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- Description:
- Ground-based measurements of frozen precipitation are heavily influenced by interactions of surface winds with gauge-shield geometry. The Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC), which photographs hydrometeors in free-fall from three different angles while simultaneously measuring their fall speed, has been used in the field at multiple mid-latitude and polar locations both with and without wind shielding. Here we present an analysis of Arctic field observations — with and without a Belfort double Alter shield — and compare the results to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of the airflow and corresponding particle trajectories around the unshielded MASC. MASC-measured fall speeds compare well with Ka-band Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Zenith Radar (KAZR) mean Doppler velocities only when winds are light (< 5 m/s) and the MASC is shielded. MASC-measured fall speeds that do not match KAZR measured velocities tend to fall below a threshold value that increases approximately linearly with wind speed but is generally < 0.5 m/s. For those events with wind speeds < 1.5 m/s, hydrometeors fall with an orientation angle mode of 12 degrees from the horizontal plane, and large, low-density aggregates are as much as five times more likely to be observed. Simulations in the absence of a wind shield show a separation of flow at the upstream side of the instrument, with an upward velocity component just above the aperture, which decreases the mean particle fall speed by 55% (74%) for a wind speed of 5 m/s (10 m/s). We conclude that accurate MASC observations of the microphysical, orientation, and fall speed characteristics of snow particles require shielding by a double wind fence and restriction of analysis to events where winds are light (< 5 m/s). Hydrometeors do not generally fall in still air, so adjustments to these properties' distributions within natural turbulence remain to be determined.
- Keyword:
- winds, snow, MATLAB, simulations, multi-angle snowflake camera, and hydrometeors
- Subject:
- Meteorology and Atmospheric Science
- Creator:
- Talaei, Ahmad, Hang, Chaoxun, Fitch, Kyle E., and Garrett, Timothy J.
- Owner:
- Language:
- English
- Date Uploaded:
- 07/20/2020
- Date Modified:
- 10/29/2024
- Date Created:
- 2012-05-21 to 2020-07-19
- License:
- CC BY NC - Allows others to use and share your data non-commercially and with attribution.
- Resource Type:
- Software or Program Code
- Identifier:
- https://doi.org/10.7278/S50DQTX9K7QY
- Description:
- The Andes Cordillera, which runs the length of South America and rises up to 5,000 m MSL within 200 km of the Pacific coast, dramatically influences the distribution of winter precipitation and snowpack over Chile and Argentina. The study of orographic precipitation processes, particularly along the western slopes of the Andes, is important to improve forecasts of severe flooding and snowpack in a region that depends on snowmelt for water resources. While orographic effects have been investigated on synoptic scales in the Andes, the lack of operational radar coverage and high-elevation, long-term precipitation records have, before the present study, precluded an in-depth investigation into the mesoscale and microphysical processes that affect the distribution of precipitation in the region. This dataset was collected during the Chilean Orographic and Mesoscale Precipitation Study (ChOMPS), which, from May-October 2016, investigated the evolution of precipitation amounts, dropsize distribution, and the vertical profile of radar echoes along an east-west transect that stretched from the Pacific coast to the windward slope of the Andes. The transect, at ~36°S, was made up of a coastal site upstream of the coastal mountain range (Concepción), a central valley site (Chillán), and a mountain site (Las Trancas). Instrumentation along the transect included three vertically pointing Micro-Rain-Radars, two Parsivel Disdrometers, and several meteorological stations. The dataset documents the evolution of Doppler velocity and reflectivity profiles with inland extent during early, middle, and late storm sectors. Additionally, the transect provides a season-long record of the inland evolution of melting layer height as well as the prevalence and structure of shallow non-brightband rain and the characteristics of its inland penetration to the central valley. This dataset, the first of its kind in the Chilean Andes, provides unique insight into mesoscale and orographic precipitation processes that also have applicability to the west coast of the United States and other mountainous regions.
- Keyword:
- flooding, meteorology, mesoscale processes, snowpack, forecasts, Micro-Rain-Radars, Parsivel Disdrometers, South America, precipitation, and microphysical processes
- Subject:
- Meteorology
- Creator:
- Campbell, Leah S., Minder, Justin, and Garreaud, Rene
- Contributor:
- Springmeyer, William, Rojas, Yazmina, Viscarra, Aldo, Montecinos, Aldo, Aguila, Daniel Sebastian Veloso, and Salazar, Diego Rivera
- Owner:
- Leahs Campbell
- Based Near Label Tesim:
- Chile, , Chile
- Language:
- English
- Date Uploaded:
- 05/16/2020
- Date Modified:
- 10/29/2024
- Date Created:
- 2016-05-15 to 2016-10-07
- License:
- CC BY NC - Allows others to use and share your data non-commercially and with attribution.
- Resource Type:
- Dataset
- Identifier:
- https://doi.org/10.7278/S50DJXEW0JH3