Physical retrieval of liquid water contents in a North Atlantic cyclone using SSM/I data

• Published in: Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
• Main Authors: Prigent, C., Sand, A., Klapisz, C., Lemaitre, Y.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1994
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.49712051904; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fqj.49712051904; https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/qj.49712051904

Abstract In the framework of the Mesoscale Frontal Dynamics Project/FRONTS 87, a cyclone over the North Atlantic Ocean is studied with the help of the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) on board the satellite of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. After a brief recall of the relevant studies on the frontal system of 11 November 1987 in the context of the second intensive observing period of Fronts 87, the SSM/I images are analysed to show the potential of microwave observations for diagnosing the mesoscale structure of the front. Then, considering the poor accuracy of the SSM/I regression‐type algorithms in estimating the integrated cloud‐liquid‐water contents, we propose to retrieve this quantity with the help of a radiative‐transfer model, coupled with a realistic first guess of the atmospheric characteristics in the meteorological area of concern. A physically consistent estimation is deduced from a nonlinear iterative inversion procedure, which aims at reducing the difference between simulated and measured brightness temperatures. The mesoscale structures of the retrieved fields of water vapour, cloud liquid water and rain rate appear consistent with the Fronts 87 meteorological analysis of this situation, and they complement the understanding of the processes involved in the dynamics of the front.