Note that the new name effective_radius_of_cloud_particles_at_cloud_top takes 
away any mention of water, so now any particle is included.

John

On Dec 19, 2013, at 03:44, [email protected] wrote:

> Dear Jonathan,
> 
> "Condensed_water" is indeed the phrase used in CF standard names to refer to 
> liquid water and ice collectively, not just liquid. Essentially it means "non 
> gaseous H2O".  We also have names that refer separately to "liquid_water" and 
> "ice" so that all the quantities can be distinguished. For water in all its 
> phases (collectively) we simply use the term "water". I can't presently think 
> of a concise alternative to "condensed_water" to describe the necessary 
> concept. I suppose we could be more explicit and use "liquid_water_and_ice" 
> although this would make the names longer. Do others have strong feelings 
> about this?
> 
> "Condensed_water" is used in 22 existing names, 16 of which refer to cloud. 
> The other 6 are soil water quantities.
> 
> I think the existing name 
> effective_radius_of_cloud_condensed_water_particles_at_cloud_top is certainly 
> the quantity you are looking for. However, I take your point about particles 
> and I agree that it would actually make more sense to change this name to 
> effective_radius_of_cloud_particles_at_cloud_top. It is shorter (always a 
> plus point!) and it is consistent with the general approach that we have 
> taken before that, unless we explicitly distinguish between different types 
> of  object, (e.g. convective/stratiform cloud, seasalt/sulfate aerosol, 
> latent/sensible heat flux, etc.)  then the name applies to the generic object 
> (cloud, aerosol, heat flux).
> 
> I don't think we need to change any of the other condensed_water names, even 
> the cloud ones, because they don't refer to particles. For example, 
> mass_fraction_of_cloud_condensed_water_in_air and 
> mass_concentration_of_condensed_water_in_soil still seem OK. 
> 
> Best wishes,
> Alison
> 
> ------
> Alison Pamment                          Tel: +44 1235 778065
> NCAS/British Atmospheric Data Centre    Email: [email protected]
> STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory     
> R25, 2.22
> Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QX, U.K.
> 
> 
> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Jonathan Wrotny [mailto:[email protected]]
>> Sent: 18 December 2013 19:17
>> To: Pamment, Alison (STFC,RAL,RALSP); [email protected]
>> Subject: Re: [CF-metadata] Proposed new standard name:
>> effective_radius_of_cloud_particle_at_cloud_top
>> 
>> Dear Alison,
>> 
>> Thanks for the information.  I had been looking at an older version of
>> the standard names table by accident and missed this quantity.  However,
>> after looking at it, I am a little confused by the phrase
>> "condensed_water."  I think of condensed water as liquid water that has
>> condensed from water vapor, but definition states: "condensed_water"
>> means liquid and ice.  Why is ice included here?  Is "condensed" to be
>> interpreted more generally such that liquid and/or ice particles are
>> included in the cloud? If the latter, then why not use a more general
>> phrase such as "cloud_particle" to cover all types of possible
>> particles: e.g. liquid, ice, mixed liquid/ice?  To me, the use of
>> "condensed_water" in the name then "liquid and ice" in the definition is
>> confusing.
>> 
>> If this standard name is meant apply to both liquid and/or ice particles
>> in the cloud, then I think that it could suffice for our GOES-R data
>> product, but in that case, I would suggest a minor re-write of the name.
>> 
>> Sincerely,
>> 
>> Jonathan
>> 
>> On 12/17/2013 6:58 AM, [email protected] wrote:
>>> Dear Jonathan and Randy,
>>> 
>>> You are  correct that we already have the standard name
>> effective_radius_of_cloud_liquid_water_particle_at_liquid_water_cloud_to
>> p which is obviously aimed at liquid particles. We do, however, also have
>> the existing name
>> effective_radius_of_cloud_condensed_water_particles_at_cloud_top
>> defined as: 'The effective radius of a size distribution of particles, such 
>> as
>> aerosols, cloud droplets or ice crystals, is the area weighted mean radius of
>> particle size. It is calculated as the ratio of the third to the second 
>> moment
>> of the particle size distribution. "cloud_top" refers to the top of the 
>> highest
>> cloud. "condensed_water" means liquid and ice.'  I think this is probably the
>> quantity you need, rather than adding another standard name.
>>> 
>>> Best wishes,
>>> Alison
>>> 
>>> ------
>>> Alison Pamment                          Tel: +44 1235 778065
>>> NCAS/British Atmospheric Data Centre    Email:
>> [email protected]
>>> STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
>>> R25, 2.22
>>> Harwell Oxford, Didcot, OX11 0QX, U.K.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> From: CF-metadata [mailto:[email protected]] On
>> Behalf Of Jonathan Wrotny
>>> Sent: 15 December 2013 21:56
>>> To: [email protected]
>>> Subject: [CF-metadata] Proposed new standard name:
>> effective_radius_of_cloud_particle_at_cloud_top
>>> 
>>> Dear CF board,
>>> 
>>> Back in May, a colleague of mine, Randy Horne, submitted a new proposed
>> name for the effective radius of a cloud particle at the top of a cloud.  Our
>> proposed standard name was
>> "effective_radius_of_cloud_particle_at_cloud_top".  We did not hear back
>> from any CF posters at the time in regards to this proposal, and are hoping
>> to re-start this proposal now.
>>> 
>>> The motivation for this new standard name is a data product on the future
>> GOES-R geostationary platform.  This product is the effective radius for a
>> cloud particle at the top of a cloud.  The GOES-R product will not 
>> distinguish
>> between water and ice particles, however.  Currently, the CF database has a
>> similar standard name but for liquid particles only
>> (effective_radius_of_cloud_liquid_water_particle_at_liquid_water_cloud_t
>> op).  This standard name does not suffice for the GOES-R data product,
>> hence, the proposal for a slightly more general standard name which would
>> cover both water and ice particles at the cloud top.  Here is our current
>> proposal:
>>> 
>>> Standard Name:
>>> 
>>> effective_radius_of_cloud_particle_at_cloud_top
>>> 
>>> Definition:
>>> 
>>> The effective radius of a size distribution of particles, such as aerosols,
>> cloud droplets or ice crystals, is the area weighted mean radius of particle
>> size. It is calculated as the ratio of the third to the second moment of the
>> particle size distribution. cloud_top refers to the top of the highest cloud
>> and cloud_particle refers to either a liquid water droplet or ice crystal.
>>> 
>>> Canonical Units:
>>> 
>>> m
>>> 
>>> Thanks for your consideration of this proposal.  All comments are
>> welcome.
>>> 
>>> Sincerely,
>>> 
>>> Jonathan Wrotny
> 
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Sr. Data Manager, Metadata & Semantics

M +1 408 675-5445
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