Atmospheric Radar Research Seminar Series presents...
OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF RAIN MICROPHYSICS AND RAIN RETRIEVAL USING POLARIMETRIC RADAR DATA
Qing Cao
School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
15 October 2009, 1:00 PM
National Weather Center, Room 1350
120 David L. Boren Blvd.
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK
Directions to the NWC (.pdf, 60 kb)
Accurate quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) and quantitative precipitation forecast (QPF) require good microphysical parameterization/modeling of the precipitation. This study presents the modeling of rain microphysics and the application of polarimetric weather radar on rain retrievals. There are three topics presented in this study. The first topic is the modeling of raindrop size distribution (DSD) through in-situ disdrometer observations. The observational error of disdrometer is quantified and corresponding error effects in developing DSD model are analyzed. The second topic is the parameterization of rain microphysics. Empirical relations of rain-radar variables are developed for X-, C- and S-band polarimetric radars. The third topic is the retrieval of DSD parameters from polarimetric radar data (PRD). Three different approaches, direct retrieval, Bayesian retrieval and variational retrieval, are introduced. Observation error effects are considered in the latter two approaches and the attenuation correction is included in the variational approach. Performances of three approaches are analyzed and discussed.