Showing papers in "Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society in 1997"

A Pacific interdecadal climate oscillation with impacts on salmon production

Abstract: Evidence gleaned from the instrumental record of climate data identifies a robust, recurring pattern of ocean–atmosphere climate variability centered over the midlatitude North Pacific basin. Over the past century, the amplitude of this climate pattern has varied irregularly at interannual-to-interdecadal timescales. There is evidence of reversals in the prevailing polarity of the oscillation occurring around 1925, 1947, and 1977; the last two reversals correspond to dramatic shifts in salmon production regimes in the North Pacific Ocean. This climate pattern also affects coastal sea and continental surface air temperatures, as well as streamflow in major west coast river systems, from Alaska to California.

Global Precipitation: A 17-Year Monthly Analysis Based on Gauge Observations, Satellite Estimates, and Numerical Model Outputs

Abstract: Gridded fields (analyses) of global monthly precipitation have been constructed on a 2.5° latitude–longitude grid for the 17-yr period from 1979 to 1995 by merging several kinds of information sources with different characteristics, including gauge observations, estimates inferred from a variety of satellite observations, and the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis. This new dataset, which the authors have named the CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP), contains precipitation distributions with full global coverage and improved quality compared to the individual data sources. Examinations showed no discontinuity during the 17-yr period, despite the different data sources used for the different subperiods. Comparisons of the CMAP with the merged analysis of Huffman et al. revealed remarkable agreements over the global land areas and over tropical and subtropical oceanic areas, with differences observed over extratropical oceanic areas. The 17-yr CMAP dataset is used to investigate the annual and interannual variab...

The Definition of El Niño.

Abstract: A review is given of the meaning of the term "El Nino" and how it has changed in time, so there is no universal single definition. This needs to be recognized for scientific uses, and precision can only be achieved if the particular definition is identified in each use to reduce the possibility of misunderstanding. For quantitative purposes, possible definitions are explored that match the El Ninos identified historically after 1950, and it is suggested that an El Nino can be said to occur if 5-month running means of sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the Nino 3.4 region (5°N–5°S, 120°–170°W) exceed 0.4°C for 6 months or more. With this definition, El Ninos occur 31% of the time and La Ninas (with an equivalent definition) occur 23% of the time. The histogram of Nino 3.4 SST anomalies reveals a bimodal character. An advantage of such a definition is that it allows the beginning, end, duration, and magnitude of each event to be quantified. Most El Ninos begin in the northern spring or perh...

The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) combined precipitation dataset

Abstract: The Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) has released the GPCP Version 1 Combined Precipitation Data Set, a global, monthly precipitation dataset covering the period July 1987 through December 1995. The primary product in the dataset is a merged analysis incorporating precipitation estimates from low-orbit-satellite microwave data, geosynchronous-orbit-satellite infrared data, and rain gauge observations. The dataset also contains the individual input fields, a combination of the microwave and infrared satellite estimates, and error estimates for each field. The data are provided on 2.5° × 2.5° latitude-longitude global grids. Preliminary analyses show general agreement with prior studies of global precipitation and extends prior studies of El Nino-Southern Oscillation precipitation patterns. At the regional scale there are systematic differences with standard climatologies.

Earth's annual global mean energy budget

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to put forward a new estimate, in the context of previous assessments, of the annual global mean energy budget. A description is provided of the source of each component to this budget. The top-of-atmosphere shortwave and longwave flux of energy is constrained by satellite observations. Partitioning of the radiative energy throughout the atmosphere is achieved through the use of detailed radiation models for both the longwave and shortwave spectral regions. Spectral features of shortwave and longwave fluxes at both the top and surface of the earth's system are presented. The longwave radiative forcing of the climate system for both clear (125 W m-2) and cloudy (155 W m-2) conditions are discussed. The authors find that for the clear sky case the contribution due to water vapor to the total longwave radiative forcing is 75 W m-2, while for carbon dioxide it is 32 W m-2. Clouds alter these values, and the effects of clouds on both the longwave and shortwave budget are a...

