scholarly journals The development of rainfall retrievals from radar at Darwin

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-69
Author(s):  
Robert Jackson ◽  
Scott Collis ◽  
Valentin Louf ◽  
Alain Protat ◽  
Die Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Dual Polarization ◽  
Radar Rainfall ◽  
Colorado State University ◽  
Specific Attenuation ◽  
Global Circulation Models ◽  
Uncertainty Estimates ◽  
Stratiform Clouds

Abstract. The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program Tropical Western Pacific site hosted a C-band polarization (CPOL) radar in Darwin, Australia. It provides 2 decades of tropical rainfall characteristics useful for validating global circulation models. Rainfall retrievals from radar assume characteristics about the droplet size distribution (DSD) that vary significantly. To minimize the uncertainty associated with DSD variability, new radar rainfall techniques use dual polarization and specific attenuation estimates. This study challenges the applicability of several specific attenuation and dual-polarization-based rainfall estimators in tropical settings using a 4-year archive of Darwin disdrometer datasets in conjunction with CPOL observations. This assessment is based on three metrics: statistical uncertainty estimates, principal component analysis (PCA), and comparisons of various retrievals from CPOL data. The PCA shows that the variability in R can be consistently attributed to reflectivity, but dependence on dual-polarization quantities was wavelength dependent for 1<R<10mmh-1. These rates primarily originate from stratiform clouds and weak convection (median drop diameters less than 1.5 mm). The dual-polarization specific differential phase and differential reflectivity increase in usefulness for rainfall estimators in times with R>10mmh-1. Rainfall estimates during these conditions primarily originate from deep convective clouds with median drop diameters greater than 1.5 mm. An uncertainty analysis and intercomparison with CPOL show that a Colorado State University blended technique for tropical oceans, with modified estimators developed from video disdrometer observations, is most appropriate for use in all cases, such as when 1<R<10mmh-1 (stratiform rain) and when R>10mmh-1 (deeper convective rain).

scholarly journals The development of rainfall retrievals from radar at Darwin

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Jackson ◽  
Scott Collis ◽  
Valentin Louf ◽  
Alain Protat ◽  
Die Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Dual Polarization ◽  
Radar Rainfall ◽  
Global Circulation ◽  
Specific Attenuation ◽  
Global Circulation Models ◽  
Uncertainty Estimates ◽  
Atmospheric Radiation Measurement

Abstract. The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program Tropical Western Pacific site hosted a C-band POLarization (CPOL) radar in Darwin, Australia. It provides two decades of tropical rainfall characteristics useful for validating global circulation models. Rainfall retrievals from radar assume characteristics about the droplet size distribution (DSD) that vary significantly. To minimize the uncertainty associated with DSD variability, new radar rainfall techniques use dual polarization and specific attenuation estimates. This study challenges the applicability of several specific attenuation and dual-polarization based rainfall estimators in tropical settings using a 4-year archive of Darwin disdrometer datasets in conjunction with CPOL observations. This assessment is based on three metrics: statistical uncertainty estimates, principal component analysis (PCA), and comparisons of various retrievals from CPOL data. The PCA shows that over 99 % of the variability in estimated rainfall rate R can be explained by radar reflectivity factor for rainfall rates 1  10 mm hr−1. Rainfall estimates during these conditions primarily originate from deep convective clouds with median drop diameters greater than 1.5 mm. Using specific attenuation for estimating R generally does not provide additional skill beyond other metrics for Darwin. An uncertainty analysis and intercomparison with CPOL show that a CSU-blended technique for tropical oceans, with modified estimators developed from VDIS observations, is most appropriate for use in all cases, such as when 1 

Comparison of Single- and Dual-Polarization–Based Rainfall Estimates Using NEXRAD Data for the NASA Iowa Flood Studies Project

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 1658-1675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bong-Chul Seo ◽  
Brenda Dolan ◽  
Witold F. Krajewski ◽  
Steven A. Rutledge ◽  
Walter Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Rain Rate ◽  
Heavy Rain ◽  
Rain Gauge ◽  
Superior Performance ◽  
Dual Polarization ◽  
Radar Rainfall ◽  
Colorado State University ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
Improved Performance ◽  
Rainfall Estimates

