Comparison of Cloud Vertical Structure Retrieved from Radiosonde and Millimeter Wave Cloud Radar

Owing to the synchronizing continuous observation of Ka-band millimeter-wave cloud radar (MMCR), L-band radiosonde, ceilometer, Himawari-8 satellite, and Total Sky Imager (TSI) from 13 December 2016 to 13 March 2017, at Beijing Nanjiao Weather Observatory (BNWO), the cloud vertical structure (CVS, including cloud bottom height, cloud top height, cloud layers, etc.) derived from radiosonde and MMCR is compared, and the causes of observation deviation are analyzed. The results show that cloud top heights observed by MMCR are lower by 422.0 m on average, while cloud base heights are higher by 350.7 m. Generally, there is a good consistency between them. The difference of physical theory, balloon drifting, attenuation of MMCR during precipitation, and the limitations of algorithm for retrieving CVS, among others, are found to be the main causes of the deviation.