On the Estimation of In‐Cloud Vertical Air Motion Using Radar Doppler Spectra
Zeen Zhu, Pavlos Kollias, Fan Yang, Edward Luke
Abstract
Abstract Measurements of in‐cloud vertical air motion are key to quantitatively describe cloud dynamics and their role in cloud microphysics. Here, a retrieval technique for estimating the in‐cloud vertical air motion using the upward edge of the radar Doppler spectrum is presented. An additional broadening correction factor that depends on the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) is introduced. A variety of independent measurements are used to assess the performance of the new technique. The vertical air motion is unbiased with an uncertainty of 0.2 m s −1 for SNR <30. The properties of in‐cloud vertical air motion are investigated from 1 year of ground‐based observations of warm marine boundary layer clouds. Clouds with higher LWP are characterized by stronger vertical air motions compared to those having lower LWP values.