 2003, we have studied the aerodynamic size distributions of airborne particles at altitudes ranging from 400 m to 2800 m over the central and southern areas of Jiangsu province located in Yangtse River Delta of China. The sizes of airborne particles are measured to be in a range of 0.47- 30 μm with 57 channels, and their number concentrations, surface area concentrations and mass concentrations are also measured. The results show that the concentrations of airborne particles are very low above an altitude of 2000 m and the size distributions present a specific multi-peak mode by using insufficient samples. Below 1000 m, however, the concentrations of particles increase obviously, and their size distribution is similar to that at the ground level. The study also indicates that the concentrations, size distributions and median diameters of airborne particles above and below the boundary layer are very different, displaying different pollution features. Meanwhile, the results also show that the pollution level of airborne particles has a descending tendency with altitude increasing.

Recent advancements in aircraft and in situ observations of tropical cyclones

Observations of tropical cyclones(TC)from aircraft and in situ platforms provide critical and unique information for analyzing and forecasting TC intensity,structure,track,and their associated hazards.This report,prepared for the tenth International Workshop on Tropical Cyclones(IWTC-10),discusses the data collected around the world in TCs over the past four years since the IWTC-9,improvements to observing techniques,new instruments designed to achieve sustained and targeted atmospheric and oceanic observations,and select research results related to these observations.In the Atlantic and Eastern and Central Pacific basins,changes to operational aircraft reconnaissance are discussed along with several of the research field campaigns that have taken place recently.The changes in the use and impact of these aircraft observations in numerical weather prediction models are also provided along with updates on some of the experimental aircraft instrumentation.Highlights from three field campaigns in the Western Pacific basin are also discussed.Examples of in-situ data collected within recent TCs such as Hurricane Ian(2022),also demonstrate that new,emerging technologies and observation strategies reviewed in this report,definitely have the potential to further improve ocean-atmosphere coupled intensity forecasts.

Preliminary Evaluation of a Model for Stratiform Cloud Microphysical Structure by Observation and Simulation

The microphysical "three-layer" model for stratiform clouds over a midlatitude location in Northwest China is investigated by combining in situ airborne Particle Measuring Systems, Inc. (PMS), radar measurements, and the NCAR/Penn State Mesoscale Model Version 5 (MM5) simulation with a two-moment microphysics scheme. The coexistence of measured supercooled liquid water and small ice particles produces snow particles below the cloud top in the second layer. Peak number concentration and mean diameter of cloud water and raindrop appear in the third warm layer. A thin dry layer just below the melting layer is also observed. The predicted precipitation is tested by equitable threat score. The melting layer is clearly defined in the radar image and model radar reflectivity output is agreement with the observations. The model results provide features of the microphysical structure for every layer of "three-layer" model at Yan'an station. For both observation and model simulation, the "three-layer" model explains the stratiform precipitation formation completely and comprehensively.

Integration, Quality Assurance, and Usage of Global Aircraft Observations in CRA

This paper presents a detailed description of integration, quality assurance procedure, and usage of global aircraft observations for China's first generation global atmospheric reanalysis(CRA) product(1979–2018). An integration method named "classified integration" is developed. Aircraft observations from nine different sources are integrated into the Integrated Global Meteorological Observation Archive from Aircraft(IGMOAA), a new dataset from the National Meteorological Information Center(NMIC) of the China Meteorological Administration(CMA). IGMOAA consists of global aircraft temperature, wind, and humidity data from the surface to 100 h Pa, extending from 1973 to the present. Compared with observations assimilated in the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis(CFSR) of NCEP,the observation number of IGMOAA increased by 12.9% between 2010 and 2014, mainly as a result of adding more Chinese Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay(AMDAR) data. Complex quality control procedures for aircraft observations of NCEP are applied to detect data errors. Observations are compared with ERA-Interim reanalysis from 1979 to 2018 to investigate data quality of different types and aircraft, and subsequently to develop the blacklists for CRA. IGMOAA data have been assimilated in CRA in 2018 and are real-time updated at the CMA Data-as-a-Service(CMADaa S) platform. For CRA, the fits to observations improve over time. From 1994 to 2018, root-meansquare error(RMSE) of observations relative to CRA background decreases from 1.8 to 1.0℃ for temperature above 300 h Pa, and from 4.5 to 3 m s^(-1) for zonal wind. The RMSE for humidity appears to exhibit an apparent seasonal variation with larger errors in summer and smaller ones in winter.

Variation in entrainment rate and relationship with cloud microphysical properties on the scale of 5m

This paper focuses on the variability in entrainment rate in individual cumulus clouds using the entrainment rate estimated on the scale of 5 m in 186 shallow cumulus clouds from eight aircraft flights, using in situ observations from the RACORO field campaign （the routine atmospheric radiation measurement aerial facility clouds with low optical water depths optical radiative observations） over the atmospheric radiation measurement Southern Great Plains site, USA. The result shows that the mean entrainment rate of all the 186 clouds systematically decreases from the cloud edge to the cloud center. Further analysis of the fluctuation of entrainment rate shows that the probability density function of entrainment rate in each flight can be fitted by the lognormal, gamma, or Weibull distributions virtually equally well, with the Weibull dis- tribution being the best. The parameter ＂standard devia- tion＂ in the lognormal distribution is weakly negatively correlated, and the other parameters in the three distribu- tions are positively correlated with relative humidity in the entrained dry air and dilution effect, respectively. Entrainment rate is negatively correlated with droplet concentration, droplet size, and liquid water content, but positively correlated with relative dispersion. The effect of entrainment rate on the spectral shape of cloud droplet size distribution is examined and linked to the systems theory on the cloud droplet size distribution.