(Video source: People's Daily online)

On June 18, a plane carrying atmospheric and cloud physical detection instruments took off from the Three Gorges Airport in Yichang in the rain. It repeatedly flew through the clouds to detect the number concentration, spectral distribution and image information of cloud particles and precipitation particles.

The aircraft, specially designed for weather services, is fully equipped and technologically advanced. Niu Sen, the meteorological equipment maintainer of Shanxi Successful general Aviation quality Control Department, introduced that the cloud radar set up by the plane can let the staff know the shape of the cloud and the position of the plane in the cloud on the plane, which is conducive to adjusting the flight posture during the detection. The wings, nose and tail of the aircraft are loaded with aviation meteorological integrated system measurement system, aerosol detector, cloud combined detector, precipitation imager, ice accumulation meter, dew point meter and other equipment. All probe information is summarized into an interface through the system in the cabin.

▲Photo: The observation plane took off for the first time at the Three Gorges Airport in Yichang, Hubei Province. The project team recorded relevant observation data on the plane. Photo source: see Watermark

In Jingzhou and Xianning, the observation personnel carried out irregular observation through the tropospheric wind profile radar, millimeter wave cloud radar, microwave radiometer, GPS radiosonde system and other ground observation equipment, and cooperated with aircraft observation and weather evolution.

"Wind profiler radar can detect three-dimensional wind speed and direction at vertical height, and millimeter-wave cloud radar can monitor cloud changes." Wang Bin, an associate researcher at the Wuhan Rainstorm Research Institute of China Meteorological Administration, said that precipitation is caused by the movement of wind, which makes water vapor form clouds, and then clouds form rain. Therefore, these equipment play a very important role in improving precipitation forecast, and make up for the shortage of some traditional meteorological observation equipment.

▲Photo: Launch aircraft test, wing DMT equipment introduction, photo source: see watermark

▲Photo: Microwave radiometer in the field observation mission

▲Photo: Field science test base, the project team launched the sounding balloon, photo source: see watermark

▲Photo: The project team is debugging the newly installed two-dimensional video raindrop spectrometer (2DVD) in Jingzhou Jiangling Observation base. Photo source: see Watermark

The joint observation test with the cooperation of ground, aircraft and satellite is based on the microphysical characteristic parameters in the cloud observed by aircraft to test the rationality and accuracy of ground-based observation data, and improve the algorithm to optimize the ground-based remote sensing inversion of cloud and precipitation microphysical characteristic parameters.

This scientific test will continue throughout the Meiyu period, and ground-based observation will be carried out with wind profiler radar, microwave radiometer, C-band dual-polarization radar, millimeter wave cloud radar, cloud height meter, raindrop spectrometer and other ground observation equipment. At the same time, an aeroplane equipped with cloud radar and water condensate detector in the cloud is used for space-based observation, which is used to detect the microphysical characteristics of cloud droplets and the spectral distribution of aerosol particles in the cloud bottom. Satellite-based observation was carried out through satellite remote sensing to detect the development and moving path of Meiyu peak.

▲Photo: China Meteorological Administration Rainstorm Monitoring field science test base in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, photo source: see watermark

The scientific experiments designed to precipitation of meiyu front in the foundation, empty base, base joint observation, multi-source data fusion applications, to explore the meiyu front rainstorm mesoscale system dynamic and thermodynamic structure as well as the heavy rain cloud water condensation polymer structure and physical characteristics, reveals the water vapor and environmental conditions affect the occurrence and development of precipitation cloud mechanism, By comparing the structural characteristics of the Meiyu front system in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the variation rule of the Meiyu front system moving from west to east is analyzed, and the technology and ability of heavy precipitation forecast in China are further improved.