Abstract This study compares and evaluates single-polarization (SP)- and dual-polarization (DP)-based radar-rainfall (RR) estimates using NEXRAD data acquired during Iowa Flood Studies (IFloodS), a NASA GPM ground validation field campaign carried out in May–June 2013. The objective of this study is to understand the potential benefit of the DP quantitative precipitation estimation, which selects different rain-rate estimators according to radar-identified precipitation types, and to evaluate RR estimates generated by the recent research SP and DP algorithms. The Iowa Flood Center SP (IFC-SP) and Colorado State University DP (CSU-DP) products are analyzed and assessed using two high-density, high-quality rain gauge networks as ground reference. The CSU-DP algorithm shows superior performance to the IFC-SP algorithm, especially for heavy convective rains. We verify that dynamic changes in the proportion of heavy rain during the convective period are associated with the improved performance of CSU-DP rainfall estimates. For a lighter rain case, the IFC-SP and CSU-DP products are not significantly different in statistical metrics and visual agreement with the rain gauge data. This is because both algorithms use the identical NEXRAD reflectivity–rain rate (Z–R) relation that might lead to substantial underestimation for the presented case.

A New Dual-Polarization Radar Rainfall Algorithm: Application in Colorado Precipitation Events

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 352-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Cifelli ◽  
V. Chandrasekar ◽  
S. Lim ◽  
P. C. Kennedy ◽  
Y. Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Estimation Algorithm ◽  
State University ◽  
Dual Polarization ◽  
Rainfall Estimation ◽  
Radar Rainfall ◽  
Colorado State University ◽  
Differential Phase ◽  
Precipitation Estimation ◽  
The One ◽  
Differential Reflectivity

Abstract The efficacy of dual-polarization radar for quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) has been demonstrated in a number of previous studies. Specifically, rainfall retrievals using combinations of reflectivity (Zh), differential reflectivity (Zdr), and specific differential phase (Kdp) have advantages over traditional Z–R methods because more information about the drop size distribution (DSD) and hydrometeor type are available. In addition, dual-polarization-based rain-rate estimators can better account for the presence of ice in the sampling volume. An important issue in dual-polarization rainfall estimation is determining which method to employ for a given set of polarimetric observables. For example, under what circumstances does differential phase information provide superior rain estimates relative to methods using reflectivity and differential reflectivity? At Colorado State University (CSU), an optimization algorithm has been developed and used for a number of years to estimate rainfall based on thresholds of Zh, Zdr, and Kdp. Although the algorithm has demonstrated robust performance in both tropical and midlatitude environments, results have shown that the retrieval is sensitive to the selection of the fixed thresholds. In this study, a new rainfall algorithm is developed using hydrometeor identification (HID) to guide the choice of the particular rainfall estimation algorithm. A separate HID algorithm has been developed primarily to guide the rainfall application with the hydrometeor classes, namely, all rain, mixed precipitation, and all ice. Both the data collected from the S-band Colorado State University–University of Chicago–Illinois State Water Survey (CSU–CHILL) radar and a network of rain gauges are used to evaluate the performance of the new algorithm in mixed rain and hail in Colorado. The evaluation is also performed using an algorithm similar to the one developed for the Joint Polarization Experiment (JPOLE). Results show that the new CSU HID-based algorithm provides good performance for the Colorado case studies presented here.

Stormwater inflow prediction using radar rainfall data compressed by principal component analysis

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Katayama ◽  
K. Kimijima ◽  
O. Yamanaka ◽  
A. Nagaiwa ◽  
Y. Ono
Keyword(s):  
Principal Component Analysis ◽  
Prediction Model ◽  
Principal Components ◽  
Prediction Method ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Component Analysis ◽  
Rainfall Data ◽  
Radar Rainfall ◽  
Input Variables ◽  
Inflow Prediction

This paper proposes a method of stormwater inflow prediction using radar rainfall data as the input of the prediction model constructed by system identification. The aim of the proposal is to construct a compact system by reducing the dimension of the input data. In this paper, Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which is widely used as a statistical method for data analysis and compression, is applied to pre-processing radar rainfall data. Then we evaluate the proposed method using the radar rainfall data and the inflow data acquired in a certain combined sewer system. This study reveals that a few principal components of radar rainfall data can be appropriate as the input variables to storm water inflow prediction model. Consequently, we have established a procedure for the stormwater prediction method using a few principal components of radar rainfall data.

