In-Situ Verification of Hydrometeor Algorithms for Polarimetric Radar

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The purpose of this project is to provide in situ verification of hydrometeor classification schemes developed for remote sensing via multiparameter radar. The emphasis will be on a classification scheme developed mainly from "fuzzy logic" analysis of model particle characteristics observable in polarimetric radar data, that operates in real time on the NCAR S-Pole radar. Aircraft equipped for microphysics and supporting observations will provide the in-situ data for verification of this (and other applicable) classifiers. Optical scattering and imaging probes on the aircraft provide data on the hydrometeors for comparison with the inferences from concurrent polarimetric radar data. Other data characterizing the environment are useful in dealing with cloud physics questions such as the possibility of wet growth of graupel in a given region of supercooled cloud. Data to be collected during the Mesoscale Alpine Program (MAP) in 1999 and in the Severe Thunderstorm Electrification and Precipitation Study (STEPS) project in 2000, will provide the basis for validation of the radar hydrometeor classification scheme. The S-Pole radar will provide the polarimetric data in each case; for MAP the aircraft data will come from the NCAR Electra and the NOAA P-3, while the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology T-28 will provide the aircraft data in STEPS. The end result will be a more complete understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the hydrometeor classification scheme for a wide range of cloud and thunderstorm environments.