Joint Analysis of Convective Structure from the APR-2 Precipitation Radar and the DAWN Doppler Wind Lidar During the 2017 Convective Processes Experiment (CPEX)

The mechanisms linking convection and cloud dynamical processes is a major factor in much of the uncertainty in both weather and climate prediction. Further constraining the uncertainty in convective cloud processes linking 3-D air motion and cloud structure through models and observations is vital for improvements in weather forecasting, and understanding limits on atmospheric predictability. To date, there have been relatively few airborne observations specifically targeted for sampling convective cloud processes linking 3-D air motion and transport of water vapor near clouds, and the subsequent development (or non-development) of convective precipitation. During the May-June 2017 Convective Processes Experiment (CPEX), NASA DC-8-based airborne observations were collected from the JPL Ku/Ka-band Airborne Precipitation Radar (APR-2) and the 2-um Doppler Aerosol Wind (DAWN) lidar during approximately 100 flight hours. Frequent dropsonde data accompanied the DAWN observations for validation purposes, and to provide complement wind profiles in and near convection. For CPEX, the APR-2 provided vertical air motion and structure of the cloud systems in nearby precipitating regions where DAWN is unable to sense. Conversely, DAWN sampled vertical wind profiles in aerosol-rich regions surrounding the convection, but is unable to sense the wind field structure within most clouds. In this manuscript, the complementary nature of these data are presented from the June 10-11 flight dates, including the APR-2 precipitation structure and Doppler wind fields, and adjacent wind profiles from the DAWN and dropsonde data.