The proposed work comprises three interlocking research topics:
- Direct measurements of microwave backscattering and attenuation and related properties of frozen and melting precipitation in Madison (WI) and in the SHARE experiment (Sierra Nevada mountains, CA).
- Evaluation and refinement of physical and empirical models of microwave scattering and attenuation by complex snow particles and aggregates.
- Forward radiative transfer calculations for wintertime precipitating cloud systems validated against satellite microwave and surface radar observations.
These investigations will improve our understanding of the microwave radiative transfer properties and signatures (active and passive) of wintertime precipitating cloud systems at middle and high latitudes, as required both by current precipitation monitoring efforts based on the AMSR-E and AMSU and by the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM).
