The Processes Involved in the Development of Precipitation Within Clouds and internacional collaboration within the SOS-CHUVA project

• Grant number: 19/07039-6
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Visiting Researcher Grant - International
• Start date: October 27, 2019
• End date: November 08, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Maria Assunção Faus da Silva Dias
• Grantee: Maria Assunção Faus da Silva Dias
• Visiting researcher: Andrew Heymsfield
• Visiting researcher institution: National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), United States
• Host Institution: Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas (IAG). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 15/14497-0 - Nowcasting of intense thunderstorms and understanding of the physical processes inside clouds: the SOS-CHUVA (Severe Weather Observation System), AP.PFPMCG.TEM

Abstract

This proposal aims to connect Brazilian researchers with Dr. Andrew Heymsfield, an important international name on hail research. The activities will be divided into two categories, one aimed at graduate students and another aimed at professors and researches. In the first one, the visitor will teach a 2-week course on the processes involved in the development of precipitation (either liquid or frozen). The students that attend the course will earn credits towards their degrees. In terms of collaborations, the visitor will discuss projects with researchers at USP or other interested institutions. Currently, there are two ongoing or planned projects where discussions are planned. The SOS-CHUVA (2015/14497-0) has the overall aim to improve nowcasting capabilities in Brazil, where hail plays a key role. Detecting such particles inside the clouds is one way of assessing the system's intensity. One aim is to discuss validating studies, where we will compare radar to hailpad (surface-based instrument that measures hail size and impact strength) measurements. For the future, we will discuss projects involving the CAFE-Brazil campaign, which will be an intensive field campaign in the Amazon in 2020. We will discuss studies about hail formation in the Amazon and how it relates to other regions in the world." (AU)