Comparison of Drop Size Distribution Parameter (D0) and Rain Rate from S-Band Dual-Polarized Ground Radar, TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR), and Combined PR–TMI: Two Events from Kwajalein Atoll

2012 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1603-1616 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. N. Bringi ◽  
Gwo-Jong Huang ◽  
S. Joseph Munchak ◽  
Christian D. Kummerow ◽  
David A. Marks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Drop Size ◽  
Rain Rate ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Drop Size Distribution ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Distribution Parameter ◽  
Precipitation Radar ◽  
Trmm Precipitation ◽  
Dual Polarized

Abstract The estimation of the drop size distribution parameter [median volume diameter (D0)] and rain rate (R) from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR) as well as from combined PR–TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) algorithms are considered in this study for two TRMM satellite overpasses near the Kwajalein Atoll. An operational dual-polarized S-band radar (KPOL) located in Kwajalein is central as the only TRMM ground validation site for measurement of precipitation over the open ocean. The accuracy of the TRMM PR in retrieving D0 and R is better for precipitation over the ocean based on a more stable surface reference technique for estimating the path-integrated attenuation. Also, combined PR–TMI methods are more accurate over the open ocean because of better knowledge of the surface microwave emissivity. Using Zh (horizontal polarized radar reflectivity) and Zdr (differential reflectivity) data for the two TRMM overpass events over Kwajalein, D0 and R from KPOL are retrieved. Herein, the main objective is to see if the D0 retrieved from either PR or the combined PR–TMI algorithms are in agreement with KPOL-derived values. Also, the variation of D0 versus R is compared for convective rain pixels from KPOL, PR, and PR–TMI. It is shown that the PR–TMI optimal estimation scheme does indeed adjust the D0 in the “correct” direction, on average, from the a priori state if the KPOL data are considered to be the ground truth. This correct adjustment may be considered as evidence of the value added by the TMI brightness temperatures in the combined PR–TMI variational scheme, at least for the two overpass events considered herein.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Gamma Raindrop Size Distribution Assumption through Comparison of Rain Rates of Measured and Radar-Equivalent Gamma DSD

2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1618-1635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Adirosi ◽  
Eugenio Gorgucci ◽  
Luca Baldini ◽  
Ali Tokay
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Drop Size ◽  
Rain Rate ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Drop Size Distribution ◽  
Dual Polarization ◽  
Raindrop Size Distribution ◽  
Radar Measurements ◽  
Raindrop Size ◽  
Rain Rates

AbstractTo date, one of the most widely used parametric forms for modeling raindrop size distribution (DSD) is the three-parameter gamma. The aim of this paper is to analyze the error of assuming such parametric form to model the natural DSDs. To achieve this goal, a methodology is set up to compare the rain rate obtained from a disdrometer-measured drop size distribution with the rain rate of a gamma drop size distribution that produces the same triplets of dual-polarization radar measurements, namely reflectivity factor, differential reflectivity, and specific differential phase shift. In such a way, any differences between the values of the two rain rates will provide information about how well the gamma distribution fits the measured precipitation. The difference between rain rates is analyzed in terms of normalized standard error and normalized bias using different radar frequencies, drop shape–size relations, and disdrometer integration time. The study is performed using four datasets of DSDs collected by two-dimensional video disdrometers deployed in Huntsville (Alabama) and in three different prelaunch campaigns of the NASA–Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) ground validation program including the Hydrological Cycle in Mediterranean Experiment (HyMeX) special observation period (SOP) 1 field campaign in Rome. The results show that differences in rain rates of the disdrometer DSD and the gamma DSD determining the same dual-polarization radar measurements exist and exceed those related to the methodology itself and to the disdrometer sampling error, supporting the finding that there is an error associated with the gamma DSD assumption.

scholarly journals One, No One, and One Hundred Thousand: The Paradigm of the Z–R Relationship

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1161-1169
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Ignaccolo ◽  
Carlo De Michele
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Drop Size ◽  
Rain Rate ◽  
Scaling Law ◽  
Drop Size Distribution ◽  
Physical Relationship ◽  
Simple Realization ◽  
Linear Fit ◽  
State Of Affairs

AbstractThe Z–R relationship is a scaling-law formulation, Z = ARb, connecting the radar reflectivity Z to the rain rate R. However, more than 100 Z–R relationships, with different values of the parameters, have been reported in literature. This abundance of relationships is in itself a strong indication that no one “physical” relationship exists, a state of affairs that we find similar to that of the protagonist of Luigi Pirandello’s novel One, No One and One Hundred Thousand. Nevertheless the “elevation” of a simple linear fit in the (logR, logZ) space to the role of “scaling law” is such a widespread tenet in literature that it eclipses the simple realization that the abundance of different intercepts and slopes reflects the inhomogeneous nature of rain, and, in ultimate analysis, the statistical variability existing between the number of drops and drop size distribution. Here, we “eliminate” the contribution of the number of drops by rescaling both reflectivity and rainfall rate to per unit drop variables, (Z, R) → (z, r), so that the remaining variability is due only to the variability of the drop size distribution. We use a worldwide database of disdrometer data to show that for the rescaled variables (z, r) only “one,” albeit approximate, scaling law exists.

scholarly journals Disdrometer measurements under Sense-City rainfall simulator

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Auguste Gires ◽  
Philippe Bruley ◽  
Anne Ruas ◽  
Daniel Schertzer ◽  
Ioulia Tchiguirinskaia
Keyword(s):  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Drop Size ◽  
Rain Rate ◽  
Drop Size Distribution ◽  
Climatic Chamber ◽  
Sampling Area ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Raw Data ◽  
Rainfall Simulator

Abstract. The Hydrology, Meteorology and Complexity laboratory of Ecole des Ponts ParisTech (hmco.enpc.fr) and the Sense-City consortium (http://sense-city.ifsttar.fr/) make available a data set of optical disdrometers measurements coming from a cam-paign that took place in September 2017 under the rainfall simulator of the Sense-City climatic chamber which is located near Paris. Two OTT Parsivel2 were used. The size and velocity of drops falling through the sampling area of the devices of roughly few tens of cm2 is computed by disdrometers. This enables to estimate the drop size distribution and further study rainfall micro-physics or kinetic energy for example. Raw data, i.e. basically a matrix containing a number of drops according to classes of size and velocity, along with more aggregated ones such rain rate or drop size distribution with filtering is available. Link to the data set (Gires et al., 2019): http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3347051.

A Drop Size Distribution (DSD)-Based Model for Evaluating the Performance of Wet Radomes for Dual-Polarized Radars

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (11) ◽  
pp. 2409-2430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge L. Salazar-Cerreño ◽  
V. Chandrasekar ◽  
Jorge M. Trabal ◽  
Paul Siquera ◽  
Rafael Medina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Drop Size ◽  
Equivalent Circuit Model ◽  
Skin Surface ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Drop Size Distribution ◽  
Electrical Performance ◽  
Phased Array Antenna ◽  
Adaptive Sensing ◽  
Dual Polarized

AbstractA novel analytical method is presented for evaluating the electrical performance of a radome for a dual-polarized phased-array antenna under rain conditions. Attenuation, reflections, and induced cross polarization are evaluated for different rainfall conditions and radome types. The authors present a model for estimating the drop size distribution on a radome surface based on skin surface material, area, inclination, and rainfall rate. Then, a multilayer radome model based on the transmission-line-equivalent circuit model is used to characterize the radome’s scattering parameters. Numerical results are compared with radar data obtained in the Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) and Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) systems, and good agreement is found.

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