Dr. Christopher Westbrook
Associate Professor
Responsibilities:
Lecturer in Meteorology
Research Interests:
- Cloud Physics (in particular ice microphysics)
- Remote sensing (using the state-of-the-art radars and lidars at Chilbolton)
- Electromagnetic scattering by ice crystals and raindrops
Research Projects:
- Exploiting multi-wavelength Doppler spectra to characterise the microphysics of ice hydrometeors
- A new signal processing technology to eliminate range sidelobes in meteorological radar data
Postdoctoral & graduate student supervision
- Andrew Barrett PDRA analysing triple-wavelength radar measurements and ice microphysics
- Matt Feist PhD student working on turbulence in convective clouds, comparing high resolution simulations to high resolution radar observations
- Emma Hopkin PhD student working on lidar backscatter profiles and calibration
- Will Keat PhD student working on mixed-phase clouds, and dual-polarisation radar
Other interests
- Associate Fellow of Royal Meteorological Society
Centaur Publications
2023
Kleanthous, Antigoni, Baran, Anthony, Betcke, Timo, Hewett, David and Westbrook, Chris (2023) An application of the boundary element method (BEM) to the calculation of the single-scattering properties of very complex ice crystals in the microwave and sub-millimetre regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer. ISSN 0022-4073 (In Press)
Miller, Caleb, Nicoll, Keri, Westbrook, Chris and Harrison, Giles ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0693-347X
(2023)
The effect of fog on atmospheric electric fields.
Journal of Physics: Conference Series.
ISSN 1742-6588
(In Press)
2022
Tagliavini, Giorgia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2090-8190, Khan, Majid H.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1106-9014, McCorquodale, Mark
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2996-663X, Westbrook, Chris and Holzner, Markus
(2022)
Wake characteristics of complex-shaped snow particles: Comparison of numerical simulations with fixed snowflakes to time-resolved particle tracking velocimetry experiments with free-falling analogs.
Physics of Fluids, 34 (5).
055112.
ISSN 1089-7666
doi: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0089759
Courtier, Benjamin M., Battaglia, Alessandro, Huggard, Peter G., Westbrook, Chris, Mroz, Kamil, Dhillon, Ranvir S., Walden, Christopher J., Howells, Gareth, Wang, Hui, Ellison, Brian N., Reeves, Richard, Robertson, Duncan A. and Wylde, Richard J. (2022) First observations of G-band radar Doppler spectra. Geophysical Research Letters, 49 (4). ISSN 0094-8276 doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL096475
2021
Tagliavini, Giorgia, McCorquodale, Mark, Westbrook, Chris and Holzner, Markus (2021) Numerical analysis of the wake of complex-shaped snow particles at moderate Reynolds number. Physics of Fluids, 33 (10). 105103. ISSN 1070-6631 doi: https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0064902
Tagliavini, Giorgia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2090-8190, McCorquodale, Mark
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2996-663X, Westbrook, Chris
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2889-8815, Corso, Pascal
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7875-1080, Krol, Quirine and Holzner, Markus
(2021)
Drag coefficient prediction of complex-shaped snow particles falling in air beyond the Stokes regime.
International Journal of Multiphase Flow, 140.
103652.
ISSN 03019322
doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2021.103652
O'Shea, Sebastian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0489-1723, Crosier, Jonathan
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3086-4729, Dorsey, James, Gallagher, Louis, Schledewitz, Waldemar, Bower, Keith
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9802-3264, Schlenczek, Oliver
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7247-465X, Borrmann, Stephan
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4774-9380, Cotton, Richard, Westbrook, Christopher and Ulanowski, Zbigniew
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4761-6980
(2021)
Characterising optical array particle imaging probes: implications for small-ice-crystal observations.
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 14 (3).
pp. 1917-1939.
