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  • 1
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    PANGAEA
    In:  Supplement to: Durán-Alarcón, Claudio; Boudevillain, Brice; Genthon, Christophe; Grazioli, Jacopo; Souverijns, Niels; van Lipzig, Nicole P M; Gorodetskaya, Irina V; Berne, Alexis (2019): The vertical structure of precipitation at two stations in East Antarctica derived from micro rain radars. The Cryosphere, 13(1), 247-264, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-247-2019
    Publication Date: 2023-05-06
    Description: Antarctic precipitation is the main positive component in the surface mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet, thus it is closely related to the evolution of the sea level worldwide. The lack of observations, at both surface and the vertical structure, have hindered the understanding of this important component. Recently a study of the vertical structure of the precipitation in Antarctica have been carried out using micro rain radar (MRR) observations (Durán-Alarcón et al., 2019, TC) at two different sites: Dumont d'Urville (DDU) and Princess Elisabeth (PE) stations. The present collection consists in 2-years of vertical profiles of effective reflectivity (Ze), mean Doppler velocity (W), spectral width (SW) and snowfall rate (S) derived from a K-band vertically-pointing micro rain radar (MRR), obtained at DDU in the framework of the Antarctic Precipitation Remote Sensing from Surface and Space project (APRES3). The observation range of the profiles is between 300 m and 3 km above ground level, with 100m and 1h of vertical and temporal resolutions, respectively. Vertical profiles were separated into surface precipitation and virga (i.e., precipitation that completely sublimes before reaching the surface) to evaluate the impact of virga on the structure of the vertical profiles. The strong katabatic winds blowing at DDU induce a decrease in Ze near to the ground due to the sublimation of the snowfall particles, and the W and SW increases as the height decreases. It was observed that virga is a frequent phenomenon at DDU, since more than a third (36%) of the profiles of precipitation observed with MRR corresponded to virga cases (more details in Durán-Alarcón et al., 2019, TC). This unique dataset of Antarctic precipitation observations in the low troposphere represents a great opportunity to better understand the current numerical models and satellite observations.
    Keywords: Adelie Land; Antarctic Precipitation; Dumont_d-Urville; Research station; RS; vertically-pointing micro rain radar (MRR); Vertical Structure of Precipitation
    Type: Dataset
    Format: application/x-netcdf, 10.9 MBytes
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  • 2
    Publication Date: 2017-02-23
    Description: The first results of a campaign of intensive observation of precipitation in Dumont d'Urville, Antarctica, are presented. Several instruments collected data from October 2015, including a polarimetric weather radar (MXPol), a Micro Rain Radar (MRR), a weighing gauge (Pluvio2), and a Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC). These instruments collected the first model-free measurements of precipitation in the region in the region of Terre Adélie (Adélie Land), including of precipitation microphysics. Microphysical observations during the austral summer 2015/2016 showed that, close to ground level, aggregates are the dominant hydrometeor type, together with small ice particles (mostly originating from blowing snow), and that riming often occurs. Contamination of the Pluvio2 measurements in windy conditions is observed and partly removed through synergistic use of MRR data. The yearly accumulated precipitation of snow (300 m above ground), obtained by means of a local conversion relation of MRR data, trained on the Pluvio2 measurement of the summer period, is estimated to be 815 mm of water equivalent, with a confidence interval ranging between 739.5 to 989 mm. Climatological data obtained from satellite-borne radars, and the ERA-Interim reanalysis of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) both provide lower yearly totals: 655 mm for ERA-Interim, while 679 mm for the climatological data over DDU. ERA-Interim seems to overestimate the occurrence of low-intensity precipitation events especially in summer, while visual observations conducted at the research stations all year long seem to underestimate it. Overall, this manuscript provides insightful examples of the added values of precipitation monitoring in Antarctica with a synergistic use of in-situ and remote sensing measurements.
    Print ISSN: 1994-0432
    Electronic ISSN: 1994-0440
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences
    Published by Copernicus on behalf of European Geosciences Union.
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  • 3
  • 4
    Publication Date: 2017-08-04
    Description: The first results of a campaign of intensive observation of precipitation in Dumont d'Urville, Antarctica, are presented. Several instruments collected data from November 2015 to February 2016 or longer, including a polarimetric radar (MXPol), a Micro Rain Radar (MRR), a weighing gauge (Pluvio2), and a Multi-Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC). These instruments collected the first ground-based measurements of precipitation in the region of Adélie Land (Terre Adélie), including precipitation microphysics. Microphysical observations during the austral summer 2015/2016 showed that, close to the ground level, aggregates are the dominant hydrometeor type, together with small ice particles (mostly originating from blowing snow), and that riming is a recurring process. Eleven percent of the measured particles were fully developed graupel, and aggregates had a mean riming degree of about 30 %. Spurious precipitation in the Pluvio2 measurements in windy conditions, leading to phantom accumulations, is observed and partly removed through synergistic use of MRR data. The yearly accumulated precipitation of snow (300 m above ground), obtained by means of a local conversion relation of MRR data, trained on the Pluvio2 measurement of the summer period, is estimated to be 815 mm of water equivalent, with a confidence interval ranging between 739.5 and 989 mm. Data obtained in previous research from satellite-borne radars, and the ERA-Interim reanalysis of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) provide lower yearly totals: 655 mm for ERA-Interim and 679 mm for the climatological data over DDU. ERA-Interim overestimates the occurrence of low-intensity precipitation events especially in summer, but it compensates for them by underestimating the snowfall amounts carried by the most intense events. Overall, this paper provides insightful examples of the added values of precipitation monitoring in Antarctica with a synergistic use of in situ and remote sensing measurements.
