A New Algorithm of Rain Type Classification for GPM Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar in Summer Tibetan Plateau

In this study, a new rain type classification algorithm for the Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar(DPR) suitable over the Tibetan Plateau(TP) was proposed by analyzing Global Precipitation Measurement(GPM) DPR Level-2 data in summer from 2014 to 2020. It was found that the DPR rain type classification algorithm(simply called DPR algorithm) has mis-identification problems in two aspects in summer TP. In the new algorithm of rain type classification in summer TP,four rain types are classified by using new thresholds, such as the maximum reflectivity factor, the difference between the maximum reflectivity factor and the background maximum reflectivity factor, and the echo top height. In the threshold of the maximum reflectivity factors, 30 d BZ and 18 d BZ are both thresholds to separate strong convective precipitation, weak convective precipitation and weak precipitation. The results illustrate obvious differences of radar reflectivity factor and vertical velocity among the three rain types in summer TP, such as the reflectivity factor of most strong convective precipitation distributes from 15 d BZ to near 35 d BZ from 4 km to 13 km, and increases almost linearly with the decrease in height. For most weak convective precipitation, the reflectivity factor distributes from 15 d BZ to 28 d BZ with the height from 4 km to 9 km. For weak precipitation, the reflectivity factor mainly distributes in range of 15–25 d BZ with height within 4–10 km. It is also shows that weak precipitation is the dominant rain type in summer TP, accounting for 40%–80%,followed by weak convective precipitation(25%–40%), and strong convective precipitation has the least proportion(less than 30%).

A STUDY ON VARIABLE QUANTITATIVE PRECIPITATION ESTIMATION USING DOPPLER RADAR DATA

With the pros and cons of the traditional optimization and probability pairing methods thoroughly considered, an improved optimal pairing window probability technique is developed using a dynamic relationship between the base reflectivity Z observed by radar and real time precipitation I by rain gauge. Then, the Doppler radar observations of base reflectivity for typhoons Haitang and Matsa in Wenzhou are employed to establish various Z-I relationships, which are subsequently used to estimate hourly precipitation of the two typhoons. Such estimations are calibrated by variational techniques. The results show that there exist significant differences in the Z-I relationships for the typhoons, leading to different typhoon precipitation efficiencies. The typhoon precipitation estimated by applying radar base reflectivity is capable of exhibiting clearly the spiral rain belts and mesoscale cells, and well matches the observed rainfall. Error statistical analyses indicate that the estimated typhoon precipitation is better with variational calibration than the one without. The variational calibration technique is able to maintain the characteristics of the distribution of radar-estimated typhoon precipitation, and to significantly reduce the error of the estimated precipitation in comparison with the observed rainfall.

Fusion of Ground-Based and Spaceborne Radar Precipitation Based on Spatial Domain Regularization

High-quality and accurate precipitation estimations can be obtained by integrating precipitation information measures using ground-based and spaceborne radars in the same target area.Estimating the true precipitation state is a typical inverse problem for a given set of noisy radar precipitation observations.The regularization method can appropriately constrain the inverse problem to obtain a unique and stable solution.For different types of precipitation with different prior distributions,the L_(1) and L_(2) norms were more effective in constraining stratiform and convective precipitation,respectively.As a combination of L_(1) and L_(2) norms,the Huber norm is more suitable for mixed precipitation types.This study uses different regularization norms to combine precipitation data from the C-band dual-polarization ground radar(CDP)and dual-frequency precipitation radar(DPR)on the Global Precipitation Measurement(GPM)mission core satellite.Compared to single-source radar data,the fused figures contain more information and present a comprehensive precipitation structure encompassing the reflectivity and precipitation fields.In 27 precipitation cases,the fusion results utilizing the Huber norm achieved a structural similarity index measure(SSIM)and a peak signal-to-noise ratio(PSNR)of 0.8378 and 30.9322,respectively,compared with the CDP data.The fusion results showed that the Huber norm effectively amalgamate the features of convective and stratiform precipitation,with a reduction in the mean absolute error(MAE;16.1%and 22.6%,respectively)and root-mean-square error(RMSE;11.7%and 13.6%,respectively)compared to the 1-norm and 2-norm.Moreover,in contrast to the fusion results of scale recursive estimation(SRE),the Huber norm exhibits superior capability in capturing the localized precipitation intensity and reconstructing the detailed features of precipitation.

