Nicole Loeb Research Meeting Notes

Attending: Aaron Kennedy, Mike Poellot, David Delene, Nicole Loeb

• Background AWARE Field project.
• Human Climatology - Blowing Snow Human Observations, When you have blowing snow had falling snow. Issues - subjectivity, dark, different than were instruments are located.
• Instruments - Vaisala Instrument used basic measurements, Wind speed, Parsivel OTT, Ceilometer.
• Analysis - Backscatter, use 5 minute profiles. 2 m visibilty < 10 km, 10 m wind speed > 3 m/s, < 90 % relative humidity (remove fog).
• Method - Instrument compared to human observation.
• Results - 5-min method had lower in 1 and 4 months. 70-90 % correct.
• Looks at wind direction relation to blowing snow.
• Parsivel2 mean counts not helpful for blowing snow.

• Does the Vaisala Instrument use a excitation bridge measurement methodology for voltage or straight voltage measurements?
  • Don't know
• What is backscatter measurement?, backscatter coefficient?
  • Backscatter Coefficient
• What about quality assurance of data set, human observations?
  • Include some data quality assurance.
• Why incorrect 10 % or more of the time?
  • Location Difference,
• Why shorter time affect comparison? Should there not be a duration for each? When/how do the humans do observation?
• What is the uncertain of algorithm?
  • Why do we care about blowing snow, climate impact? What the different of having and not having blowing snow? Model of need comparison. Broader impacts. Think this important for paper, important to have some range, some information for others to use/understand results.

• Discussion what is shown in plot before interpretation of plot.

• Aaron - How do you get large particles? Not getting large snow particle?
  • Instrument imaging issue, multiple small particles.