The Vertical Structure of TOGA COARE Convection. Part I: Radar Echo Distributions

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Abstract
Radar data collected by the 5-cm MIT radar, which was deployed aboard the R/V Vickers during the intensive observing period of the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment, are partitioned into convective and stratiform Cartesian grid columns. The vertical structure of convective echo is examined through the use of two variables: echo top height and the height of the 30-dBZ reflectivity contour. The first of these variables has traditionally been used to describe the vertical structure characteristics of convection, and the second has recently been linked to internal microphysical properties and lightning. Histograms of the relative frequency of convective-only echo top heights and 30-dBZ contour heights were constructed for the three cruises of the Vickers, with each cruise experiencing different phases of the intraseasonal oscillation (ISO). Cruise 1, which was dominated by the convectively “inactive” phase of the ISO was characterized by the highest frequen... Abstract Radar data collected by the 5-cm MIT radar, which was deployed aboard the R/V Vickers during the intensive observing period of the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment, are partitioned into convective and stratiform Cartesian grid columns. The vertical structure of convective echo is examined through the use of two variables: echo top height and the height of the 30-dBZ reflectivity contour. The first of these variables has traditionally been used to describe the vertical structure characteristics of convection, and the second has recently been linked to internal microphysical properties and lightning. Histograms of the relative frequency of convective-only echo top heights and 30-dBZ contour heights were constructed for the three cruises of the Vickers, with each cruise experiencing different phases of the intraseasonal oscillation (ISO). Cruise 1, which was dominated by the convectively “inactive” phase of the ISO was characterized by the highest frequen...

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