Abstract
Rain events can be characterized by rain drop size distribution (DSD) that denotes the number of drops as a function of diameter per unit size interval and per unit volume of space. DSD describes the microstructure of precipitation during different phases of rain varying both spatially and temporally. DSD can be influenced by the nature and origin of rain. The present study investigates the role of continental and maritime airflow in influencing the precipitation features near the land-sea boundary. Rain DSD data used in the present analysis are collected from a ground based disdrometer located at Kolkata, India during the year of 2011-2017. The dataset is divided into two categories namely, maritime and continental rainfall, based on the airflow trajectories associated with rainfall, respectively, from Bay of Bengal and from land surface in the west of Kolkata, as derived from TRAJSTAT software. Variations of the DSD parameters using Gamma model is presented showing the abundance of smaller drops during maritime rain events whereas dominance of larger raindrops in the case of the continental rain events. The Z-R relations are also found to be significantly different for these two types of rain. The present study reveals the microstructures of rain at a location where the influences of both land and sea climatic features prevail.
Rain drop size distribution analysis at a tropical location near land-sea boundary