The North American Monsoon

Abstract: The North American monsoon is an important feature of the atmospheric circulation over the continent, with a research literature that dates back almost 100 years. The authors review the wide range of past and current research dealing with the meteorological and climatological aspects of the North American monsoon, highlighting historical development and major research themes. The domain of the North American monsoon is large, extending over much of the western United States from its region of greatest influence in northwestern Mexico. Regarding the debate over moisture source regions and water vapor advection into southwestern North America, there is general agreement that the bulk of monsoon moisture is advected at low levels from the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California, while the Gulf of Mexico may contribute some upper-level moisture (although mixing occurs over the Sierra Madre Occidental). Surges of low-level moisture from the Gulf of California are a significant part of intrase...

An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network Temperature Database

Abstract: The Global Historical Climatology Network version 2 temperature database was released in May 1997. This century-scale dataset consists of monthly surface observations from ∼7000 stations from around the world. This archive breaks considerable new ground in the field of global climate databases. The enhancements include 1) data for additional stations to improve regional-scale analyses, particularly in previously data-sparse areas; 2) the addition of maximum–minimum temperature data to provide climate information not available in mean temperature data alone; 3) detailed assessments of data quality to increase the confidence in research results; 4) rigorous and objective homogeneity adjustments to decrease the effect of nonclimatic factors on the time series; 5) detailed metadata (e.g., population, vegetation, topography) that allow more detailed analyses to be conducted; and 6) an infrastructure for updating the archive at regular intervals so that current climatic conditions can constantly be put...

Global Drought Watch from Space

Abstract: Drought is the most damaging environmental phenomenon. During 1967–91, droughts affected 50% of the 2.8 billion people who suffered from weather-related disasters. Since droughts cover large areas, it is difficult to monitor them using conventional systems. In recent years the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has designed a new Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer- (AVHRR) based Vegetation Condition Index (VCI) and Temperature Condition Index (TCI), which have been useful in detecting and monitoring large area, drought-related vegetation stress. The VCI was derived from the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which is the ratio of the difference between AVHRR-measured near-infrared and visible reflectance to their sum. The TCI was derived from the 10.3–11.3-mm AVHRR-measured radiances, converted to brightness temperature (BT). Algorithms were developed to reduce the noise and to adjust NDVI and BT for land surface nonhomogeneity. The VCI and TCI are used to determine...

Stratiform precipitation in regions of convection : A meteorological paradox ?

Abstract: It was once generally thought that stratiform precipitation was something occurring primarily, if not exclusively, in middle latitudes—in baroclinic cyclones and fronts. Early radar observations in the Tropics, however, showed large radar echoes composed of convective rain alongside stratiform precipitation, with the stratiform echoes covering great areas and accounting for a large portion of the tropical rainfall. These observations seemed paradoxical, since stratiform precipitation should not have been occurring in the Tropics, where baroclinic cyclones do not occur. Instead it was falling from convection-generated clouds, generally thought to be too violent to be compatible with the layered, gently settling behavior of stratiform precipitation. In meteorology, convection is a dynamic concept; specifically, it is the rapid, efficient, vigorous overturning of the atmosphere required to neutralize an unstable vertical distribution of moist static energy. Most clouds in the Tropics are convection-generated...

What is an adjoint model

Abstract: Adjoint models are powerful tools for many studies that require an estimate of sensitivity of model output (e.g., a forecast) with respect to input. Actual fields of sensitivity are produced directly and efficiently, which can then be used in a variety of applications, including data assimilation, parameter estimation, stability analysis, and synoptic studies. The use of adjoint models as tools for sensitivity analysis is described here using some simple mathematics. An example of sensitivity fields is presented along with a short description of adjoint applications. Limitations of the applications are discussed and some speculations about the future of adjoint models are offered.

A Tutorial on Lateral Boundary Conditions as a Basic and Potentially Serious Limitation to Regional Numerical Weather Prediction

Abstract: Limited-area models (LAMs) are presently used for a wide variety of research and operational forecasting applications, and such use will likely expand greatly as the rapid increase in the performance/price ratio of computers and workstations makes LAMs more accessible to novice users. The robustness of these well-tested and documented models will make it tempting for many to consider them as turn-key systems that can be used without any experience or formal training in numerical weather prediction. This paper is intended as a tutorial and caution for such prospective model users, with the specific purpose of illustrating that, in spite of advanced physical-process parameterizations and high resolutions permitted by faster computers, and modern mesoscale data for initial conditions, there is still a basic limitation to predictability with a LAM—lateral boundary conditions (LBC). Illustrations are provided of previous work that show the serious negative effects of LBCs, and guidelines are provided for helpi...

