Refractivity Observations from Radar Phase Measurements: The 22 May 2002 Dryline Case during IHOP Project
The dryline, often associated with the development of severe storms in the Southern Great Plains of the United States of America, is a boundary layer phenomenon that occurs when a warm and moist air mass from the Gulf of Mexico meets a hot and dry air mass from the southwest desert area. An accurate...
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/1/33 |
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| author | Rubén Nocelo López Verónica Santalla del Rio Brais Sánchez-Rama |
| author_facet | Rubén Nocelo López Verónica Santalla del Rio Brais Sánchez-Rama |
| author_sort | Rubén Nocelo López |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The dryline, often associated with the development of severe storms in the Southern Great Plains of the United States of America, is a boundary layer phenomenon that occurs when a warm and moist air mass from the Gulf of Mexico meets a hot and dry air mass from the southwest desert area. An accurate knowledge of the water vapor spatio-temporal variability in the lower part of the atmosphere is crucial for a better understanding of the evolution of the dryline. The tropospheric refractivity, directly related to water vapor content, is a proxy for the water vapor content of the troposphere. It has already been demonstrated that the refractivity and the refractivity vertical gradient can be jointly estimated from radar phase measurements. In fact, it has been shown that using kriging interpolation techniques, accurate refractivity maps within the coverage area of the radar can be obtained with high temporal resolution. In this paper, a detailed analysis of the time series of radar-based refractivity maps obtained during a dryline that occurred on the afternoon of 22 May 2002 during the International <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>H</mi><mn>2</mn></msub><mi>O</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> Project (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>I</mi><mi>H</mi><mi>O</mi><mi>P</mi><mo>_</mo><mn>2002</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) is presented. Comparisons between the time series of radar refractivity maps, obtained with the NCAR S-Pol radar, and the refractivity measurements derived from automatic ground-based weather stations and the AERI instrument, placed at different locations within the coverage area of the NCAR S-Pol radar, demonstrate the accuracy of radar refractivity estimates even for highly variable conditions, both in time and space, in the troposphere. Correlation coefficients higher than 0.95 are obtained in all weather station locations. Regarding the RMSE, errors less than 6 N-units are obtained for all cases, being even as low as 2.92 N-units at some locations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:06:46Z |
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| id | doaj.art-e01e62a351694564b39302a668a47b53 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:06:46Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-e01e62a351694564b39302a668a47b532024-01-26T15:01:39ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332023-12-011513310.3390/atmos15010033Refractivity Observations from Radar Phase Measurements: The 22 May 2002 Dryline Case during IHOP ProjectRubén Nocelo López0Verónica Santalla del Rio1Brais Sánchez-Rama2Defense University Center at the Spanish Naval Academy, 36920 Marín, SpainAtlanTTic Research Center, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, SpainAtlanTTic Research Center, Universidade de Vigo, 36310 Vigo, SpainThe dryline, often associated with the development of severe storms in the Southern Great Plains of the United States of America, is a boundary layer phenomenon that occurs when a warm and moist air mass from the Gulf of Mexico meets a hot and dry air mass from the southwest desert area. An accurate knowledge of the water vapor spatio-temporal variability in the lower part of the atmosphere is crucial for a better understanding of the evolution of the dryline. The tropospheric refractivity, directly related to water vapor content, is a proxy for the water vapor content of the troposphere. It has already been demonstrated that the refractivity and the refractivity vertical gradient can be jointly estimated from radar phase measurements. In fact, it has been shown that using kriging interpolation techniques, accurate refractivity maps within the coverage area of the radar can be obtained with high temporal resolution. In this paper, a detailed analysis of the time series of radar-based refractivity maps obtained during a dryline that occurred on the afternoon of 22 May 2002 during the International <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>H</mi><mn>2</mn></msub><mi>O</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula> Project (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi>I</mi><mi>H</mi><mi>O</mi><mi>P</mi><mo>_</mo><mn>2002</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) is presented. Comparisons between the time series of radar refractivity maps, obtained with the NCAR S-Pol radar, and the refractivity measurements derived from automatic ground-based weather stations and the AERI instrument, placed at different locations within the coverage area of the NCAR S-Pol radar, demonstrate the accuracy of radar refractivity estimates even for highly variable conditions, both in time and space, in the troposphere. Correlation coefficients higher than 0.95 are obtained in all weather station locations. Regarding the RMSE, errors less than 6 N-units are obtained for all cases, being even as low as 2.92 N-units at some locations.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/1/33drylineboundary layerradar refractivitygeostatistical interpolation |
| spellingShingle | Rubén Nocelo López Verónica Santalla del Rio Brais Sánchez-Rama Refractivity Observations from Radar Phase Measurements: The 22 May 2002 Dryline Case during IHOP Project Atmosphere dryline boundary layer radar refractivity geostatistical interpolation |
| title | Refractivity Observations from Radar Phase Measurements: The 22 May 2002 Dryline Case during IHOP Project |
| title_full | Refractivity Observations from Radar Phase Measurements: The 22 May 2002 Dryline Case during IHOP Project |
| title_fullStr | Refractivity Observations from Radar Phase Measurements: The 22 May 2002 Dryline Case during IHOP Project |
| title_full_unstemmed | Refractivity Observations from Radar Phase Measurements: The 22 May 2002 Dryline Case during IHOP Project |
| title_short | Refractivity Observations from Radar Phase Measurements: The 22 May 2002 Dryline Case during IHOP Project |
| title_sort | refractivity observations from radar phase measurements the 22 may 2002 dryline case during ihop project |
| topic | dryline boundary layer radar refractivity geostatistical interpolation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/15/1/33 |
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