Convective cloud profile estimations using wideband radiometer and radar observations

This paper describes a combined radiometer-radar iterative retrieval algorithm used to estimate detailed microphysical profiles of cloud properties. Profile estimates must produce calculated brightness temperatures (T_b) and radar reflectivities (Z) consistent with wideband T_b observations and a single frequency radar observation. Microphysical profiles were estimated for three storm types: convective, updraft, and an anvil case. Improvements in the Z_obs versus Z_calc comparison occurred in all three cases. The estimations provide drop size distributions (DSDs) and densities for five hydrometeor types: cloud water, rain, cloud ice, and two solid ice particle types. The two ice particles typically follow the Central Equatorial Pacific Experiment (CEPEX) DSDs described by Liu and Curry (1998) or a modified Sehkon-Srivastava (1970) DSD. Retrieved profiles contain nearly 40 height levels between 0 km and 20 km. Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) cloud resolving model profiles are used to initialize the profile and to provide the height, temperature, and initial relative humidity at each level in the profile. The observations are from the well known 22 February 1993 TOGA-COARE flight. Nadir-viewed brightness temperatures from both the ER-2 and DC-8 are used as observations. There are 16 frequencies spanning 10.7 to 220 GHz available