Decadal Climate Variability in the North Pacific during the Recent Decades

Abstract: Decadal wintertime variability in the North Pacific climate system observed over the last few decades is documented. The decadal sea surface temperature (SST) variability is found to be concentrated around two major oceanic fronts. The variability around the subtropical front, accompanied by the anomalous subtropical high, exhibits strong negative simultaneous correlation with the tropical SST variability, but that around the subarctic front does not. In fact, cooling around the subarctic front in the mid-1970s cannot be attributed to the influence through the atmosphere of tropical warming that occurred about two years later. During the coolest period around the subarctic front in the mid-1980s, the enhanced surface westerlies associated with the intensified Aleutian low seemed to reinforce the underlying SST anomalies. The westerlies tended to be substantially weaker during the warmest period around 1970. These findings are suggestive of self-maintaining mechanisms inherent to the northern Nort...

Upper-Tropospheric Winds Derived from Geostationary Satellite Water Vapor Observations

Abstract: The coverage and quality of remotely sensed upper-tropospheric moisture parameters have improved considerably with the deployment of a new generation of operational geostationary meteorological satellites: GOES-8/9 and GMS-5. The GOES-8/9 water vapor imaging capabilities have increased as a result of improved radiometric sensitivity and higher spatial resolution. The addition of a water vapor sensing channel on the latest GMS permits nearly global viewing of upper-tropospheric water vapor (when joined with GOES and Meteosat) and enhances the commonality of geostationary meteorological satellite observing capabilities. Upper-tropospheric motions derived from sequential water vapor imagery provided by these satellites can be objectively extracted by automated techniques. Wind fields can be deduced in both cloudy and cloud-free environments. In addition to the spatially coherent nature of these vector fields, the GOES-8/9 multispectral water vapor sensing capabilities allow for determination of wind fields over multiple tropospheric layers in cloud-free environments. This article provides an update on the latest efforts to extract water vapor motion displacements over meteorological scales ranging from subsynoptic to global. The potential applications of these data to impact operations, numerical assimilation and prediction, and research studies are discussed.

The NCEP Regional Spectral Model: An Update

Abstract: The National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP)/Environmental Modeling Center regional spectral model (RSM) has been improved in several aspects since Juang and Kanamitsu. The major improvements of RSM are its efficiency and functionality. The change of the map factor in the semi-implicit scheme from a mean value to maximal value over the regional domain, the relaxation of the lateral boundary from explicit method to implicit method (or simple blending), and the local diffusion over areas of strong wind allowed the doubling of the model computational time step. The model physics was upgraded with the improvements in the operational global spectral model (GSM) and with an additional explicit cloud scheme. An option to run in either hydrostatic or nonhydrostatic mode has been introduced. Another option to run on a CRAY machine or on a workstation has been fully tested. The nesting process has been changed to provide the capability of nesting into a coarse-resolution RSM, besides the GSM, in a one-way fashion. Thus, multinesting becomes possible, even with different map projections. Regional data assimilation with a gridpoint version of statistical interpolation and the three-dimensional variational method on sigma surfaces has been incorporated. All the output has been encoded in GRIB format, so it can be read on different machines. The authors have tested the improved functionalities of the RSM over a broad range of applications, at resolutions between 80 and 10 km. The daily routine experimental forecasts over North America have acceptable performance. Because the perturbation method, used in the RSM, results in smaller computational error than the full field method, and because the consistency between the GSM and RSM allows for a better treatment of the lateral boundary, the RSM could be used to enhance the reanalysis and regional climate simulations that have long-range integrations. The RSM is also used in the regional ensemble experiments at NCEP. The model was also applied in case studies, such as the case of PYREX in the regional COMPARE project. Several institutions both in the United States and overseas started using the RSM, mostly for regional short-range forecast and climate modeling studies. The RSM has been scheduled to implement into operations at NCEP to possibly enhance the guidance on aviation and on daily weather forecast over Hawaii. The current version of the RSM is available to any institution requesting from the director of NCEP.

