Microwave absorption measurements of melting spherical and nonspherical hydrometeors

Measurements were made of the absorption behavior of melting and freezing hydrometeors using resonant cavity perturbation techniques at a wavelength of 2.82 cm. Melting ice spheres with equivalent melted diameters between 1.15 and 2.00 mm exhibit a period of strong absorption during melting as predicted by prior theoretical calculations. However, the measured magnitude of the absorption peak exceeds the predicted value. Absorption measuremets of melting oblate and prolate ice ellipsoids also exhibit enhanced absorption during melting.