MICROBASE

MICROBASE takes the following VAPs as input data:

• Active Remote Sensing of CLouds (ARSCL)
• Interpolated Sonde (INTERPSONDE)
• Microwave Radiometer Retrievals (MWRRET).

Specific locations of the sounding profiles, particle distribution, and cloud type were made to retrieve cloud microphysical properties at each ARM site. MICROBASE contains data at four-second time intervals and 30-meter height intervals consisting of 596 vertical levels, which follow the resolutions of ARSCL (this may vary at different sites).

Researchers generally use MICROBASE to study cloud microphysical processes, evaluate model performance, and/or perform satellite ground validations.

MICROBASE also provides necessary inputs on cloud microphysical properties for running radiative transfer models, such as the Rapid Radiative Transfer Model (RRTM), and for processing the ARM Broadband Heating Rate Profile (BBHRP) and Radiatively Important Parameters Best Estimate (RIPBE) VAPs.

For more information, users can consult the technical report or contact developer Meng Wang and/or interim translator Scott Giangrande.

Over the years, MICROBASE VAPs were developed using different radar inputs according to the instrument availability at different sites. Quality control (qc) flags and uncertainty quantification were added as some of the major updates of the VAP. A table of the different products is below.