CloudSat Cal/Val Lessons Learned & Summary ofACCP Suborbital Discussions with Emphasis on
Cloud and Precipitation Cal/Val

Jay Mace
Contributions fromWalt Petersen, Jens Redemann and Felix Seidel
ESA UNCLASSIFIED – For ESA Official Use Only

2nd ESA EarthCARE Validation Workshop
25-28 May 2021 (online)1

(incomplete)History of Relevant Milestones and Campaigns•Prelaunch Campaigns: TWP-ICE, AMMA, C3VP•April 28, 2006: CloudSat and CALIPSO Launches from Vandenberg AFB•Summer 2006: Data collection begins for both with formation flying••

July-August 2006: CloudSat-CALIPSO Validation Experiment (CCVEX)

September 2007: CALIPSO swings to 3 º from nadir•

July-August 2007: TC4 Campaign (ER2, DC8, WB57) Eastern Tropical Pacific (CostaRica)•July 2010-June 2011: DOE-Funded SPartICus Campaign•

March-April 2011: NASA Midlat Airborne Cirrus Prop. Exp. (MACPEX)•April 2011: CloudSat Experiences Battery Anomaly•

February 2012: CloudSat returns to A-Train in Do-Op Mode••

April-June 2014: Integrated Precipitation and Hydrology Exp (IPHEX)•Nov-Dec 2015: Olympic Mountains Ground Validation Exp (OLYMPEX)

February 2018: CloudSat Leaves A-Train (Reaction wheel anomaly Summer 2020…)••

August-October 2019: NASA CAMP2Ex, Philippines

May 2021: ACCP enters Pre-Phase A for late 2020’s launch(es)2Early Campaigns: CCVEX
Early Flight data from ER2 wascritical in developing the RadarLidar Geometrical Profile Product3

Early Campaigns: TC4

doi:10.1029/2009JD013073, 2010

ER2: Carried an A-Train Simulator Package that
included CPL, CSR, EDOP, AMPR, COSSIR, MAS
DC8: In situ cloud, aerosol microphysics andchemistry…
TC4 was the first experiment that usedemerging technology for extraordinarily
good coordination of very diverse aircraft.

TC4 allowed for development and validation of
2C-ICE (Deng et al. 2010
doi:10.1029/2009JD013104)
4

Early Campaigns: TC4 Continued

doi:10.1029/2009JD013073, 2010

TC4 Anticipated theACCP Era…
Z and V at two
freq constrain
profile ofprecip, cloud,and verticalmotionReflectanceand Lidar
backscatter
constrain
cloud near
top

Ice scattering
signatures at
85 GHzconstrainscross
sectional areaof large iceLow Freq
Microwave
constrains theliquid waterpath

Submm constrains ice waterpath5

Value of Systematic Airborne Campaigns: SPartICus
Routine aircraft in situ
measurements in cirrus over SGP
Total Hours: 200 hr (190 research /10 test flight)
47 Flight Days (1-3 flights per day)
23 SGP Flights
21 CALIPSO/CloudSat Flights (9 combinedwith SGP flights)
3 TERRA
8 Orographic, wave clouds, or other cirrus
not associated with remote sensors
6

Toward ACCP – The ACE-GPM GV Collaboration
NASA ACE Program collaborated
very fruitfully with GPM GroundValidation Campaigns in 2014(IPHEX) and 2015 (Olympex)

Example of Radar delta-t During OlympexLearned that pooling resources
and collaboration amongprograms could multiply
science results.

7

ACCP Anticipates a Substantial Investment in Sub Orbital•

In response to 2017 NAS Decadal
Survey, Aerosol and Clouds,Convection, Precipitation weredeemed to be “DesigntedObservables” for the coming decade•

An ~18 month study was undertakenthat resulted in the ACCP concept•

The ACCP Study has concluded withrecommendation to NASA HQ and a
Project Authorization Letter has been
received.

•Suborbital including Cal/Val andintegrated science has been asignificant part of the ACCP study

Suborbital will be an integral
component of ACCP

8

ACCP Suborbital Science Motivation
Modules →Themes ↓Convectionand High
CloudsConvective processcoupling and theenvironment

Convective coredetrainment and anvil
growth- character andprocess

Anvil
tocirrus
evolution,
lifecycle,
and feedbacks

Low Clouds/ACI
Cloud &Aerosol
lifecycle andradiativeprocesses

Precipitation
Initiation inShallow Cumulus

Open-Closed Cell
Transition in marine
Stratocumulus

Vertically resolved
aerosol effects on

Impact of convection
on aerosol
redistribution andremoval.

cloud formation.

Ice Precipitation
Processes inCold Marine
Boundary Layer
CloudsInfluence of PBL
processes on aerosol
attribution andverticalredistribution.
9

Credits: NASA/Luke Ziemba

https://www.arm.gov/news-events/docs/sgp/lecture11-mccomiskeyaerosol-radiative-forcing.pdf

https://www.e-education.psu.edu/meteo300/node/711

ACCP – EarthCare Collaborations Going Forward
Building on nearly 2 decades of
supporting orbital science withsuborbital assets, ACCP isanticipating working closely withinternational partners to meetscience and Cal/Val goals

ER2 Departing San Jose, Costa Rica
during TC4

While EarthCare will come before
ACCP, EarthCare’s Cal/Val program
will overlap with the pre-launchphase of ACCP.
Pre-launch Investments in Sub
Orbital efforts are likely10