The objective of this proposed research is to develop and evaluate hypotheses relating the properties of cumulunimbus clouds to the properties of the cirrus anvils that they may generate. This is a very complex problem, which is not likely to yield to the database anticipated from CRYSTAL-FACE alone, but it is a good opportunity to begin. It is hypothesized that isolated cumulonimbus clouds and mesoscale convective systems will behave differently , because the latter generate a far larger fraction of their ice mass through vapor deposition. It is also hypothesized that clouds with strong updrafts generate larger fractions of optically thick small ice particles than their weaker counterparts. CRYSTAL-FACE can anticipate opportunities for sampling all four types of convective clouds: strong clouds over land, both isolated and organized, and weaker clouds over water, both isolated and organized. The focus of this proposal will be to exploit the announced observational strategy to use a powerful array of aircraft instrumentation to connect the cirrus observations with their convective source regions.

The PI proposes full participation in the field program to assist in carrying out the objectives of the Science Team, followed by extensive collaboration with scientists with complementary expertise. Anticipating the need for some transferability of the results of CRYSTAL-FACE to other parts of the tropics, it is proposed to use the extensive database already in hand in the PI's research group, from a 3-year record from the Tropical Rain Measuring Mission, to place the Florida cloud systems in a global context.