Description of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement LASSO-CACTI Dataset
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Gustafson, William↗
Engineering topics
Varble, Adam
Publications and source records attributed to Varble, Adam.
Parallax-corrected VISST-derived pixel-level products from satellite GOES-16
The NASA Langley group led by William Smith produced GOES-16 satellite cloud retrievals over an approximate 10 by 10 degree region over the CACTI field campaign location. These retrievals are described here: https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/vaps/visst and are available for download here . They use algorithms historically called VISST that are now referred to as SatCORPS. More information can be found in Trepte et al. (2019), Minnis et al. (2021), and Yost et al. (2021). If using this dataset, please cite these references, the CACTI VISST dataset DOI found at the download link above, and this dataset’s DOI. The CACTI VISST pixel-level retrievals are on a 2 km spatial grid and available every 15 minutes (every 10 minutes late in the campaign), producing 21,765 files for the entire field campaign between October 2018 and April 2019. They are not corrected for parallax error, which is an offset in the actual geographical location of a cloud above the surface due to the satellite viewing the cloud partly from the side off nadir. This dataset applies a correction for parallax using the location relative to the satellite and the retrieved cloud top height above the surface, which allows the dataset to be geo-located with surface-based observations. The parallax correction for each location depends on the longitude, latitude and cloud top height above ground level (AGL) for that longitude and latitude in the original VISST files. The cloud top height AGL requires first computing the surface elevation at each VISST grid point. Data from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Map Version 3 at 30-m resolution is projected onto the VISST grid using conservative coarsening (conserving surface elevation) in the xESMF Python package. The surface elevation is then subtracted from the VISST-retrieved cloud top height above mean sea level. These cloud top heights AGL are then combined with longitude and latitude to estimate the latitude and longitude corrections. Due to variability in cloud top height, the parallax shifts produce an irregular grid of values since higher cloud tops are shifted further than lower cloud tops. A ball tree-based neighbor search with Haversine distance is performed using the Python-based scikit-learn library to find the nearest VISST grid point to each parallax correction-shifted point. The data value of the shifted point is then assigned to that VISST grid point. In this manner, the irregular geographical shifts to correct for parallax are projected back to the rectilinear VISST grid. Because relatively higher clouds should obscure lower clouds, the variable values for the highest cloud top are preferentially chosen if two or more values are assigned to a grid point. The parallax correction should be viewed as an improved but still imperfect estimation of the cloud top locations, largely because the cloud top height is an imperfect retrieval. Please see the attached README document for further information. Users are encouraged to contact the authors with any additional questions.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Surface Atmosphere Integrated Field Laboratory (SAIL) (Field Campaign Report)
Mountains are the natural water towers of the world, effectively turning water vapor into readily available fresh water through precipitation, snowpack, and runoff. They contribute disproportionately to precipitation over land, but are under-observed, leading to large gaps in the scientific understanding of convection, extreme precipitation and weather, and interactions between atmospheric circulation, radiation, and land-surface conditions. The mountain hydrometeorology community has repeatedly called for integrated atmospheric and land observations of water and energy budgets in complex terrain that span these scales to establish benchmarks against which scale-dependent models can be further developed.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Advancing South American Water and Climate Science Through Multi-Decadal Convection-Permitting Modeling
The South America Affinity Group (SAAG) was established in early 2019 by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Water Systems Program as a community effort focused on improving hydroclimate science over South America. SAAG supports large research efforts such as the ANDEX Regional Hydroclimate Program as well as individual research groups. The group started with a dozen members and quickly grew to over 100 participants from more than ten countries. For the past four years, the SAAG has been meeting online every two weeks and has organized sessions at international conferences such as the American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting and the Convection-Permitting Climate Workshop. At the core of the SAAG effort are two multi-decadal convection permitting (CP) model simulations with 4-km grid spacing for historical and future climates over the South American continent. Additionally, a major observational data collection effort has been undertaken, including in-situ station data from South American meteorological and water services, gridded products, satellite-based observations, and field campaign data. In conclusion, this article discusses the research needs and scientific goals that drive this community of scientists with diverse backgrounds and interests.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
The Effects of Shallow Cumulus Cloud Shape on Interactions Among Clouds and Mixing With Near-Cloud Environments
Cloud lifecycles are influenced by interactions among clouds and mixing with cloud-free environments. Cloud shapes dictate the length of cloud boundaries, which affects these interactions. This study uses a large eddy simulation to examine the relationships between the shallow cumulus cloud shapes, processes at their boundaries, and lifecycles. To characterize the shape of clouds, two metrics are newly defined: one reflects the overall horizontal cloud shape, and the other defines the cloud edge irregularity. Simulated clouds experience increased irregularity, but little changes in aspect ratio. Irregularity-driven cloud perimeter growth strongly indicates cloud splitting, with a more pronounced effect than aspect ratio-driven perimeter growth. Smaller cloud-shell gradients of properties across cloud boundaries are associated with more irregular clouds, suggesting enhanced mixing of clouds with the cloud-free environment. These findings indicate that the shallow cumulus evolution is partly driven by the irregularity of the cloud edge through lateral mixing and cloud splitting.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation Scenario for CACTI
The Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI scenario consists of a library of mesoscale and LES simulations spanning grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m for convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. Supporting skill scores and observation comparisons complement the simulations in addition to subsets of the model output for various categories of model output variables. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Input files and WRF run directory for a LASSO-CACTI simulation
Tar file containing files necessary for reproducing a given Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m for convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. Types of files in this tar include the initial and boundary conditions, WRF namelist, and other files present in a WRF run directory.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Raw WRF model output files from a LASSO-CACTI simulation
The raw model output from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. The raw model output is in netCDF format as output by the WRF model, i.e., the “wrfout” files, with the files renamed for archival purposes.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
WRF restart files for a LASSO-CACTI simulation
The restart files from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. Restarts are available for the LES domains, i.e., d3 and d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. The restart files are output every 30 minutes in netCDF format as output by the WRF model, i.e., the “wrfrst” files, with the files renamed for archival purposes.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Subsetted model output for aerosol-related variables from a LASSO-CACTI WRF simulation
Aerosol-related model output from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. This version of the output is a collection of variables subsetted from the raw WRF output to reduce the file overhead for users not needing the full raw dataset. The subset files are in netCDF format with the height-based variables on the raw, model eta levels. The aerosol properties are consistent with the Thompson aerosol-aware cloud microphysics scheme where the simulated aerosol are proxies for representative “water friendly” and “ice friendly” aerosol.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Subsetted model output for cloud-related variables from a LASSO-CACTI WRF simulation
Cloud-related model output from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. This version of the output is a collection of variables subsetted from the raw WRF output to reduce the file overhead for users not needing the full raw dataset. The subset files are in netCDF format with the height-based variables on the raw, model eta levels.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Subsetted model output on height-above-ground levels for cloud-related variables from a LASSO-CACTI WRF simulation
Cloud-related model output interpolated to height-above-ground levels from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. This version of the output is a collection of variables subsetted from the raw WRF output to reduce the file overhead for users not needing the full raw dataset. The subset files are in netCDF format with the height-based variables interpolated to heights based on distance above ground level.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Subsetted model output on height-above-mean-sea-level levels for cloud-related variables from a LASSO-CACTI WRF simulation
Cloud-related model output interpolated to heights-above-mean-sea-level from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. This version of the output is a collection of variables subsetted from the raw WRF output to reduce the file overhead for users not needing the full raw dataset. The subset files are in netCDF format with the height-based variables interpolated to heights based on distance above mean sea level.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Subsetted model output on pressure levels for cloud-related variables from a LASSO-CACTI WRF simulation
Cloud-related model output interpolated to pressure levels from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. This version of the output is a collection of variables subsetted from the raw WRF output to reduce the file overhead for users not needing the full raw dataset. The subset files are in netCDF format with the height-based variables interpolated to pressure levels.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Subsetted model output for meteorology-related variables from a LASSO-CACTI WRF simulation
Meteorology-related model output from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. This version of the output is a collection of variables subsetted from the raw WRF output to reduce the file overhead for users not needing the full raw dataset. The subset files are in netCDF format with the height-based variables on the raw, model eta levels.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Subsetted model output on height-above-ground levels for meteorology-related variables from a LASSO-CACTI WRF simulation
Meteorology-related model output interpolated to height-above-ground levels from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. This version of the output is a collection of variables subsetted from the raw WRF output to reduce the file overhead for users not needing the full raw dataset. The subset files are in netCDF format with the height-based variables interpolated to heights based on distance above ground level.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Subsetted model output on height-above-mean-sea-level levels for meteorology-related variables from a LASSO-CACTI WRF simulation
Meteorology-related model output interpolated to heights-above-mean-sea-level from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. This version of the output is a collection of variables subsetted from the raw WRF output to reduce the file overhead for users not needing the full raw dataset. The subset files are in netCDF format with the height-based variables interpolated to heights based on distance above mean sea level.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
Subsetted model output on pressure levels for meteorology-related variables from a LASSO-CACTI WRF simulation
Meteorology-related model output interpolated to pressure levels from a Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation from the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) deep-convection scenario for the Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign. The LASSO-CACTI simulations span grid spacings from 7.5 km to 100 m through the use of four nested domains, labeled d1 through d4. The simulations are of convection near the Sierras de Córdoba mountain range, roughly centered on the ARM Mobile Facility. More information can be found at https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/modeling/lasso. This version of the output is a collection of variables subsetted from the raw WRF output to reduce the file overhead for users not needing the full raw dataset. The subset files are in netCDF format with the height-based variables interpolated to pressure levels.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