ISSN 1867-8548
doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1917-2021
McCusker, Karina, Westbrook, Chris D. and Tyynelä, Jani (2021) An accurate and computationally cheap microwave scattering method for ice aggregates: the Independent Monomer Approximation. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 147 (735). pp. 1202-1224. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3967
McCorquodale, M. W. and Westbrook, C. D. (2021) TRAIL part 2: a comprehensive assessment of ice particle fall speed parametrisations. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 147 (734). pp. 605-626. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3936
McCorquodale, M. W. and Westbrook, C. D. (2021) TRAIL: a novel approach for studying the aerodynamics of ice particles. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 147 (734). pp. 589-604. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3935
Kedzuf, Nicholas J., Chiu, Christine, Chandrasekar, V., Biswas, Sounak, Joshil, Shashank S., Lu, Yinghui, Van Leeuwen, Peter Jan, Westbrook, Chris, Blanchard, Yann and O'Shea, Sebastian (2021) Retrieving microphysical properties of concurrent pristine ice and snow using polarimetric radar observations. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 14 (10). pp. 6885-6904. ISSN 1867-8548 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6885-2021
2019
Mason, Shannon L., Hogan, Robin J., Westbrook, Christopher D., Kneifel, Stefan, Moisseev, Dmitri and von Terzi, Leonie (2019) The importance of particle size distribution and internal structure for triple-frequency radar retrievals of the morphology of snow. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 12 (9). pp. 4993-5018. ISSN 1867-8548 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4993-2019
Hopkin, Emma, Illingworth, Anthony J., Charlton-Perez, Cristina, Westbrook, Chris D. and Ballard, Sue (2019) A robust automated technique for operational calibration of ceilometers using the integrated backscatter from totally attenuating liquid clouds. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 12 (7). pp. 4131-4147. ISSN 1867-8548 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-4131-2019
McCusker, Karina, Westbrook, C. D. and Moiola, A. (2019) Analysis of the internal electric fields of pristine ice crystals and aggregate snowflakes, and their effect on scattering. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 230. pp. 155-171. ISSN 0022-4073 doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2019.04.019
Barrett, Andrew I., Westbrook, Christopher D., Nicol, John C. and Stein, Thorwald H. M. (2019) Rapid ice aggregation process revealed through triple-wavelength Doppler spectra radar analysis. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 19. pp. 5753-5769. ISSN 1680-7375 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5753-2019
Feist, Matthew M., Westbrook, Chris D., Clark, Peter A., Stein, Thorwald H. M., Lean, Humphrey W. and Stirling, Alison J. (2019) Statistics of convective cloud turbulence from a comprehensive turbulence retrieval method for radar observations. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 145 (719). pp. 727-744. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3462
2017
Keat, William James and Westbrook, Chris D. (2017) Revealing layers of pristine oriented crystals embedded within deep ice clouds using differential reflectivity and the co-polar correlation coefficient. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 122 (21). pp. 11737-11759. ISSN 2169-8996 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD026754
Westbrook, C. D. and Sephton, E. K. (2017) Using 3D-printed analogues to investigate the fall speeds and orientations of complex ice particles. Geophysical Research Letters, 44 (15). pp. 7994-8001. ISSN 0094-8276 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2017gl074130
Field, P.R., Lawson, R.P., Brown, P.R.A., Lloyd, G., Westbrook, Chris, Moisseev, D., Miltenverger, A., Nenes, A., Blyth, A., Choularton, T., Connolly, P., Buehl, J., Crosier, J., Cui, Z., Dearden, C., DeMott, P., Flossman, A., Heymsfield, A., Huang, Y., Kalesse, H., Kanji, Z.A., Korolev, A., Kirchgaessner, A., Lasher-Trapp, S., Leisner, T., McFarquhar, G., Phillips, V., Stith, J. and Sullivan, S. (2017) Secondary ice production: current state of the science and recommendations for the future. Meteorological Monographs, 58. 7.1-7.20. ISSN 0065-9401 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/AMSMONOGRAPHS-D-16-0014.1
2016
Keat, W. J., Westbrook, Chris D. and Illingworth, Anthony J. (2016) High-precision measurements of the co-polar correlation coefficient: non-Gaussian errors and retrieval of the dispersion parameter µ in rainfall. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 55 (7). pp. 1615-1632. ISSN 1558-8432 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-15-0272.1
2015
Stein, Thorwald H. M., Westbrook, Chris D. and Nicol, John (2015) Fractal geometry of aggregate snowflakes revealed by triple wavelength radar measurements. Geophysical Research Letters, 42 (1). pp. 176-183. ISSN 0094-8276 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062170
2014
Westbrook, C. D. (2014) Rayleigh scattering by hexagonal ice crystals and the interpretation of dual-polarisation radar measurements. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 140 (683). pp. 2090-2096. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2262
Hogan, Robin J. and Westbrook, Christopher D. (2014) Equation for the microwave backscatter cross section of aggregate snowflakes using the self-similar Rayleigh–Gans approximation. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 71 (9). pp. 3292-3301. ISSN 1520-0469 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-13-0347.1
Crosier, J., Choularton, T. W., Westbrook, C. D., Blyth, A. M., Bower, K. N., Connolly, P. J., Dearden, C., Gallagher, M. W., Cui, Z. and Nicol, J. C. (2014) Microphysical properties of cold frontal rainbands. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 140 (681). pp. 1257-1268. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2206
Battaglia, A., Westbrook, C. D., Kniefel, S., Kollias, P., Humpage, N., Löhnert, U., Tyynelä, J. and Petty, G. W. (2014) G band atmospheric radars: new frontiers in cloud physics. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 7. pp. 1527-1546. ISSN 1867-8548 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1527-2014
