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High Resolution Observations of Drop Size Distribution for GPM Ground ValidationDuring the Mid-latitude Continental Convective Cloud Experiment (MC3E), NASA's GPM GV Disdrometer and Radar Observations of Precipitation (DROP) Facility deployed an array of disdrometers and rain gauges in northern Oklahoma to sample, with high resolution, the drop size distribution for use in development of precipitation retrieval algorithms for the GPM core satellites. The DROP Facility instruments deployed during MC3E consisted of 16 autonomous Parsivel units, 5 two-dimensional video disdrometers (2dvds), a vertically pointing K band radar, and 32 tipping bucket rain gauges. There were several rainfall events during MC3E in which rain drops exceeding 6 mm in diameter were recorded. The disdrometer array revealed large rain drops with diameters exceeding 6 mm and 8 mm during two separate stratiform and convective rainfall events, respectively. The NPOL radar, which was scanning in high resolution RHI mode (every 40 sec) over the disdrometer array during the stratiform event, indicated a 1 km thick bright band with a differential reflectivity column of 2-3 dB extending below the melting layer to the surface where the large drops were recorded by the 2dvds. These large drops are important for GPM since they can have a great impact upon satellite precipitation retrieval, especially near the ground and below heavy convective rainfall cores where satellites have had problems depicting the rainfall.
Document ID
20120004019
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Gatlin, Patrick N. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Petersen, W. A. (NASA Wallops Flight Facility Wallops Island, VA, United States)
Carey, L. D. (Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Wingo, M. T. (Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Tokay, A. (Maryland Univ. Baltimore County Baltimore, MD, United States)
Bringi, V. N. (Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Thurai, M. (Colorado Univ. Boulder, CO, United States)
Wolff, D. B. (Science Systems and Applications, Inc. Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Phillips, D. W. (Alabama Univ. Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
January 22, 2012
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
M11-1435
Meeting Information
Meeting: 18th Conference on Satellite Meteorology
Location: New Orleand, LA
Country: United States
Start Date: January 22, 2012
End Date: January 26, 2012
Sponsors: American Meteorological Society
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

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