Observation of Cloud Base Height and Precipitation Characteristics at a Polar Site Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Using Ground-Based Remote Sensing and Model Reanalysis
Clouds play a significant role in regulating the Arctic climate and water cycle due to their impacts on radiative balance through various complex feedback processes. However, there are still large discrepancies in satellite and numerical model-derived cloud datasets over the Arctic region due to a l...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:65f94734f8c14a4698c70d6aa378dd45 2023-05-15T14:51:55+02:00 Observation of Cloud Base Height and Precipitation Characteristics at a Polar Site Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Using Ground-Based Remote Sensing and Model Reanalysis Acharya Asutosh Sourav Chatterjee M.P. Subeesh Athulya Radhakrishnan Nuncio Murukesh 2021-07-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13142808 https://doaj.org/article/65f94734f8c14a4698c70d6aa378dd45 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/14/2808 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs13142808 2072-4292 https://doaj.org/article/65f94734f8c14a4698c70d6aa378dd45 Remote Sensing, Vol 13, Iss 2808, p 2808 (2021) arctic precipitation cloud base heights ceilometer micro rain radar remote sensing meteorology Science Q article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13142808 2022-12-31T00:43:58Z Clouds play a significant role in regulating the Arctic climate and water cycle due to their impacts on radiative balance through various complex feedback processes. However, there are still large discrepancies in satellite and numerical model-derived cloud datasets over the Arctic region due to a lack of observations. Here, we report observations of cloud base height (CBH) characteristics measured using a Vaisala CL51 ceilometer at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. The study highlights the monthly and seasonal CBH characteristics at the location. It is found that almost 40% of the lowest CBHs fall within a height range of 0.5–1 km. The second and third cloud bases that could be detected by the ceilometer are mostly concentrated below 3 km during summer but possess more vertical spread during the winter season. Thin and low-level clouds appear to be dominant during the summer. Low-level clouds are found to be dominant and observed in 76% of cases. The mid and high-level clouds occur in ~16% and ~7% of cases, respectively. Further, micro rain radar (MRR2) observed enhanced precipitation and snowfall events during the winter and spring which are found to be associated with the lowest CBHs within 2 km from the ground. The frontal process associated with synoptic-scale meteorological conditions explains the variabilities in CBH and precipitation at the observation site when compared for two contrasting winter precipitation events. The findings of the study could be useful for model evaluation of cloud precipitation relationships and satellite data validation in the Arctic environment. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Svalbard Ny-Ålesund Remote Sensing 13 14 2808 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
arctic precipitation cloud base heights ceilometer micro rain radar remote sensing meteorology Science Q |
spellingShingle |
arctic precipitation cloud base heights ceilometer micro rain radar remote sensing meteorology Science Q Acharya Asutosh Sourav Chatterjee M.P. Subeesh Athulya Radhakrishnan Nuncio Murukesh Observation of Cloud Base Height and Precipitation Characteristics at a Polar Site Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Using Ground-Based Remote Sensing and Model Reanalysis |
topic_facet |
arctic precipitation cloud base heights ceilometer micro rain radar remote sensing meteorology Science Q |
description |
Clouds play a significant role in regulating the Arctic climate and water cycle due to their impacts on radiative balance through various complex feedback processes. However, there are still large discrepancies in satellite and numerical model-derived cloud datasets over the Arctic region due to a lack of observations. Here, we report observations of cloud base height (CBH) characteristics measured using a Vaisala CL51 ceilometer at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. The study highlights the monthly and seasonal CBH characteristics at the location. It is found that almost 40% of the lowest CBHs fall within a height range of 0.5–1 km. The second and third cloud bases that could be detected by the ceilometer are mostly concentrated below 3 km during summer but possess more vertical spread during the winter season. Thin and low-level clouds appear to be dominant during the summer. Low-level clouds are found to be dominant and observed in 76% of cases. The mid and high-level clouds occur in ~16% and ~7% of cases, respectively. Further, micro rain radar (MRR2) observed enhanced precipitation and snowfall events during the winter and spring which are found to be associated with the lowest CBHs within 2 km from the ground. The frontal process associated with synoptic-scale meteorological conditions explains the variabilities in CBH and precipitation at the observation site when compared for two contrasting winter precipitation events. The findings of the study could be useful for model evaluation of cloud precipitation relationships and satellite data validation in the Arctic environment. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Acharya Asutosh Sourav Chatterjee M.P. Subeesh Athulya Radhakrishnan Nuncio Murukesh |
author_facet |
Acharya Asutosh Sourav Chatterjee M.P. Subeesh Athulya Radhakrishnan Nuncio Murukesh |
author_sort |
Acharya Asutosh |
title |
Observation of Cloud Base Height and Precipitation Characteristics at a Polar Site Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Using Ground-Based Remote Sensing and Model Reanalysis |
title_short |
Observation of Cloud Base Height and Precipitation Characteristics at a Polar Site Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Using Ground-Based Remote Sensing and Model Reanalysis |
title_full |
Observation of Cloud Base Height and Precipitation Characteristics at a Polar Site Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Using Ground-Based Remote Sensing and Model Reanalysis |
title_fullStr |
Observation of Cloud Base Height and Precipitation Characteristics at a Polar Site Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Using Ground-Based Remote Sensing and Model Reanalysis |
title_full_unstemmed |
Observation of Cloud Base Height and Precipitation Characteristics at a Polar Site Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Using Ground-Based Remote Sensing and Model Reanalysis |
title_sort |
observation of cloud base height and precipitation characteristics at a polar site ny-ålesund, svalbard using ground-based remote sensing and model reanalysis |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13142808 https://doaj.org/article/65f94734f8c14a4698c70d6aa378dd45 |
geographic |
Arctic Svalbard Ny-Ålesund |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Svalbard Ny-Ålesund |
genre |
Arctic Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
op_source |
Remote Sensing, Vol 13, Iss 2808, p 2808 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/14/2808 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-4292 doi:10.3390/rs13142808 2072-4292 https://doaj.org/article/65f94734f8c14a4698c70d6aa378dd45 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13142808 |
container_title |
Remote Sensing |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
14 |
container_start_page |
2808 |
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1766323063818813440 |