Micro Rain Radar and Radiometric Measurements to Unravel Contrasting Features of Rain Microstructure Below and Above the Boundary Layer

Rakshit, G and Chakraborty, R and Maitra, A (2024) Micro Rain Radar and Radiometric Measurements to Unravel Contrasting Features of Rain Microstructure Below and Above the Boundary Layer. In: Radio Science, 59 (2).

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Abstract

Ka-band Micro rain Doppler radar is an effective tool to investigate the profiles of precipitation microstructure in terms of the raindrop size distribution (DSD). The DSD parameters that vary appreciably with height are indicative of the associated atmospheric phenomena. Hence the present investigation endeavors to put light on the underlying physical processes responsible for the evolution of varied rain microstructure profiles using micro rain radar (MRR), and radiometric measurements complemented with re-analysis outputs over an urban tropical location, Kolkata (22.57°N, 88.37°E), India. MRR unravels the prevalence of significant biases in the typical power law relationship (Dm = aRb) between rain rate (R) and mass-weighted mean drop diameter (Dm) along the rain height, especially during intense convective rain events, above the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Consequently, an alternative empirical relation appropriate to account for the R-Dm variability above the ABL is proposed. Further, radiometric measurements and re-analysis outputs reveal that the presence of atmospheric instabilities coupled with wind shear impacts above the ABL contributes to the enhanced breakup of raindrops and the deviations in the usual R-Dm relationship. Thus, the present study intends to highlight the applicability of ground-based radar measurements over the tropics to devise quantitative precipitation algorithms for reliable rain estimates. © 2024. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Radio Science
Publisher:	John Wiley and Sons Inc
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs toJohn Wiley and Sons Inc.
Keywords:	Atmospheric boundary layer; Doppler radar; Drops; Microstructure; Radar measurement; Radiometry; Size distribution; Tropics, Atmospheric phenomenon; Convective rain; Effective tool; Ka band; Micro rain radar; Radiometric measurements; Rain radar; Raindrop size distribution; Reanalysis; Wind shears, Rain
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Divecha Centre for Climate Change
Date Deposited:	03 Mar 2024 09:19
Last Modified:	03 Mar 2024 09:19
URI:	https://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/84154

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