    Print ISSN: 1994-0416
    Electronic ISSN: 1994-0424
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences
    Published by Copernicus on behalf of European Geosciences Union.
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  • 5
    Publication Date: 2019-01-28
    Description: Precipitation over Antarctica is the main term in the surface mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet, which is crucial for the future evolution of the sea level worldwide. Precipitation, however, remains poorly documented and understood mainly because of a lack of observations in this extreme environment. Two observatories dedicated to precipitation have been set up at the Belgian station Princess Elisabeth (PE) and at the French station Dumont d'Urville (DDU) in East Antarctica. Among other instruments, both sites have a vertically pointing micro rain radar (MRR) working at the K band. Measurements have been continuously collected at DDU since the austral summer of 2015–2016, while they have been collected mostly during summer seasons at PE since 2010, with a full year of observation during 2012. In this study, the statistics of the vertical profiles of reflectivity, vertical velocity, and spectral width are analyzed for all seasons. Vertical profiles were separated into surface precipitation and virga to evaluate the impact of virga on the structure of the vertical profiles. The climatology of the study area plays an important role in the structure of the precipitation: warmer and moister atmospheric conditions at DDU favor the occurrence of more intense precipitation compared with PE, with a difference of 8 dBZ between both stations. The strong katabatic winds blowing at DDU induce a decrease in reflectivity close to the ground due to the sublimation of the snowfall particles. The vertical profiles of precipitation velocity show significant differences between the two stations. In general, at DDU the vertical velocity increases as the height decreases, while at PE the vertical velocity decreases as the height decreases. These features of the vertical profiles of reflectivity and vertical velocity could be explained by the more frequent occurrence of aggregation and riming at DDU compared to PE because of the lower temperature and relative humidity at the latter, located further in the interior. Robust and reliable statistics about the vertical profile of precipitation in Antarctica, as derived from MRRs for instance, are necessary and valuable for the evaluation of precipitation estimates derived from satellite measurements and from numerical atmospheric models.
    Print ISSN: 1994-0416
    Electronic ISSN: 1994-0424
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences
    Published by Copernicus on behalf of European Geosciences Union.
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  • 6
    Publication Date: 2018-09-05
    Description: Precipitation over Antarctica is the main term in the surface mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet, which is crucial for the future evolution of the sea level worldwide. Precipitation however remains poorly documented and understood mainly because of a lack of observations in this extreme environment. Two observatories dedicated to precipitation have been set up at the Belgian station Princess Elisabeth (PE) and at the French station Dumont d'Urville (DDU) in East Antarctica. Among other instruments, both sites have a vertically-pointing micro rain radar (MRR) working at the K-band. Measurements are continuously collected at DDU since the austral summer 2015–2016, while they have been collected mostly during summer seasons at PE since 2010, with a full year of observation during 2012. In this study, the statistics of the vertical profiles of reflectivity, vertical velocity and spectral width are analyzed for all seasons. Vertical profiles were separated into surface precipitation and virga to evaluate the impact of virga on the structure of the vertical profiles. The climatology of the study area plays an important role in the structure of the precipitation: warmer and moister atmospheric conditions at DDU favor the occurrence of more intense precipitation compared with PE, with a difference of 8dBZ between both stations. The strong katabatic winds blowing at DDU induce a decrease of reflectivity close to the ground due to the sublimation of the snowfall particles. The vertical profiles of precipitation velocity show significant differences between the two stations. In general, at DDU the vertical velocity increases as the height decreases, while at PE the vertical velocity decreases as the height decrease. These features of the vertical profiles of reflectivity and vertical velocity could be explained by the more frequent occurrence of aggregation and riming at DDU compared to PE, because of the colder and drier conditions at the latter. Robust and reliable statistics about the vertical profile of precipitation in Antarctica, as derived from micro rain radars for instance, are necessary and valuable for the evaluation of precipitation estimates derived from satellite measurements and from numerical atmospheric models.
    Print ISSN: 1994-0432
    Electronic ISSN: 1994-0440
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences
    Published by Copernicus on behalf of European Geosciences Union.
