VISSS snowfall particle analysis

Knowledge graph centered on VISSS snowfall particle analysis with 72 nodes and 173 connections. Top connected: Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic, Colorado East River Valley, Winter snowpack, Multiscale Model to Model Cloud Compare method.

Method synopsis

Video In Situ Snowfall Sensor measurements providing particle size distributions, complexity, and fall velocity measurements to validate radar-derived microphysical processes. Uses high-speed video capture to characterize individual snow particle properties.

Synthesized from method descriptions across 3 papers using this protocol.

Procedure from a recent peer-reviewed implementation

Steps below were extracted from the most recent peer-reviewed implementation of this protocol in the corpus — Snow microphysical processes in orographic turbulence revealed by cloud radar and in situ snowfall camera observations (2026), Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. Implementations in other papers (listed below) may differ.

1. Deploy KAZR and VISSS instruments
   Stationed ARM KAZR (Ka-band ARM Zenith Radar) at AMF2 at 2889 m above mean sea level. Installed Video In Situ Snowfall Sensor (VISSS) next to AMF2 facility in horizontal distance to LIMRAD94 of approximately 550 m. VISSS has pixel resolution of 58.832 μm px⁻¹, frame rate of 380 fps, and observation volume of 75.2 × 75.2 × 60.1 mm³.
   Quantities: 1 KAZR radar, 1 VISSS sensor, 550 m horizontal distance, 58.832 μm px⁻¹ resolution, 380 fps frame rate, 75.2 × 75.2 × 60.1 mm³ observation volumeDuration: Winter 2022/2023Conditions: Deployed at 2889 m elevation during winter campaign
   Equipment: ARM KAZR, Video In Situ Snowfall Sensor (VISSS)

Typical Equipment

• Video In Situ Snowfall Sensor (VISSS)

Output Measurements

• particle size distributions
• particle complexity
• fall velocity
• particle mass fraction

Papers Using This Protocol (3)

Places Where Used