Interactions between global SST anomalies and the midlatitude atmospheric circulation

Abstract: A review is given of the processes contributing to variability of the atmosphere–ocean system on interannual timescales. Particular emphasis is placed on the relationships between midlatitude atmospheric fluctuations and sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in various geographical sites. Various hypotheses are tested using output from a coordinated set of general circulation model experiments, which are subjected to time-varying SST forcing observed during 1946–88 in different parts of the world's oceans. It is demonstrated that tropical Pacific SST fluctuations associated with El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) episodes produce a strong extratropical response in the model atmosphere, whereas the atmospheric signal associated with midlatitude SST anomalies is less robust. Analysis of a 100-yr control experiment, which is conducted in the absence of any interannual SST forcing, indicates that a substantial fraction of the simulated atmospheric variability may be attributed to internal dynamica...

Space and Time Scales in Ambient Ozone Data

Abstract: This paper describes the characteristic space and time scales in time series of ambient ozone data. The authors discuss the need and a methodology for cleanly separating the various scales of motion embedded in ozone time series data, namely, short-term (weather related) variations, seasonal (solar induced) variations, and long-term (climate–policy related) trends, in order to provide a better understanding of the underlying physical processes that affect ambient ozone levels. Spatial and temporal information in ozone time series data, obscure prior to separation, is clearly displayed by simple laws afterward. In addition, process changes due to policy or climate changes may be very small and invisible unless they are separated from weather and seasonality. Successful analysis of the ozone problem, therefore, requires a careful separation of seasonal and synoptic components. The authors show that baseline ozone retains global information on the scale of more than 2 months in time and about 300 km...

Characteristics of the TOVS Pathfinder Path A Dataset

Abstract: The TIROS (Television Infrared Observation Satellite) Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) Pathfinder Path A dataset is currently a 9-yr dataset, 1985–93, of global fields of surface and atmospheric parameters derived from analysis of HIRS2 and MSU data on the NOAA-9, NOAA-10, NOAA-11, and NOAA-12 polar-orbiting operational meteorological satellites. The retrieved fields include land and ocean surface skin temperature, atmospheric temperature and water vapor profiles, total atmospheric O3 burden, cloud-top pressure and radiatively effective fractional cloud cover, outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and longwave cloud radiative forcing, and precipitation estimate. The fields are gridded on a 1° × 1° latitude–longitude grid and stored on a 1-day mean, 5-day mean, and monthly mean basis, with data from each satellite's local a.m. and p.m. orbits stored separately. Preliminary validation studies of the interannual differences of geophysical parameters derived from the TOVS Pathfinder dataset imply suff...

Biogenic and anthropogenic sources of ice-forming nuclei : A review

Abstract: To develop theories and numerical models of the formation and microstructure of clouds and precipitation, it is necessary to identify the potential sources of ice nuclei in the atmosphere. However, the subject remains an area of debate. According to the most accepted theory, the great majority of atmospheric ice nuclei constitute soil mineral particles. But some evidence appears to favor the hypothesis of a nonnegligible contribution to the population of effective ice nuclei made by biogenic material, living or dead. Moreover, some specific human activities have been identified as prolific sources of particles on which ice crystals can be generated. In contrast, it has also been suggested that some anthropogenic effluents deactivate nuclei naturally occurring in the atmosphere. This paper summarizes present knowledge about the biogenic and anthropogenic sources of atmospheric ice nuclei. Recent research reveals an increasingly greater variety of sources and activities of ice nuclei. However intri...

The 1995 Chicago Heat Wave: How Likely Is a Recurrence?

Abstract: The deadly heat wave of July 1995 that affected much of the U.S. midwest, most notably Chicago, Illinois, has been put into historical perspective. The heat wave has been found to be remarkably unusual, but only partially because of the extreme high apparent temperatures (an index of the combined effect of temperature and humidity on humans), where the authors calculate a return period of the peak apparent temperature of ≤23 yr. Of greater significance were the very high temperatures that persisted day and night over an extended 48-h period. Analysis presented here indicates that for Chicago such an extended period of continuously high day and night apparent temperature is unprecedented in modern times. The 2-day period where the minimum apparent temperature failed to go below 31.5°C (89°F) is calculated to be an extremely rare event (probability of occurrence <0.1%) based on a 10 000-yr-long simulation of a four-parameter (temperatures related to the mean, the intraseasonal daily variance, the i...