scholarly journals Influence of Stratospheric Sudden Warming on AIRS Midtropospheric CO2

2013 ◽  
Vol 70 (8) ◽  
pp. 2566-2573 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xun Jiang ◽  
Jingqian Wang ◽  
Edward T. Olsen ◽  
Thomas Pagano ◽  
Luke L. Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Department Of Energy ◽  
Atmospheric Infrared Sounder ◽  
Stratospheric Sudden Warming ◽  
Chemical Tracers ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Global Reanalysis ◽  
Height Data

Abstract Midtropospheric CO2 retrievals from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) were used to explore the influence of stratospheric sudden warming (SSW) on CO2 in the middle to upper troposphere. To choose the SSW events that had strong coupling between the stratosphere and troposphere, the authors applied a principal component analysis to the NCEP/Department of Energy Global Reanalysis 2 (NCEP-2) geopotential height data at 17 pressure levels. Two events (April 2003 and March 2005) that have strong couplings between the stratosphere and troposphere were chosen to investigate the influence of SSW on AIRS midtropospheric CO2. The authors investigated the temporal and spatial variations of AIRS midtropospheric CO2 before and after the SSW events and found that the midtropospheric CO2 concentrations increased by 2–3 ppm within a few days after the SSW events. These results can be used to better understand how the chemical tracers respond to the large-scale dynamics in the high latitudes.

scholarly journals An empirical method to improve rainfall estimation of dual polarization radar using ground measurements

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jungsoo Yoon ◽  
Mi-Kyung Suk ◽  
Kyung-Yeub Nam ◽  
Jeong-Seok Ko ◽  
Hae-Lim Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Method ◽  
Dual Polarization ◽  
Rainfall Estimation ◽  
Radar Rainfall ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
High Rainfall ◽  
Estimation Algorithms ◽  
Hourly Rainfall ◽  
Constant Altitude ◽  
Position Indicator

Abstract. This study presents an easy and convenient empirical method to optimize polarimetric variables and produce more accurate dual polarization radar rainfall estimation. Weather Radar Center (WRC) in Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) suggested relations between polarimetric variables (Z–ZDR and Z–KDP) based on a 2-D Video Distrometer (2DVD) measurements in 2014. Observed polarimetric variables from CAPPI (Constant Altitude Plan Position Indicator) images composed at 1 km of height were adjusted using the WRC's relations. Then dual polarization radar rainfalls were estimated by six different radar rainfall estimation algorithms, which are using either Z, Z and ZDR, or Z, ZDR and KDP. Accuracy of radar rainfall estimations derived by the six algorithms using the adjusted variables was assessed through comparison with raingauge observations. As a result, the accuracy of the radar rainfall estimation using adjusted polarimetric variables has improved from 50 % to 70 % approximately. Three high rainfall events with more than 40 mm of maximum hourly rainfall were shown the best accuracy on the rainfall estimation derived by using Z, ZDR and KDP. Meanwhile stratiform event was gained better radar rainfalls estimated by algorithms using Z and ZDR.

Dual-Polarization Radar Data Analysis of the Impact of Ground-Based Glaciogenic Seeding on Winter Orographic Clouds. Part I: Mostly Stratiform Clouds

