Further Comparisons of Simultaneous Airborne and Radiometric Measurements of Supercooled Liquid Water

Abstract

Simultaneous measurements of supercooled liquid water were made by an instrumented aircraft and a microwave radiometer at Muskegon, Michigan during wintertime. The purpose was to confirm recent findings that there is good agreement between the two measuring systems. The flight paths were over the radiometer site from cloud base through the cloud top and back down. Ten flights were made; supercooled liquid water was measured by a calibrated Rosemount icing meter. It is found that when the temperature in the entire viewing path of the radiometer is below 0°C the radiometric measurements generally agree with those of the airborne measurements. It is concluded that under these conditions the liquid water measured by the radiometer will be a valid measurement of supercooled liquid water.