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Cumulus cloud over Puerto Rico.
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RICO: Rain in Cumulus over the Ocean Experiment 2004-2005
Shallow, maritime, cumulus convection is one of the most prevalent cloud
types on the
planet. They are ubiquitous over much of the tropical oceans.
Characterizing their properties
is important to understanding the global energy balance and climate.
The object of RICO in the
broadest sense is to characterize and understand the properties of trade
wind cumulus at all scales, with particular emphasis on determining the
importance of precipitation.
ETL Contributions
Research groups from the University of Miami, University of Colorado and the NOAA Environmental Technology
Laboratory (ETL) will collaborate on an investigation of the dynamics of
tradewind
cumuli and the onset of precipitation within them. Researchers will deploy a
suite of instruments
aboard the UNOLS R/V Seward Johnson designed to provide a comprehensive set of observations
of small cumuli over the open ocean.
These observations will complement land-based radar and airborne measurements
planned for RICO.
Seward Johnson Observations
Observations from the R/V Seward Johnson include a number of remote-sensing and insitu
platforms.
U. Miami 94-GHz doppler cloud radar and ETL NOAA-K
35-GHz scanning Doppler cloud radar will be used to determine cloud microphysical properties before
initiation of precipitation. The cloud radars will provide high-resolution observations of the dynamical and
microphysical structure of trade-wind cumuli.. The Mini-MOPA CO2 lidar will document air motions in and around clouds.
A package of instruments will measure fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum, sea
state, boundary layer winds, thermodynamic structure and inversion height.
LES modeling component
These observations will help to constrain and evaluate LES derived
cloud statistics, highlight cloud scale processes such as entrainment,
updraft structures, turbulence
and coupling between CCN and cloud evolution and assess their role in drop
size distribution
broadening and precipitation onset.
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