Test Data Evaluation - required variables
| Category | Variable | Unit | Comment | Feedback from algorithm developers on needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File Format | NetCDF | |||
| Reporting Grid | All instruments on common grid | |||
| Sampling Pattern | Long flight lengths at constant height (i.e. 400km) | |||
| General | - binHeight (WGS84, MSL or AGL) | [km] | ||
- profileTime (seconds since 1/1/1970 or 1/1/2000) | [s] | |||
- surfaceElevation | [km] | |||
- latitude | [deg] | |||
| - longitude | [deg] | |||
| Measurements | (including surface information and corrected for all platform artefacts) | |||
| Radar | - radarReflectivityFactor | [dBZ] | W-band, properly calibrated (2 or more frequencies would help validate the calibration) | |
- dopplerVelocity | [m/s] | Corrected for aircraft motion and folding | ||
- spectrumWidth | [m/s] | |||
| - signalToNoiseRatio | [dB] | |||
| Lidar | - attenuatedBackscatter | [sr-1 km-1] | with corrections applied or respective information delivered (see below) | |
| - depolarizationRatio or | [-] | with corrections/calibration applied or respective information delivered (see below) | ||
| - cross-polar attenuatedBackscatter | [sr-1 km-1] | with corrections applied or respective information delivered (see below) | ||
| HSRL/Raman lidar | - Mie and Rayleigh/Raman attenuated Backscatter | with corrections applied or respective information delivered (see below) | ||
| HSRL/Raman multi wavelength 355. 532 (+1064) | 3x- Mie and Rayleigh/Raman attenuated Backscatter 2x extinction 2x depolarization | [sr-1 km-1] [km-1] [-] | aerosol retrievals + typing with corrections applied or respective information delivered (see below) | |
| Radiometer | - IR and solar radiances | |||
| ground based BSRN like | ||||
- surface direct-beam shortwave irradiance | [W m-2] | |||
| - surface diffuse shortwave irradiance | ||||
| - surface longwave irradiance | ||||
| - level radiative fluxes on aircraft (SW and LW) | ||||
| - (spectral) surface direct & diffuse albedo | [-] | |||
| - (spectral) surface emissivity | ||||
| Sunphotometer | AOD | ground based aeronet | ||
| Hyperspectral Imager | - IR and solar radiances | MSI smile | ||
| Instrument properties | - radarWaveLength | [GHz] | (94 and/or 35GHz) | |
| - pitchAngle / elevation | [deg] | (aircraft/ground-based radar, lidar) | ||
- observation geometry | [deg] | (e.g. viewing angle) | ||
- lidarWaveLength | [nm] | (355, 532, 1064 nm or other) | ||
| - lidarFOV | [mrad] | |||
| - calibration and correction parameters | (e.g. spectral and polarization cross talk, dead-time, dark current, overlap) | |||
| Thermodynamic (specify source) | - temperature | [K] | ||
| - temperature profile | [K] | |||
- surfaceTemperature | [K] | |||
- pressure | [hPa] | |||
- relativeHumidity | [%] | |||
| - humidity profile | [g/g] | |||
- surfaceRelativeHumidity | [%] | |||
- winds | [m/s] | |||
- surfaceWinds | [m/s] | |||
| - navigationLandSeaFlag | (land type/water) | |||
| - atmospheric gases | (e.g. H2O,O3,O2,CH4 ...) | |||
Retrievals (for ice and rain) | - Detailed information about all assumptions used | (model, PSD, etc.) | ||
- Information about particle size and density | Particle size distributions can be measured with various instruments, such as 2D-S, CDP-2, SPP-300, HVPS-3, etc. Each one is capable of measuring particles within a different range of sizes. Ideally, to properly validate the retrievals, the instruments (or the merged product of two instruments) should be measuring particles ranging from 30µm to 30000µm | |||
- meanMassDiameter | [mm] | |||
- waterContent | [g/m3] | Measurements of Water Content are essential to validate the retrievals. Nezvorov and WISPER (Water Isotope System for Precipitation and Entrainment Research) are examples of instruments capable of measuring liquid and total water content. | ||
| - massFlux | [mm/h] | |||
| - surface precipitation occurrence | ||||
Retrievals/In situ observations for aerosol | - particle size distribution/effective particle size | [µm] | ||
| - refractive index | [-] | |||
| - absorption and scattering coefficients and/or single-scattering albedo | [1/m] | |||
| - particle shape information (non-sphericity) | ||||