Long-term Validation of Cloud-droplet Number Concentration Value Added Product (NDROP VAP) Retrieved from Surface Measurements

Abstract:

A new cloud-droplet number concentration (NDROP) Value Added Product (VAP) has been produced at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site for the 13 years from January 1998 to January 2011. The droplet number concentration values are retrieved from surface radiometer measurements of cloud optical depth from the multi-filter rotating shadow-band radiometer (MFRSR) and liquid water path from the microwave radiometer (MWR). We validate the NDROP VAP with in situ aircraft measurements from the Cloud and Aerosol Spectrometer probe during the long-term aircraft field campaign, Routine ARM Aerial Facility (AAF) CLOWD Optical Radiative Observations (RACORO). The NDROP VAP considers entrainment effects rather than assuming an adiabatic cloud, which improves the values of the NDROP VAP by reducing the magnitude of cloud-droplet number concentration. The NDROP VAP captures the primary mode of in situ measured droplet number concentration, but produces too wide a distribution due to too frequent high cloud-droplet number concentrations. The large droplet number concentration error corresponds to errors in the MWR retrievals at low liquid water paths due to the limitations of the instrument. Modification of the NDROP VAP through the diagnosed liquid water path, which is constrained by the coordinated solution using cloud optical depth and cloud-droplet effective radius retrievals, alleviates this problem, leading to better agreement with in situ measurements.