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Classification of Tropical Oceanic Precipitation using High-Altitude Aircraft Microwave and Electric Field MeasurementsDuring the 1998 and 2001 hurricane seasons of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer (AMPR), the ER-2 Doppler (EDOP) radar, and the Lightning Instrument Package (LIP) were flown aboard the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft as part of the Third Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-3) and the Fourth Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-4). Several hurricanes, tropical storms, and other precipitation systems were sampled during these experiments. An oceanic rainfall screening technique has been developed using AMPR passive microwave observations of these systems collected at frequencies of 10.7, 19.35, 37.1, and 85.5 GHz. This technique combines the information content of the four AMPR frequencies regarding the gross vertical structure of hydrometeors into an intuitive and easily executable precipitation mapping format. The results have been verified using vertical profiles of EDOP reflectivity and lower-altitude horizontal reflectivity scans collected by the NOAA WP3D Orion radar. Matching the rainfall classification results with coincident electric field information collected by the LIP readily identifies convective rain regions within the precipitation fields. This technique shows promise as a real-time research and analysis tool for monitoring vertical updraft strength and convective intensity from airborne platforms such as remotely operated or uninhabited aerial vehicles. The technique is analyzed and discussed for a wide variety of precipitation types using the 26 August 1998 observations of Hurricane Bonnie near landfall.
Document ID
20060051679
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Hood, Robbie E.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Cecil, Daniel J.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
LaFontaine, Frank J.
(Raytheon Technical Services Co. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Blakeslee, Richard J.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Mach, Douglas m.
(Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Heymsfield, Gerald M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Marks, Frank D., Jr.
(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Miami, FL, United States)
Zipser, Edward J.
(Utah Univ. Salt Lake City, UT, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
Publisher: American Meteorological Society
Volume: 63
Subject Category
Oceanography
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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