2013
Westbrook, C. D. and Illingworth, A. J. (2013) The formation of ice in a long-lived supercooled layer cloud. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 139 (677). pp. 2209-2221. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.2096
Westbrook, Chris and Clark, Matt (2013) Observations of a tornadic supercell over Oxfordshire using a pair of Doppler radars. Weather, 68 (5). pp. 128-134. ISSN 0043-1656 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.1997
Westbrook, Chris D. and Nicol, John C. (2013) A time-series method to identify and correct range sidelobes in meteorological radar data. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 30 (10). pp. 2417-2424. ISSN 1520-0426 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-13-00063.1
2012
Hogan, Robin, Tian, Lin, Brown, Philip R.A., Westbrook, Chris, Heymsfield, Andrew J. and Eastment, Jon D. (2012) Radar scattering from ice aggregates using the horizontally aligned oblate spheroid approximation. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 51 (3). pp. 655-671. ISSN 1558-8432 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JAMC-D-11-074.1
Crawford, I, Bower, K.N., Choularton, T.W., Dearden, C, Crosier, J, Westbrook, Chris, Capes, G, Coes, H, Connolly, P.J., Dorsey, J.R., Gallagher, M.W., Williams, P, Trembath, J, Cui, Z and Blyth, A (2012) Ice formation and development in aged, wintertime cumulus over the UK: observations and modelling. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12 (11). pp. 4963-4985. ISSN 1680-7324 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-4963-2012
2011
Westbrook, Christopher D. and Heymsfield, Andrew J. (2011) Ice crystals growing from vapor in supercooled clouds between −2.5° and −22°C: testing current parameterization methods using laboratory data. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 68 (10). pp. 2416-2429. ISSN 1520-0469 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS-D-11-017.1
Westbrook, Christopher D. and Illingworth, Anthony J. (2011) Evidence that ice forms primarily in supercooled liquid clouds at temperatures > -27C. Geophysical Research Letters, 38. L14808. ISSN 0094-8276 doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048021
Westbrook, Christopher (2011) Origin of the Parry arc. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 137 B. pp. 538-543. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.761
Crosier, J., Bower, K. N., Choularton, T. W., Westbrook, Christopher D., Connolly, P. J., Cui, Z. Q., Crawford, I. P., Capes, G. L., Coe, H, Dorsey, J. R., Williams, P. I., Illingworth, Anthony J., Gallagher, M. W. and Blyth, A. M. (2011) Observations of ice multiplication in a weakly convective cell embedded in supercooled mid-level stratus. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 11 (1). pp. 257-273. ISSN 1680-7316 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-257-2011
2010
O'Connor, Ewan J., Illingworth, Anthony J., Brooks, Ian M., Westbrook, Christopher D., Hogan, Robin J., Davies, Fay and Brooks, Barbara J. (2010) A method for estimating the turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate from a vertically pointing Doppler lidar, and independent evaluation from balloon-borne in situ measurements. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 27 (10). pp. 1652-1664. ISSN 1520-0426 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JTECHA1455.1
Heymsfield, A.J. and Westbrook, Christopher (2010) Advancements in the estimation of ice particle fall speeds using laboratory and field measurements. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 67 (8). pp. 2469-2482. ISSN 1520-0469 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JAS3379.1
Westbrook, C. D., Hogan, R. J., O'Connor, E. J. and Illingworth, A. J. (2010) Estimating drizzle drop size and precipitation rate using two-colour lidar measurements. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, 3 (3). pp. 671-681. ISSN 1867-8548 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-3-671-2010
Westbrook, C. D., Illingworth, A. J., O'Connor, E. J. and Hogan, R. J. (2010) Doppler lidar measurements of oriented planar ice crystals falling from supercooled and glaciated layer clouds. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 136 (646). pp. 260-276. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.528
Westbrook, Chris and Davies, Owain (2010) Observations of a glaciating hole-punch cloud. Weather, 65 (7). p. 176. ISSN 0043-1656 doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/wea.504
2009
Westbrook, Christopher David and Illingworth, Anthony John (2009) Testing the influence of small crystals on ice size spectra using Doppler lidar observations. Geophysical Research Letters, 36 . L12810 . ISSN 0094-8276 doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2009GL038186
2008
Westbrook, Christopher David, Ball, R. C. and Field, P. R. (2008) Corrigendum: radar scattering by aggregate snowflakes. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 134 (631). pp. 547-548. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.233
Westbrook, Christopher David, Hogan, Robin J. and Illingworth, Anthony J. (2008) The capacitance of pristine ice crystals and aggregate snowflakes. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 65 (1). pp. 206-219. ISSN 1520-0469 doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/2007JAS2315.1
Westbrook, C. D. (2008) The fall speeds of sub-100 mu m ice crystals. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 134 (364). pp. 1243-1281. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.290
2007
Westbrook, C. D., Hogan, R. J., Illingworth, A. J. and O'Connor, E. J. (2007) Theory and observations of ice particle evolution in cirrus using Doppler radar: evidence for aggregation. Geophysical Research Letters, 34. L02824. ISSN 0094-8276 doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL027863
2006
Westbrook, C. D., Ball, R. C. and Field, P. R. (2006) Radar scattering by aggregate snowflakes. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 132 (616). pp. 897-914. ISSN 1477-870X doi: https://doi.org/10.1256/qj.05.82
Last update: 9th November 2023