Search results for " water content"
showing 10 items of 77 documents
A statistical subgrid-scale algorithm for precipitation formation in stratiform clouds in the ECHAM5 single column model
2011
Abstract. Cloud properties are usually assumed to be homogeneous within the cloudy part of the grid-box, i.e. subgrid-scale inhomogeneities in cloud cover and/or microphysical properties are often neglected. However, precipitation formation is initiated by large particles. Thus mean values are not representative and could lead to a delayed onset of precipitation. For a more physical description of the subgrid-scale structure of clouds we introduce a new statistical sub-column algorithm to study the impact of cloud inhomogeneities on stratiform precipitation. Each model column is divided into N independent sub-columns with sub-boxes in each layer, which are completely clear or cloudy. The cl…
A global Canopy Water Content product from AVHRR/Metop
2020
Abstract Spatially and temporally explicit canopy water content (CWC) data are important for monitoring vegetation status, and constitute essential information for studying ecosystem-climate interactions. Despite many efforts there is currently no operational CWC product available to users. In the context of the Satellite Application Facility for Land Surface Analysis (LSA-SAF), we have developed an algorithm to produce a global dataset of CWC based on data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) sensor on board Meteorological–Operational (MetOp) satellites forming the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS). CWC reflects the water conditions at the leaf level and information related …
Estimation of volume fraction and gravimetric moisture of winter wheat based on microwave attenuation: a field scale study
2019
A considerable amount of water can be stored in vegetation, especially in regions experiencing large quantities of precipitation (mid-latitudes). In this context, an accurate estimate of the actual water status of the vegetation could lead to an improved understanding of the effect of plant water on the water budget. In this study, we developed and validated a novel approach to retrieve the vegetation volume fraction (δ) (i.e., volume percentage of solid plant material of a canopy in air) and the gravimetric vegetation water content (m g ) (i.e., amount of water per wet biomass) for winter wheat. The estimation was based on the attenuation of L-band microwave measurements through vegetation…
Comparative responses of ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ apple trees to deficit irrigation: Placement versus volume effects
2012
Aims: Climate, soil water potential (SWP), leaf relative water content (RWC), stomatal conductance (gs), fruit and shoot growth, and carbohydrate levels were monitored during the 2008 and 2009 growing seasons to study the responses of 'Gala' and 'Fuji' apple trees to irrigation placement or volume. Methods: Three irrigation treatments were imposed, conventional irrigation (CI), partial root-zone drying (PRD, 50% of CI water on one side of the root-zone, which was alternated periodically), and continuous deficit irrigation (DI, 50% of CI water on both sides of the root-zone). Results: After each irrigation season, DI generated twice the soil water deficit (SWDint) than PRD (average of dry an…
Soil water content monitoring: a verification of thermal inertia approaches on low spatial, high temporal resolutions images
2013
Soil water content is directly connected with soil evaporation and plant transpiration processes; in particular, soil water content within the root zone, is readily available to evapotranspiration. Thus, in agricultural sciences, the assessment of the spatial distribution of soil water content could be of utmost importance in evaluating crop water requirement. In spite of limitations to applicability due to contingent cloud cover, water content of the upper part of the soil can be determined by applying the thermal inertia approach by coupling optical and thermal infrared images. The thermal inertia formulation, rigorously retrieved on bare soil, has been also verified on soils partially co…
Critical analysis of the thermal inertia approach to map soil water content under sparse vegetation and changeable sky conditions
2012
The paper reports a critical analysis of the thermal inertia approach to map surface soil water content on bare and sparsely vegetated soils by means of remotely sensed data. The study area is an experimental area located in Barrax (Spain). Field data were acquired within the Barrax 2011 research project. AHS airborne images including VIS/NIR and TIR bands were acquired both day and night time by the INTA (Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial) between the 11 th and 13 rd of June 2011. Images cover a corn pivot surrounded by bare soil, where a set of in situ data have been collected previously and simultaneously to overpasses. To validate remotely sensed estimations, a preliminary prox…
Influence of heterogeneous freezing on the microphysical and radiative properties of orographic cirrus clouds
2013
The influence of heterogeneous freezing on the microphysical and optical properties of orographic cirrus clouds has been simulated with the large eddy simulation model EULAG. Idealised simulations with different concentrations of ice nuclei (IN) in a dynamically dominated regime with high vertical velocities have been performed. Furthermore the temperature at cloud formation as well as the critical supersaturation for initiation of heterogenous freezing have been varied. The shortwave, longwave and net cloud forcing has been calculated under the assumption that the clouds form between 06:00 and 12:00 local time (LT) or between 12:00 and 18:00 LT. In general it can be seen that the onset of …
A numerical model of the cloud-topped planetary boundary-layer: Impact of aerosol particles on the radiative forcing of stratiform clouds
1997
In a numerical sensitivity study, the microphysical model of stratus MISTRA, is used to investigate the impact of aerosol particles on the evolution of stratiform clouds. Four model runs are presented, each for a different type of background aerosol. Two include aerosol particle size-distributions which are typical of marine and rural continental air masses; a third represents a mixture of marine and rural continental aerosol particles, and the fourth rural continental aerosol particles with a reduced solubility in water. The results show that the microphysical structure of layer clouds was strongly affected by the physico-chemical properties of the aerosol particles from which the cloud dr…
A numerical model of the cloud-topped planetary boundary-layer: radiative forcing of aerosols in stratiform clouds
1998
In a numerical sensitivity study with the microphysical stratus model MISTRA the impact of aerosol particles on the time evolution of stratiform clouds is investigated. Four model runs with different aerosol size distributions are presented. Two size distributions are typical for maritime and continental air masses. The third model run consists of a mixture of maritime and rural aerosol particles, while in the fourth case study rural aerosol particles with a reduced water solubility are utilized. The numerical results show that the microphysical structure of the clouds is strongly affected by the physico-chemical properties of the aerosol particles. In the maritime case, with a relatively l…
Riming of Graupel: Wind Tunnel Investigations of Collection Kernels and Growth Regimes
2009
Abstract Laboratory experiments were carried out in the vertical wind tunnel in Mainz, Germany, to study the collision coalescence growth of single spherical ice particles having initial radii between 290 and 380 μm while they were freely floated in a laminar flow containing a cloud of supercooled droplets with radii between 10 and 20 μm. The experiments were performed in a temperature range between −8 and −12°C, where riming proceeds in the atmosphere, and with cloud liquid water contents lying between 0.9 and 1.6 g m−3 (i.e., values typically found in mixed-phase clouds). The collection kernels were calculated from the mass increase of the rimed ice particles and the average liquid water …