Working PaperArticleVersion 1This version is not peer-reviewed
A Study of Characteristics of Warm Cloud-precipitation in South China during the Pre-flood Season Using Datasets Observed from a Cloud Radar, Ceilometer, and Disdrometer
Zheng, J.; Liu, L.; Chen, H.; Gou, Y.; Che, Y.; Xu, H.; Li, Q. Characteristics of Warm Clouds and Precipitation in South China during the Pre-Flood Season Using Datasets from a Cloud Radar, a Ceilometer, and a Disdrometer. Remote Sens.2019, 11, 3045.
Zheng, J.; Liu, L.; Chen, H.; