Lidar
Observations of the Marine Boundary Layer Wind Structure and Stratus Clouds
during the EPIC 2001 Cruise
Janet Intrieri, Alan Brewer, Scott Sandberg, Raul Alvarez, Brandi McCarty,
Martin Yapur and Paquita Zuidema
NOAA / Environmental Technology Laboratory
325 Broadway,
[janet.intrieri@noaa.gov]
project
website: http://www.etl.noaa.gov/et2/data/data_pages/epic_winds.html
The NOAA/ETL’s Doppler lidar
captured clear-air marine boundary layer (MBL) wind structures and sub-stratus
cloud dynamics during the EPIC 2001 cruise. This lidar was specifically
modified for EPIC operations on the R/V Ronald
Brown with motion-stabilization technology, subtracting ship motion in
real-time, to ensure precise pointing and scanning angles for accurate vertical
and horizontal wind data.
We present examples of lidar vertical velocity data,
obtained during Leg 2 of the EPIC cruise, that reveal the complexity and
variability of the MBL associated with stratus clouds and drizzle. For example, the lidar detected distinct
updraft and downdraft couplets extending from the surface into cloud base
during radar-determined drizzle regions.
Additionally, combining information of lidar aerosol backscatter data with
the lidar wind profile information allows us to investigate how the relative
effects of aerosol correspond to changing meteorological events and regional
regimes.