Ceilometer-based rain-rate estimation: A case-study comparison with S-band radar and disdrometer retrievals in the context of VORTEX-SE

Attenuated backscatter measurements from a Vaisala CL31 ceilometer and a modified form of the well-known slope method are used to derive the ceilometer extinction profiles during rain events, restricted to rainfall rates (RRs) below approximately 10 mm/h. RR estimates from collocated S-band radar an...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Rocadenbosch Burillo, Francisco|||0000-0001-8614-4408, Barragán Cuesta, Rubén, Frasier, Stephen J., Waldinger, Joseph, Turner, David Dave, Tanamachi, Robin, Dawson, Daniel
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/335881
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/335881
https://dx.doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2020.2984458
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Optical radar
Radar meteorology
Atmospheric observation
Geophysics
Laser radar
Lidar
Meteorological radar
Rainfall rate (RR)
Radar òptic
Radarmeteorologia
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Radiocomunicació i exploració electromagnètica::Radar
Descripción
Sumario:Attenuated backscatter measurements from a Vaisala CL31 ceilometer and a modified form of the well-known slope method are used to derive the ceilometer extinction profiles during rain events, restricted to rainfall rates (RRs) below approximately 10 mm/h. RR estimates from collocated S-band radar and portable disdrometer are used to derive the RR-to-extinction correlation models for the ceilometer-radar and ceilometer-disdrometer combinations. Data were collected during an intensive observation period of the Verification of the Origins of Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment Southeast (VORTEX-SE) conducted in northern Alabama. These models are used to estimate the RR from the ceilometer observations in similar situations that do not have collocated radar or the disdrometer. Such correlation models are, however, limited by the different temporal and spatial resolutions of the measured variables, measurement capabilities of the instruments, and the inherent assumption of a homogeneous atmosphere. An empirical method based on extinction and RR uncertainty scoring and covariance fitting are proposed to solve, in part, these limitations.