How Dry is the Tropical Free Troposphere? Implications for Global Warming Theory

Abstract: The humidity of the free troposphere is being increasingly scrutinized in climate research due to its central role in global warming theory through positive water vapor feedback. This feedback is the primary source of global warming in general circulation models (GCMs). Because the loss of infrared energy to space increases nonlinearly with decreases in relative humidity, the vast dry zones in the Tropics are of particular interest. These dry zones are nearly devoid of radiosonde stations, and most of those stations have, until recently, ignored the low humidity information from the sondes. This results in substantial uncertainty in GCM tuning and validation based on sonde data. While satellite infrared radiometers are now beginning to reveal some information about the aridity of the tropical free troposphere, the authors show that the latest microwave humidity sounder data suggests even drier conditions than have been previously reported. This underscores the importance of understanding how these low humidity levels are controlled in order to tune and validate GCMs, and to predict the magnitude of water vapor feedback and thus the magnitude of global warming.

Climatic Effects of Amazonian Deforestation: Some Results from ABRACOS.

Abstract: This paper reviews the climatological measurements and some of the modeling in the Anglo–Brazilian Amazonian Climate Observational Study (ABRACOS) project. The local-scale, mesoscale, and large-scale climatic impacts of Amazonian deforestation are demonstrated. The difference in radiation and energy balance between forest and clearing gives higher air temperatures in the clearings, particularly in the dry season. In areas of substantial deforestation, higher sensible heat fluxes from the cleared forest produce deeper convective boundary layers, with differences in cloud cover being observed and mesoscale circulations being predicted. The use of the ABRACOS data for calibrating general circulation model land surface schemes is discussed.

Separating Different Scales of Motion in Time Series of Meteorological Variables.

Abstract: The removal of synoptic and seasonal signals from time series of meteorological variables leaves datasets amenable to the study of trends, climate change, and the reasons for such trends and changes. In this paper, four techniques for separating different scales of motion are examined and their effectiveness compared. These techniques are PEST, anomalies, wavelet transform, and the Kolmogorov–Zurbenko (KZ) filter. It is shown that PEST and anomalies do not cleanly separate the synoptic and seasonal signals from the data as well as the other two methods. The KZ filter method is shown to have the same level of accuracy as the wavelet transform method. However, the KZ filter method can be applied to datasets with missing observations and is much easier to use than the wavelet transform method.

The Fronts and Atlantic Storm-Track Experiment (FASTEX): Scientific Objectives and Experimental Design

Abstract: The Fronts and Atlantic Storm-Track Experiment (FASTEX) will address the life cycle of cyclones evolving over the North Atlantic Ocean in January and February 1997. The objectives of FASTEX are to improve the forecasts of end-of-storm-track cyclogenesis (primarily in the eastern Atlantic but with applicability to the Pacific) in the range 24 to 72 h, to enable the testing of theoretical ideas on cyclone formation and development, and to document the vertical and the mesoscale structure of cloud systems in mature cyclones and their relation to the dynamics. The observing system includes ships that will remain in the vicinity of the main baroclinic zone in the central Atlantic Ocean, jet aircraft that will fly and drop sondes off the east coast of North America or over the central Atlantic Ocean, turboprop aircraft that will survey mature cyclones off Ireland with dropsondes, and airborne Doppler radars, including ASTRAIA/ELDORA. Radiosounding frequency around the North Atlantic basin will be increased, as ...

Climate and Salmon Restoration in the Columbia River Basin: The Role and Usability of Seasonal Forecasts

Abstract: The Pacific Northwest is dependent on the vast and complex Columbia River system for power production, irrigation, navigation, flood control, recreation, municipal and industrial water supplies, and fish and wildlife habitat. In recent years Pacific salmon populations in this region, a highly valued cultural and economic resource, have declined precipitously. Since 1980, regional entities have embarked on the largest effort at ecosystem management undertaken to date in the United States, primarily aimed at balancing hydropower demands with salmon restoration activities. It has become increasingly clear that climatically driven fluctuations in the freshwater and marine environments occupied by these fish are an important influence on population variability. It is also clear that there are significant prospects of climate predictability that may prove advantageous in managing the water resources shared by the long cast of regional interests. The main thrusts of this study are 1) to describe the cli...

