Observed Microphysical Characteristics of Stratiform and Convective Precipitation over an Inland Arid Region of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Hongwei Xie,Haiyun Shi,Ji Chen,Peichong Pan,Jinzhao Wang

doi:10.3390/w12082300

Abstract

This study analyzed the microphysical characteristics of stratiform and convective precipitation over an inland arid region of Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in summer for the first time. The observed precipitation data were from the OTT Parsivel2 laser raindrop spectrometer and the raindrop size distribution can be described by a gamma distribution and a general exponential distribution. The results indicate that: (1) compared to the exponential distribution, the gamma distribution is the better function with which to describe the raindrop size distribution in this region; (2) the raindrop sizes are mainly below 1 mm, and the raindrop sizes which contribute most to the rainfall intensity are below 2 mm for stratiform precipitation and convective precipitation; (3) the mean values of microphysical parameters, e.g., rainfall intensity, radar reflectivity factor, and liquid water content, are higher for convective precipitation than stratiform precipitation; and (4) the standard Z–R relationship underestimates the radar reflectivity factor in this region. Overall, the obtained results will enhance our understanding and facilitate future studies regarding the microphysical characteristics of precipitation in such regions. For example, the obtained Z–R relationship can be a reference for estimating the radar reflectivity factor in this region with higher accuracy.

Highlights

As a common meteorological term, precipitation is of great importance to a variety of fields, such as water resource management, agriculture, and ecological environment assessing [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Based on the data derived from stratiform and convective precipitation (Table A1), coefficients of determination were 0.55 and 0.43 for stratiform precipitation and convective the results shown in Figure 6 could be obtained using the curve fitting tool in MATLAB
This study analyzes the microphysical characteristics of different types of precipitation in

Summary

Introduction

As a common meteorological term, precipitation is of great importance to a variety of fields, such as water resource management, agriculture, and ecological environment assessing [1,2,3,4,5,6]. A better understanding of the microphysical processes of precipitation can be obtained through analyzing the raindrop size distribution (DSD) and the related microphysical parameters. The raindrop size distribution is expressed as the number of raindrops per unit size interval per unit volume in space [7]. From the perspective of cloud microphysics, the raindrop size distribution is determined by various mechanisms in nature [8]. The raindrop size distribution shows the spatial and temporal changes of precipitation, but is directly related to the microphysical characteristics of precipitation, such as evaporation, absorption and conversion rate [9]. Manual sampling methods were used for raindrop size distribution analysis, such as the kinetic method [10] and stain method [11]

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Conclusion