Statistical Modeling with a Hidden Markov Tree and High-resolution Interpolation for Spaceborne Radar Reflectivity in the Wavelet Domain

With the increasing availability of precipitation radar data from space,enhancement of the resolution of spaceborne precipitation observations is important,particularly for hazard prediction and climate modeling at local scales relevant to extreme precipitation intensities and gradients.In this paper,the statistical characteristics of radar precipitation reflectivity data are studied and modeled using a hidden Markov tree(HMT)in the wavelet domain.Then,a high-resolution interpolation algorithm is proposed for spaceborne radar reflectivity using the HMT model as prior information.Owing to the small and transient storm elements embedded in the larger and slowly varying elements,the radar precipitation data exhibit distinct multiscale statistical properties,including a non-Gaussian structure and scale-to-scale dependency.An HMT model can capture well the statistical properties of radar precipitation,where the wavelet coefficients in each sub-band are characterized as a Gaussian mixture model(GMM),and the wavelet coefficients from the coarse scale to fine scale are described using a multiscale Markov process.The state probabilities of the GMM are determined using the expectation maximization method,and other parameters,for instance,the variance decay parameters in the HMT model are learned and estimated from high-resolution ground radar reflectivity images.Using the prior model,the wavelet coefficients at finer scales are estimated using local Wiener filtering.The interpolation algorithm is validated using data from the precipitation radar onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission satellite,and the reconstructed results are found to be able to enhance the spatial resolution while optimally reproducing the local extremes and gradients.

A Study on the Meiyu Front Using TRMM/PR Data during the 1998 GAME/HUBEX

A method is investigated to analyze the structure and the synoptic characteristics of a frontal rain belt according to the combination of TRMM/PR images and conventional weather data during the 1998 GAME/HUBEX. The space-borne precipitation radar (PR) provides some detailed characteristics and inner structures of the frontal rain belt over a large area, and the synoptic analysis for this frontal case is also presented. It is demonstrated that the traditional theories of radar meteorology are still applicable, while PR has great advantages for showing the spatial distribution of rainfall and has potential value for analyzing the characteristics of the Meiyu front.

Macro-and Micro-physical Characteristics of Different Parts of Mixed Convective-stratiform Clouds and Differences in Their Responses to Seeding

This study investigates the cloud macro-and micro-physical characteristics in the convective and stratiform regions and their different responses to the seeding for mixed convective-stratiform clouds that occurred in Shandong province on 21 May 2018,based on the observations from the aircraft,the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership(NPP)satellite,and the high-resolution Himawari-8(H8)satellite.The aircraft observations show that convection was deeper and radar echoes were significantly enhanced with higher tops in response to seeding in the convective region.This is linked with the conversion of supercooled liquid droplets to ice crystals with released latent heat,resulting in strengthened updrafts,enhanced radar echoes,higher cloud tops,and more and larger precipitation particles.In contrast,in the stratiform cloud region,after the Silver Iodide(AgI)seeding,the radar echoes become significantly weaker at heights close to the seeding layer,with the echo tops lowered by 1.4–1.7 km.In addition,a hollow structure appears at the height of 6.2–7.8 km with a depth of about 1.6 km and a diameter of about 5.5 km,and features such as icing seeding tracks appear.These suggest that the transformation between droplets and ice particles was accelerated by the seeding in the stratiform part.The NPP and H8 satellites also show that convective activity was stronger in the convective region after seeding;while in the stratiform region,a cloud seeding track with a width of 1–3 km appears 10 km downstream of the seeding layer 15 minutes after the AgI seeding,which moves along the wind direction as width increases.

EXPERIMENT OF QUANTITATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF PRECIPITATION BY USE OF WEATHER RADAR IN THE HUAIHE RIVER BASIN

With the scheme of the variation analysis and Kalman filter,the radar data were adjusted by the real-time rain gauge data.The accuracy of areal rainfall calculation was improved and the results can be basically used for flood forecasting.It is concluded that the scheme is suitable in the upper and middle reaches of the Huaihe River.

The influence of rainfall on PR radar measurement of ocean surface wind speed and its calibration

Rain can significantly degrade the wind vector retrieval from Precipitation Radar （PR） by three mechanisms, namely, two-way rain attenuation, rain volume-backscattering, and ocean surface roughening from the rain splash effect. Here we first derive the radar equation for PR in rainy conditions. Then we use the rain attenuation model for Ku band, volume backscatter model for spherical raindrops and PR-TMI （TRMM Microwave Imager, TMI） matchup datasets from June to August in 2010 to solve the radar equation, and quantitatively analyze the influence of rainfall on PR radar measurement of ocean surface wind speed. Our results show that the significant effect of rain on radar signal is dominated by two-way rain attenuation and rain splash effect, and the effect of rain volume-backscattering is relatively the weakest, which can even be neglected in rain-weak conditions. Moreover, both the two-way rain attenuation and rain splash effect increase with the increasing of integration rain rate and in- cident angle. Last, we combine volume-backscattering effect and splash effect into a simple phenomenological model for rain calibration and select three typhoon cases from June to August in 2012 to verify the accuracy of this model. Before calibration, the mean difference and mean square error （MSE） between PR-observed σ0 and wind-induced σσ are about 2.95 dB and 3.10 dB respectively. However, after calibration, the mean difference and MSE are reduced to 0.64 dB and 1.61 dB respectively. The model yields an accurate calibration for PR near-nadir normalized radar cross section （NRCS） in rainy conditions.

