MC3E

This excerpt from the NASA Earth Observer publication provides and in-depth summary of the Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E), which took place from April 22nd - June 6th 2011 in central Oklahoma. The overarching goals of the field effort were to provide a complete three-dimensional characterization of precipitation microphysics in the context of improving the reliability of GPM precipitation retrievals over land, and to advance understanding of the primary physical components that form the basis for models that simulate convection and clouds.

To improve the fidelity of radiometer-based rainfall estimates over land at short temporal and spatial scales, the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM) requires development of physically-based passive microwave (PMW) precipitation retrieval algorithms anchored by dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) drop size distribution (DSD), hydrometeor profile and rain rate retrievals.

Science plan for the Mid-Continent Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E), scheduled for the spring of 2011. This campaign will be conducted in cooperation with the Department of Energy's (DoE) Atmospheric Radiation Program (ARM). The field campaign will be conducted in south-central Oklahoma. The goal of the campaign is to contribute to the improvement of radar and microwave precipitation retrieval algorithms over land.