Analysis of Convective Water Transports During Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers (CRYSTAL)

该补助金支持Frank博士和他的合作PI Johannes Verlinde参与CRYSTAL-FACE项目，该项目代表热带铁砧和卷云层的卷云区域研究-佛罗里达地区卷云实验。 这是一个跨部门的实地计划，将于2002年夏天在佛罗里达南部及其周围地区进行，目的是研究热带地区大型对流云产生的卷云砧云的形成、演变和辐射特性。 弗兰克博士将使用一架安装有NSF ELDORA雷达的NRL P3飞机，记录深对流云系统从开始到广泛卷云砧发展的生命周期。 其主要目的是估计进入卷云层的总水物质（蒸汽加冷凝物）的对流输送。 这是通过首先计算垂直空气速度从多普勒雷达观测得出的水平发散的轮廓，然后推断水通量相结合的估计空气质量通量与大涡模拟，包括参数化降水的结果。 将对结果进行综合，以评估对流水输送对全球卷云总数的影响，包括估计其对地球辐射收支的影响。

This grant supports the participation of Dr. Frank and his Co-PI, Johannes Verlinde, in the CRYSTAL-FACE project, which stands for Cirrus Regional Study of Tropical Anvils and Cirrus Layers - Florida Area Cirrus Experiment. This is an interagency field program to be conducted in and around southern Florida in the summer of 2002 with the goal of studying the formation, evolution, and radiative properties of the cirrus anvil clouds created by large convective clouds in the tropics. Dr. Frank will use an NRL P3 aircraft fitted with the NSF ELDORA radar to document the life cycles of deep convective cloud systems from the time of their inception until the development of widespread cirrus anvils. The main objective is to estimate the convective transport of total water substance (vapor plus condensate) into the cirrus cloud layer. This is accomplished by first computing the vertical air velocity from the profile of horizontal divergence derived from Doppler radar observations, and then inferring the water flux by combining the estimated mass flux of air with results of large-eddy simulations that include parameterized precipitation. The results will be synthesized to assess the influence of convective water transports on the global population of cirrus clouds, including estimates of their effect on the Earth's radiation budget.