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (9) ◽  
pp. 1944-1969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoqin Jing ◽  
Bart Geerts ◽  
Katja Friedrich ◽  
Binod Pokharel
Keyword(s):  
Radar Data ◽  
Control Area ◽  
Target Area ◽  
Dual Polarization ◽  
Stratiform Clouds ◽  
Orographic Clouds ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Glaciogenic Seeding ◽  
Differential Reflectivity ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe impact of ground-based glaciogenic seeding on wintertime orographic, mostly stratiform clouds is analyzed by means of data from an X-band dual-polarization radar, the Doppler-on-Wheels (DOW) radar, positioned on a mountain pass. This study focuses on six intensive observation periods (IOPs) during the 2012 AgI Seeding Cloud Impact Investigation (ASCII) project in Wyoming. In all six storms, the bulk upstream Froude number below mountaintop exceeded 1 (suggesting unblocked flow), the clouds were relatively shallow (with bases below freezing), some liquid water was present, and orographic flow conditions were mostly steady. To examine the silver iodide (AgI) seeding effect, three study areas are defined (a control area, a target area upwind of the crest, and a lee target area), and comparisons are made between measurements from a treated period and those from an untreated period. Changes in reflectivity and differential reflectivity observed by the DOW at low levels during seeding are consistent with enhanced snow growth, by vapor diffusion and/or aggregation, for a case study and for the composite analysis of all six IOPs, especially at close range upwind of the mountain crest. These low-level changes may have been affected by natural changes aloft, however, as evident from differences in the evolution of the echo-top height in the control and target areas. Even though precipitation in the target region is strongly correlated with that in the control region, the authors cannot definitively attribute the change to seeding because there is a lack of knowledge about natural variability, nor can the outcome be generalized, because the sample size is small.

scholarly journals Evaluation of X-Band Dual-Polarization Radar-Rainfall Estimates from OLYMPEX

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 1941-1959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yagmur Derin ◽  
Emmanouil Anagnostou ◽  
Marios Anagnostou ◽  
John Kalogiros
Keyword(s):  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Dual Polarization ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Radar Rainfall ◽  
Rain Gauges ◽  
X Band ◽  
Error Characterization ◽  
Median Volume ◽  
Multiparameter Measurements

Abstract The difficulty of representing high rainfall variability over mountainous areas using ground-based sensors is an open problem in hydrometeorology. Observations from locally deployed dual-polarization X-band radar have the advantage of providing multiparameter measurements near ground that carry significant information useful for estimating drop size distribution (DSD) and surface rainfall rate. Although these measurements are at fine spatiotemporal scale and are less inhibited by complex topography than operational radar network observations, uncertainties in their estimates necessitate error characterization based upon in situ measurements. During November 2015–February 2016, a dual-polarized Doppler on Wheels (DOW) X-band radar was deployed on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington State as part of NASA’s Olympic Mountain Experiment (OLYMPEX). In this study, rain gauges and disdrometers from a dense network positioned within 40 km of DOW are used to evaluate the self-consistency and accuracy of the attenuation and brightband/vertical profile corrections, and rain microphysics estimation by SCOP-ME, an algorithm that uses optimal parameterization and best-fitted functions of specific attenuation coefficients and DSD parameters with radar polarimetric measurements. In addition, the SCOP-ME precipitation microphysical retrievals of median volume diameter D0 and normalized intercept parameter NW are evaluated against corresponding parameters derived from the in situ disdrometer spectra observations.

scholarly journals An Observational Study on Cloud Spectral Width in North China

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 109 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Wang ◽  
Shengjie Niu ◽  
Chunsong Lu ◽  
Yangang Liu ◽  
Jingyi Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Range ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Spectral Width ◽  
Relative Dispersion ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
Cloud Droplets ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Cloud Droplet Size Distribution ◽  
Stratiform Clouds

Cloud droplet size distribution (CDSD) is a critical characteristic for a number of processes related to clouds, considering that cloud droplets are formed in different sizes above the cloud-base. This paper analyzes the in-situ aircraft measurements of CDSDs and aerosol concentration ( N a ) performed in stratiform clouds in Hebei, China, in 2015 to reveal the characteristics of cloud spectral width, commonly known as relative dispersion ( ε , ratio of standard deviation (σ) to mean radius (r) of the CDSD). A new algorithm is developed to calculate the contributions of droplets of different sizes to ε . It is found that small droplets with the size range of 1 to 5.5 μm and medium droplets with the size range of 5.5 to 10 μm are the major contributors to ε, and the medium droplets generally dominate the change of ε. The variation of ε with N a can be well explained by comparing the normalized changes of σ and r ( k σ / σ and k r / r ), rather than k σ and k r only ( k σ is Δσ/Δ N a and k r is Δr/Δ N a ). From the perspective of external factors affecting ε change, the effects of N a and condensation are examined. It is found that ε increases initially and decreases afterward as N a increases, and “condensational broadening” occurs up to 1 km above cloud-base, potentially providing observational evidence for recent numerical simulations in the literature.

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