A51K-0223
The Chilean Coastal Orographic Precipitation Experiment Pilot Project (CCOPE-2015): Overview and Preliminary Results

Friday, 18 December 2015
Poster Hall (Moscone South)
Justin R Minder1, Adam Massmann1, Sara Fults2, David E. Kingsmill3, Jefferson Snider4, Rene D Garreaud5, Aldo Montecinos6 and Raul Alfredo Valenzuela7, (1)University at Albany State University of New York, Albany, NY, United States, (2)University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, United States, (3)NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory/CIRES, Boulder, CO, United States, (4)University of Wyoming, Atmospheric Science, Laramie, WY, United States, (5)University of Chile, Santiago, Chile, (6)University of Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile, (7)University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, United States
Abstract:
The Nahuelbuta Mountains are a coastal range of modest height (peak elevation 1.3km ASL) in Southern Chile (38 deg. S). Rain gauge observations reveal a strong orographic enhancement of rainfall over the Nahuelbuta. The interior of the mountains receives about 3.5 m annual rainfall, in contrast to nearby lowland locations that receive about 1 m. The small horizontal scale of the Nahuelbuta (~40km) indicates that orographic precipitation enhancement is potentially sensitive to the effects of aerosol loading and shallow convection.

The Chilean Coastal Orographic Precipitation Experiment Pilot Project (CCOPE-2015) was conducted over the Nahuelbuta during the Austral winter of 2015 (May-Aug). Field observations during CCOPE-2015 were collected to improve understanding of orographic precipitation processes over coastal mountain ranges, particularly the role of aerosols, shallow convection, and shallow “non-bright-band” rainfall. Observations collected included: (1) surface rainfall from a network of 10 data logging rain gauges, (2) vertical precipitation profiles from a pair of K-band Micro Rain Radars, (3) rain drop size distributions from an optical disdrometer, (4) aerosol number concentration and size distribution measurements from a condensation particle counter and an Ultra High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer, and (5) upstream wind and thermodynamic profiles from radiosonde launches. Mesoscale model simulations and satellite remote sensing provided additional context.

An overview of observations collected during CCOPE-2015 will be presented. The character of precipitation over the Nahuelbuta will be contrasted between different precipitation regimes (shallow warm rain, deep synoptically forced, and shallow convection). Additionally, the performance of satellite-based quantitative precipitation estimates over the Nahuelbuta will be assessed.

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