Fully automated cloud-drift winds in NESDIS operations

Abstract: Cloud-drift winds have been produced from geostationary satellite data in the Western Hemisphere since the early 1970s. During the early years, winds were used as an aid for the short-term forecaster in an era when numerical forecasts were often of questionable quality, especially over oceanic regions. Increased computing resources over the last two decades have led to significant advances in the performance of numerical forecast models. As a result, continental forecasts now stand to gain little from the inspection or assimilation of cloud-drift wind fields. However, the oceanic data void remains, and although numerical forecasts in such areas have improved, they still suffer from a lack of in situ observations. During the same two decades, the quality of geostationary satellite data has improved considerably, and the cloud-drift wind production process has also benefited from increased computing power. As a result, fully automated wind production is now possible, yielding cloud-drift winds whose quality...

Shipboard Radar Rainfall Patterns within the TOGA COARE IFA

Abstract: Radar rainfall measurements over the equatorial western Pacific warm pool were collected by two shipboard Doppler radars as part of the Tropical Oceans Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment during the intensive observing period (November 1992–February 1993). A comprehensive dataset of gridded rainfall fields, convective/stratiform identification maps, and vertical structure products has been produced, covering an area approximately 400 km (E–W) by 300 km (N–S) within the Intensive Flux Array (IFA), centered near 2°S, 156°E. The radar rainfall product, which was used as validation for the Third Algorithm Intercomparison Project of the Global Precipitation Climatology Project, indicates an overall average of 4.8 mm day−1; however, correction for range dependence increases the total to 5.4 mm day−1. Rainfall patterns varied considerably during the experiment with isolated convection dominating periods of light winds, while squall lines and organized mesoscale systems were ab...

The Life Cycle of Stratospheric Aerosol Particles

Abstract: This paper describes the life cycle of the background (nonvolcanic) stratospheric sulfate aerosol. The authors assume the particles are formed by homogeneous nucleation near the tropical tropopause and are carried aloft into the stratosphere. The particles remain in the Tropics for most of their life, and during this period of time a size distribution is developed by a combination of coagulation, growth by heteromolecular condensation, and mixing with air parcels containing preexisting sulfate particles. The aerosol eventually migrates to higher latitudes and descends across isentropic surfaces to the lower stratosphere. The aerosol is removed from the stratosphere primarily at mid- and high latitudes through various processes, mainly by isentropic transport across the tropopause from the stratosphere into the troposphere.

Students' Understanding of Climate Change: Insights for Scientists and Educators

Abstract: Teachers and meteorologists are among the most respected purveyors of scientific information to the public. As such, they can play an influential role in educating the public about basic atmosphere...

GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) Working Group 4: Precipitating Convective Cloud Systems

Abstract: The authors present the objectives of the working group on precipitating convective cloud systems. These center on developing physically based parameterizations for global models in which basic research into the large-scale role of cloud systems is an important part. The approach calls on a range of expertise: cloud-resolving modeling and contributing research, observational evaluation of the model results, and tests of parameterizations in single-column models. Ongoing studies focus on oceanic cloud systems in Tropical Oceans Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Research Experiment (TOGA COARE). First, cloud-resolving modeling of organized convection on a timescale of a few hours concentrates on momentum transport and surface fluxes. Results are evaluated against data obtained during the 22 February 1993 Intensive Observation Period, which include airborne Doppler radar measurements of a squall line. Second, multiday simulations focus on the environmental effects of cloud systems as they r...

Contrail-Cirrus and Their Potential for Regional Climate Change

Abstract: After reviewing the indirect evidence for the regional climatic impact of contrail-generated cirrus clouds (contrail-cirrus), the author presents a variety of new measurements indicating the nature and scope of the problem. The assessment concentrates on polarization lidar and radiometric observations of persisting contrails from Salt Lake City, Utah, where an extended Project First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program) Regional Experiment (FIRE) cirrus cloud dataset from the Facility for Atmospheric Remote Sensing has captured new information in a geographical area previously identified as being affected by relatively heavy air traffic. The following contrail properties are considered: hourly and monthly frequency of occurrence; height, temperature, and relative humidity statistics; visible and infrared radiative impacts; and microphysical content evaluated from in situ data and contrail optical phenomenon such as halos and coronas. Also presented are high-resolution lidar images of c...