Near the surface, maritime convective reflectivity profiles
continued to increase toward low levels, suggesting droplet
growth mechanisms via warm rain (coalescence) processes.
Continental and coastal regions were often associated with
decreasing reflectivity towards the surface, indicating drop
evaporation or drop breakup. Northern and southern
domains exhibited similar convective reflectivity profiles
below 6 km, with more variability aloft. Mean MSHs and
85 GHz PCTs (Table III) were nearly identical, suggesting
that vertical growth and ice water path were also similar in
a mean sense (discussed below).
Bright-band signatures in stratiform profiles
(Figure 10(b)) were similar in magnitude in all regions
except MarS, which was up to 2 dB weaker. Strong evaporative
processes were observed in the ConNE region and to a
lesser degree ConSE, inferred from the decrease of reflectivity
below the bright band to low levels. The linear organization
of continental MCSs would often lead to the presence of a
rear inflow jet which may aid in the evaporative process.
Oceanic and coastal regions continued to increase toward
the surface, an indication of moist lower levels. Unlike convective
profiles, which exhibited distinct separations for each
region, stratiform profiles were tightly grouped, except the
MarS profile which displayed lower reflectivity values below
5 km. Maritime reflectivity profiles decreased more rapidly
above the bright band than in the coastal and continental
regions, resulting in two distinct groupings from 5 km and
upwards: maritime and continental. These differences in