Raindrop Size Distribution Measurements at High Altitudes in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau during Summer

Characteristics of raindrop size distribution during summer are studied by using the data from six Parsivel disdrometers located in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.The analysis focuses on convective and stratiform precipitation at high altitudes from 2434 m to 4202 m.The results show that the contribution of stratiform and convective precipitation with rain rate between 1≤R<5 mm h^(-1) to the total precipitation increases with altitude,and the raindrop scale and number concentration of convective precipitation is larger than that for stratiform precipitation.The droplet size spectra of both stratiform and convective precipitation shows a single peak with a peak particle size between 0.31–0.50 mm,and they have essentially the same peak particle size and number concentration at the same altitude.The maximum spectral widths of stratiform clouds are between 4 mm and 5 mm,while those of convective clouds range from 4 mm to 8 mm.The Gamma distribution is more suitable than the Marshall-Palmer distribution in terms of the actual raindrop spectrum distribution.The stratiform precipitation particles are smaller with higher number concentration,while the opposite is true for the convective precipitation particles.The convective precipitation particles drop faster than stratiform precipitation particles when the particle size exceeds 2 mm,and the falling velocity of raindrops after standard curve fitting is underestimated during the observation period.Moreover,conventional radar estimation methods would underestimate the precipitation in the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau.