Precipitation over Land and the Southern Ocean (PLATO) Field Campaign Report
In order to complement the precipitation data collected as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Measurements of Aerosols, Radiation, and Clouds over the Southern Ocean (MARCUS) campaign deployment aboard our Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) icebreaker Auro...
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| Language: | unknown |
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2019
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| Online Access: | http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1524773 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1524773 |
| Summary: | In order to complement the precipitation data collected as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Measurements of Aerosols, Radiation, and Clouds over the Southern Ocean (MARCUS) campaign deployment aboard our Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) icebreaker Aurora Australis during summer 2017/18, we installed a Metek Micro Rain Radar (MRR-PRO model) and an Eigenbrodt OceanRAIN disdrometer on the monkey island. Biases in absorbed shortwave radiation over the Southern Ocean in numerical models compared to observations are most likely associated with biases in the representation of cloud microphysical properties such as liquid cloud droplet concentration and liquid water path that can be assessed by understanding precipitation together with cloud phase. The addition of these two AAD instruments will, together with MARCUS, enable studies relating precipitation and cloud properties (drop size distribution, number concentration, and modal diameter) to aerosol properties over the Southern Ocean. We deployed the disdrometer for all four voyages of Aurora Australis during summer 2017/18. The MRR was installed on Voyage 1 (Davis Base resupply) and again on Voyage 4 (Macquarie Island resupply), but was removed for the other two voyages due to commitments elsewhere. Instead of using up one ship’s expeditioner berth for our own technician to monitor these instruments, we asked the ARM technicians, through the ARM field campaign office, to monitor data collection of the MRR and disdrometer and notify me of any issues. The MRR performed well on the voyages and collected data nearly continuously. However, the disdrometer’s performance was very disappointing, with very little data collected at all. This seems due to instrumental faults; indeed we thank the ARM technicians who performed as much technical diagnostics as were possible while aboard. |
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