The Use of a Vertically Pointing Pulsed Doppler Radar in Cloud Physics and Weather Modification Studies

Abstract

It is shown that Doppler radar measurements of the changes with height of the average fallspeeds of solid precipitation particles can be used together with radiosonde data to distinguish between growth of ice particles by riming and growth by deposition from the vapor phase. Under some conditions this information can be deduced from real-time observations, but generally spectral broadening by turbulence requires that the velocity measurements be time-averaged. Examples of the use of this technique to deduce information on the modes of growth of ice particles in natural and in artificially seeded clouds are given.