Variations of Precipitation Structure and Microwave Tbs During the Evolution of a Hailstorm from TRMM Observations

In this paper, a hailstorm occurring on 9 May 1999 in Huanghuai region was studied by using the combined data from the precipitation radar （PR）, microwave image （TMI）, and visible infrared scanner （VIRS） on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission （TRMM） satellite. According to the 3-orbit observations of 5- h duration from the TRMM satellite, the variation characteristics of the precipitation structures as well as cloud top temperature and microwave signals of the precipitating cloud were comprehensively analyzed during the evolution of hailstorm. The results show that the precipitation is obviously converted from early hail cloud with strong convection into the later storm cloud with weak convection. For hail cloud, there exists some strong convective cells, and the heavy solid precipitation is shown at the middle-top levels so that the contribution of rainfall amount above the freezing-layer to the column precipitation amount is rather larger than that within the melting-layer. However, for storm cloud, the convective cells are surrounded by the large area of stratiform precipitation, and the precipitation thickness gradually decreases, and the rainfall above the freezing-layer obviously reduces and the contribution of rainfall amount within the melting-layer rapidly increases. Therefore, the larger ratio of rainfall amount above the freezing layer to column precipitation amount is, the more convective the cloud is; reversely, the larger proportion of rainfall below the melting layer is, the more stable the stratiform cloud is. The different changing trends of microwave signals at different precipitation stages show that it is better to consider the structures and stages of precipitating cloud to choose the optimal microwave channels to retrieve surface rainfall.

A STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GMS-5 INFRARED DATA AND PRECIPITATION SOUNDED BY TRMM/PR

To study the possibility of improving the precision of retrieving precipitation through GMS-5 infrared data,the relationship between the data of GMS-5 infrared channel 1(IR1)and precipitation sounded by TRMM/PR was carefully studied through some cases gathered during the HUBEX 1998.First of all,the relationship between the brightness temperature(Tb)and PR- sounded near-surface rainfall rate(NSRR)was studied.Then,as PR can sound the inner structure of rainfall area.a unique advantage of this new instrument,the relationship between Tb and PR-sounded rainfall rate in each layer was also studied.Still,as PR can tell the rain type, those relationships were studied again according to the different types of precipitation(i.e. convective and stratiform).After comparing these outcomes with those from other references,it can be concluded that the relationship between Tb and PR-sounded rainfall rate is acceptable and it is possible to calibrate precipitation retrieved through Tb by PR data.

Fundamental Characteristics of Tropical Rain Cell Structures as Measured by TRMM PR

Rain cells are the most elementary unit of precipitation system in nature.In this study,fundamental geometric and physical characteristics of rain cells over tropical land and ocean areas are investigated by using 15-yr measurements of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission(TRMM)Precipitation Radar(PR).The rain cells are identified with a minimum bounding rectangle(MBR)method.The results indicate that about 50%of rain cells occur at length of about 20 km and width of 15 km.The proportion of rain cells with length>200 km and width>100 km is less than1%.There is a a log-linear relationship between the mean length and width of rain cells.Usually,for the same horizontal geometric parameters,rain cells tend to be square horizontally and lanky vertically over land,while vertically squatty over ocean.The rainfall intensity of rain cells varies from 0.4 to 10 mm h-1 over land to 0.4–8 mm h-1 over ocean.Statistical results indicate that the occurrence frequency of rain cells decreases as the areal fraction of convective precipitation in rain cells increases,while such frequency remains almost invariant when the areal fraction of stratiform precipitation varies from 10%to 80%.The relationship between physical and geometric parameters of rain cells shows that the mean rain rate of rain cells is more frequently associated with the increase of their area,with the increasing rate over land greater than that over ocean.The results also illustrate that heavy convective rain rate prefers to occur in larger rain cells over land while heavy stratiform rain rate tends to appear in larger rain cells over ocean.For the same size of rain cells,the areal fraction and the contribution of convective precipitation are about10%–15%higher over land than over ocean.