Retrieving Rain Drop Size Distribution Moments from GPM Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar

Retrieving Rain Drop Size Distribution Moments from GPM Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar

Blog Article

A novel method for retrieving the moments of rain liftmaster expansion board drop size distribution (DSD) from the dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) onboard the global precipitation mission satellite (GPM) is presented.The method involves the estimation of two chosen reference moments from two specific DPR products, namely the attenuation-corrected Ku-band radar reflectivity and (if made available) the specific attenuation at Ka-band.The reference moments are then combined with a function representing the underlying shape of the DSD based on the generalized gamma model.Simulations are performed to quantify the algorithm errors.The performance of methodology is assessed with two GPM-DPR overpass cases over disdrometer sites, one in Huntsville, Alabama and one in Delmarva peninsula, Virginia, igora vibrance 6-16 both in the US.

Results are promising and indicate that it is feasible to estimate DSD moments directly from DPR-based quantities.