Thunderstorm Top Microphysics
Research is currently underway at RAMMB to study the microphysical structure of thunderstorm tops by satellite. GOES imagers have a band centered near 3.9 µm which allows an estimate of cloud-top ice crystal size. A recently-developed ice effective radius retrieval with GOES can be used to obtain estimates of ice crystal size at the tops of thunderstorms. Details of this retrieval can be found in the following paper by Lindsey and Grasso, which is currently in press for the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology: http://rammb.cira.colostate.edu/research/severe_weather/papers/effrad_lindsey_grasso_final.pdf
