A New Instrument for High-Speed, High Resolution Stereoscopic Photography of Falling Hydrometeors with Simultaneous Measurement of Fallspeed
Tim Garrett, Cale Fallgatter, Konstantin Shkurko, Daniel Howlett, Sandra Yuter, Nate Hardin, and Jennifer Dean
In American Geophysical Union (AGU), 2012
Abstract
The Fallgatter Technologies Multi--Angle Snowflake Camera (MASC) provides up to 9 micron resolution stereoscopic photographic images of individual falling hydrometeors along with their fallspeed. The MASC uses a sensitive IR motion sensor for a trigger and photographs the particle surface from multiple angles. By comparison, the Joanneum Research 2DVD provides only 200 micron resolution silhouettes, making habit identification hard to impossible.
The potential of the MASC is for improved calculations of the relationships between hydrometeor microwave scattering properties and their microphysical and fallspeed properties. This past winter, we deployed two MASCs, an FSSP--100, meteorological instrumentation and a vertically pointing MicroRainRadar to Alta Ski Area near Salt Lake City. This poster shows hydrometeor statistics and microwave scattering calculations based on the data obtained between February and April, 2012.
Links
- Poster (pdf, 4.8 MB)
- Poster (high res) (pdf, 35 MB)