Abstract
A 5-year mean seasonal analysis of mean storm height data and histograms from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) have been used to study the storm structure of the major climatic regions in Africa and over the adjacent Atlantic ocean. The analysis was carried out in two ways. First, the mean storm height and histogram were analyzed for the entire continent bounded by 40?N to 40?S and 20?W to 60?E. Secondly, the analysis was carried out on sub-regional basis, on which Africa was structured into ten regions: Desert (North), Semi-desert (north), Deciduous forest (North), Brush Grass Savanna (North), Tropical Rainforest, Deciduous forest (South), Brush Grass-Savanna (South), Temperate Grassland/Montane Forest, Steppe (East) and Atlantic Ocean. As observed over Africa, and some parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, the storm height over the land is higher than that over the sea because ground surfaces tend to be heated more and convections are more easily developed over the land than over the Ocean. There are high storm counts over the land at 250 mb whereas the storm counts are high over the Ocean at 700 mb. Over the regions, the vertical structure of the histograms reveals a distinct bi-modal distribution in the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere, but a unimodal distribution is close to the equator both in the northern and southern hemisphere.
Highlights
It’s documented [1] that a major modeling-based effort is taken to evaluate a sensitivity of their rainfall, and heating results in partitioning methods that classify precipitation echoes into various types
Mean height of stratiform storm tops ranges from 2.5 km to 5 km over the South Atlantic Ocean and 6 km to 7 km over the African continent, while the convective storm tops are as high as 8.5 km over the land, they have the lowest mode in the ocean
Relationship between stratiform and convective storms reveals that while the stratiform storms are dominant in the North, in a particular season, the convective storms are dominant in the South
Summary
It’s documented [1] that a major modeling-based effort is taken to evaluate a sensitivity of their rainfall, and heating results (among other aspects) in partitioning methods that classify precipitation echoes into various types (i.e. stratiform and convective). [2], which affect the radar-based rainfall estimation, and the latent heat release profile, and the energy balances of the tropical atmosphere [3]. Spaceborne rainfall estimation, which is usually guided by raingauge data and NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) output, has evolved dramatically over the last two decades [12] This is important in Africa where large parts have a poor raingauge record. Does not necessarily show that the maximum reflectivity at each altitude unless storm is aligned perfectly along the plane of the vertical scan We define this desired Vertical Profile of Radar Reflectivity (VPRR) as the maximum reflectivity of a cell and a function of height. Histograms of storm heights are used to map regions where storms are dominant and to determine the modal height of the distribution
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