Exploring New Frontiers in Microwave
Remote Sensing
Mark Kulie & Ralf Bennartz
With input from
T. L’Ecuyer, C. Pettersen, G. Petty,
N. Wood, J. Booske (ECE)
Outline
•  RADARS-UW
•  Taking it to Space
RADARS-UW
•  Research And Development Advancing Radar
*C. Pettersen
Studies at UW*
•  Observational platforms
•  Micro Rain Radar + microphysical observations
•  NEXRAD
•  Cloud Radars
•  Microwave radar/link
•  Lab observations
•  Radar + Microphysical Obs + Modeling
•  Retrieval development, validation, microphysics
Micro Rain Radar + Snowflake Video Imager
Courtesy of Metek
Courtesy of S. Kneifel
Courtesy of P. Kucera
Courtesy of P. Kucera
Micro Rain Radar + Snowflake Video Imager
•
•
•
•
•
2012-’13 & 2013-’14 deployments
Long-term microphysical + radar obs
Near surface features
Modeling/retrieval improvements
Validation site
Combined Active/Passive Observations
V IV RAIN
III II I Multi-frequency Radar: Modeling + Observations
94 GHz
13 GHz
(Ku – Ka) DWR [dB]
35 GHz
(Ka – W) DWR [dB]
Microwave Link
•  Microwave transmitter/receiver + reflector*
•  Multi-frequency (35/94/150 GHz)
•  Radar backscatter + attenuation
*G. Petty
Laboratory: Microwave absorption
•  ECE Collaboration (J. Booske, M. Weber)
•  Laboratory water vapor absorption measurements
•  Extend to hydrometeors?
400 GHz Weber et al. (2011; IEEE)
GIMPAP: NEXRAD + GOES Lake Effect Snow
M. Kulie, R. Bennartz, A. Walther, A. Heidinger
GIMPAP: NEXRAD + GOES Lake Effect Snow
NEXRAD 1638Z
Terra MODIS 1635Z
11 GIMPAP: NEXRAD + GOES Lake Effect Snow
•  “Calibrate” GOES products with NEXRAD
•  Develop empirical relationships
–  NEXRAD snowfall rates (Ze-S)
–  NEXRAD
GOES cloud properties
–  CIMSS GOES-R Proving Ground
•  NWS Collaboration
•  Validation
•  Multi-sensor research pathways
ICECAPS: Integrated Characteriza:on of Energy, Clouds, Atmospheric state, and Precipita:on at Summit PIs: Ralf Bennartz (University of Wisconsin), MaLhew Shupe (University of Colorado), Dave Turner (NOAA), and Von Walden (University of Idaho) Instrumenta:on Science ICECAPS Mobile Science Facility – Summit, Greenland (Shupe BAMS 2012) SSEC: Mark Kulie – Scien:st Aronne Merrelli – Summer Phase 2011 Nate Miller – Summer Phase 2011 Erik Olson – Engineer Claire PeLersen – Winter Phase III 2012 July 2012 Ice Sheet Melt Event as seen by ICECAPS (Miller, AGU 2012) Science Resource: hLp://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/arc:c/observatories/summit/browser/ Papers: Shupe, et al., Bulle%n of the American Meteorological Society, 2012 Miller, et al., Journal of Geophysical Research, Submi4ed Bennartz, et al., Nature, Submi4ed Cloud Radar Snowfall Observations
ICECAPS
•  Direct observational validation: •  Regime statistics
ICECAPS, DOE/ARM, NASA
DREAM SCENARIO: UW
•  Multi-instrument synergy
•  Near surface features
•  Increased radar sensitivity
•  Microphysical studies
Taking it to Space
Can we detect/estimate snowfall? Uncertainties?
•  Global Precipitation Measurement
•  Dual-freq radar + radiometer
•  CloudSat
•  Cloud Profiling Radar
CloudSat retrievals / uncertainty due to habit
Hiley, Kulie, Bennartz (JAMC, 2011) CloudSat data density
•  Even nadir-only
sensors (CloudSat)
provide decent
coverage at higher
latitudes
•  About 7000 obs per
year per 1x2 deg
box at 70 N.
CloudSat: 2006 – 2010 Mean
GPCC: 2006 – 2010
GPCC: 2006 – 2010
2C-PRECIP-COLUMN
2C-RAIN-PROFILE
Reflectivity IWC/LWC 2C-SNOW-PROFILE
Reflectivity Snowfall Rate T. L’Ecuyer, N. Wood Think BIG – Think OUTSIDE the BOX
•  Where to go after GPM/CloudSat?
•  Future Precipitation Missions?
•  Active?
4th International Workshop on Space-based
Snowfall Measurement
6– 8 May 2013
Mammoth Lake, CA
Organizing Committee:
Ralf Bennartz, University of Wisconsin
Robin Hogan, University of Reading
Paul Joe, Environment Canada
Gail Skofronick Jackson, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Graeme Stephens, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Local Organizer: Deb Vane, Tom Painter, JPL, Jeff Dozier, UCSB
Think
– Think
INSIDEthe
theBOX
BOX
ThinkSMALL
BIG – Think
OUTSIDE
Think SMALL – Think INSIDE the BOX
CubeSat Observation System for Meteorology and
Climate Science (COSMCS)
Think SMALL – Think INSIDE the BOX
CubeSat Observation System for Meteorology and
Climate Science (COSMCS)
Attenuation Measurements in Rain
Challenges/Opportunities
•  Low risk proof-of-concept missions
•  Low mission cost (could fly a fleet of 500
CubeSats for the cost of the GPM Core satellite)
•  Short time line (few years to launch)
•  Smaller missions, space, power limitations
•  Difficult to design exciting science missions