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  • 7
    Publication Date: 2018-11-29
    Description: The Antarctic continent is a vast desert, the coldest and the most unknown area on Earth. It contains the Antarctic ice sheet, the largest continental water reservoir on Earth that could be affected by the current global warming, leading to sea level rise. The only significant supply of ice is through precipitation, which can be observed from the surface and from space. Remote sensing observations of the coastal regions and the inner continent using CloudSat radar give an estimated rate of snowfall but with uncertainties twice as large as each single measured value, whereas climate models give a range from half to twice the time and spatial average observations. The aim of this study is the evaluation of the vertical precipitation rate profiles of CloudSat radar by comparison with two surface-based Micro-Rain Radars (MRR), located at the coastal French Dumont d'Urville station and at the Belgian Princess Elisabeth station, located in the Dronning Maud Land escarpment zone, respectively. This in turn leads to a better understanding and reassessment of CloudSat uncertainties. We compared a total of four precipitation events, two per station, when CloudSat overpassed within 10 km of the stations and we compared these two different data sets at each vertical level. The correlation between both datasets is near-perfect, even though climatic and geographic conditions are different for the stations. Using different CloudSat and MRR vertical levels, we obtain 10km-space and seconds-short-time CloudSat uncertainties from −24 % up to +21 %. This confirms the robustness of the CloudSat retrievals of snowfall over Antarctica above the blind zone and justifies further analyses of this dataset.
    Print ISSN: 1994-0432
    Electronic ISSN: 1994-0440
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences
    Published by Copernicus on behalf of European Geosciences Union.
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  • 8
    Publication Date: 2018-11-30
    Description: In situ observations of snowfall over the Antarctic Ice Sheet are scarce. Currently, continent-wide assessments of snowfall are limited to information from the Cloud Profiling Radar on board the CloudSat satellite, which has not been evaluated up to now. In this study, snowfall derived from CloudSat is evaluated using three ground-based vertically profiling 24 GHz precipitation radars (Micro Rain Radars: MRRs). Firstly, using the MRR long-term measurement records, an assessment of the uncertainty caused by the low temporal sampling rate of CloudSat (one revisit per 2.1 to 4.5 days) is performed. The 10–90th-percentile temporal sampling uncertainty in the snowfall climatology varies between 30 % and 40 % depending on the latitudinal location and revisit time of CloudSat. Secondly, an evaluation of the snowfall climatology indicates that the CloudSat product, derived at a resolution of 1∘ latitude by 2∘ longitude, is able to accurately represent the snowfall climatology at the three MRR sites (biases 
    Print ISSN: 1994-0416
    Electronic ISSN: 1994-0424
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences
    Published by Copernicus on behalf of European Geosciences Union.
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  • 9
    Publication Date: 2018-04-26
    Description: Compared to the other continents and lands, Antarctica suffers a severe shortage of in-situ observations of precipitation. APRES3 (Antarctic Precipitation, Remote Sensing from Surface and Space) is a program dedicated to improve the observation of the Antarctic precipitation, both from the surface and from space, to assess climatologies and evaluate and ameliorate meteorological and climate models. A field measurement campaign was deployed at Dumont d'Urville station at the coast of Adélie Land in Antarctica, with an intensive observation period from November 2015 to February 2016 followed by continuous radar monitoring through 2016 and beyond. Among other results, the observations show that a significant fraction of precipitation sublimates in a dry surface katabatic layer before it reaches and accumulates at the surface, a result evidenced thanks to the profiling capabilities of precipitation radars. While the bulk of the data analyses and scientific results are published in specialized journals, this paper provides a compact description of the dataset now archived on PANGAEA data repository (https://www.pangaea.de, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.883562) and made open to the scientific community to further its exploitation for antarctic meteorology and climate research purposes.
    Electronic ISSN: 1866-3591
    Topics: Geosciences
    Published by Copernicus
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  • 10
    Publication Date: 2019-03-19
    Description: The Antarctic continent is a vast desert and is the coldest and the most unknown area on Earth. It contains the Antarctic ice sheet, the largest continental water reservoir on Earth that could be affected by the current global warming, leading to sea level rise. The only significant supply of ice is through precipitation, which can be observed from the surface and from space. Remote-sensing observations of the coastal regions and the inner continent using CloudSat radar give an estimated rate of snowfall but with uncertainties twice as large as each single measured value, whereas climate models give a range from half to twice the space–time-averaged observations. The aim of this study is the evaluation of the vertical precipitation rate profiles of CloudSat radar by comparison with two surface-based micro-rain radars (MRRs), located at the coastal French Dumont d'Urville station and at the Belgian Princess Elisabeth station located in the Dronning Maud Land escarpment zone. This in turn leads to a better understanding and reassessment of CloudSat uncertainties. We compared a total of four precipitation events, two per station, when CloudSat overpassed within 10 km of the station and we compared these two different datasets at each vertical level. The correlation between both datasets is near-perfect, even though climatic and geographic conditions are different for the two stations. Using different CloudSat and MRR vertical levels, we obtain 10 km space-scale and short-timescale (a few seconds) CloudSat uncertainties from −13 % up to +22 %. This confirms the robustness of the CloudSat retrievals of snowfall over Antarctica above the blind zone and justifies further analyses of this dataset.
    Print ISSN: 1994-0416
    Electronic ISSN: 1994-0424
    Topics: Geography , Geosciences
    Published by Copernicus on behalf of European Geosciences Union.
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