Radar Backgrounder

ARM Scanning Cloud and Precipitation Radars

In the last year, the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility deployed 18 new scanning cloud and precipitation radar systems to complement its existing array of ground-based profiling cloud radars in Oklahoma, Alaska, and the tropical western Pacific. These new radars operate continuously, capturing the full range of hydrometeors from cloud droplets (liquid and ice) to drizzle to precipitation. The precipitation radars operate at 5 and 10 gigahertz (C and X bands) for drizzle and precipitation, and the cloud radars operate at 10, 35, and 95 gigahertz (X, Ka, and W bands) for cloud droplets and drizzle.

Why It Matters: Scanning strategies developed for these operational radars extend measurements of clouds and precipitation beyond the confines of the vertical atmospheric column to include a true spatial picture of the formation, growth and decay of cloud systems. Conventional weather radars also scan, but are designed to measure precipitation, which makes these new data uniquely important for improving simulations of cloud life cycle in climate models. Researchers around the world can freely use these radar data for their research.

ARM Panelist: Dr. Gerald "Jay" Mace, Prof. Atmospheric Science, University of Utah. Dr. Mace is a senior member of the team of scientists who use ARM radar data in developing new techniques for understanding the role of clouds in Earth's climate system. He participated in a workshop which led to the identification of the scientific need for these new radars.

  • Tuesday, A24B-02: Use of Dual Frequency Doppler Radar to Infer Cloud and Precipitation Properties and Air Motion Statistics.

Science Team: Mike Jensen, Brookhaven National Laboratory; Scott Collis, Argonne National Laboratory; Jimmy Voyles, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Sean Moore, Mission Research Corp.

Related Sessions at AGU 2011

  • Tuesday, A23A Posters: Convective Cloud Lifecycle During the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E)
  • Wednesday, A32C-01: Integrated Observations of Convective Clouds during MC3E – Preliminary Analysis, Successes and Challenges
  • Wednesday, IN34A-04: Web-Based Data Tools Leveraging Open Standards in Use at the ARM Climate Research Facility