Séminaire
In the last two decades, technological developments advanced atmospheric applications in microwave radiometry in the 20 to 200 GHz range from the use of research equipment during specialized campaigns at the ground to the operational use in larger scale networks and from satellite. Today, ground-based radiometers are a key part of the atmospheric supersite and their benefit for numerical weather prediction is investigated. Standard retrieved products are liquid water path, temperature and humidity profiles. By using sensor synergy, e.g. with cloud radar and lidar, capabilities can be enhanced specifically to gain vertically resolved information on cloud microphysical properties. The seminar will give an overview of the capabilities of ground-based microwave radiometers with the Jülich Observatory for Cloud Evolution (JOYCE) in Western Germany being under consideration as a microwave calibration center. How such instrumentation can be exploited for atmospheric process studies will be illustrated for a deployment in the Atacama desert, Chile, in respect to water vapor transport, airborne measurements of trade-cumulus clouds during the NARVAL campaign close to Barbados and finally for a better understanding of the roles of clouds for arctic amplification. For the latter, the complementary role of ground-based, airborne and satellite remote sensing and the benefits to extend to the submillimeter range will be discussed.
catherine.prigent@obspm.fr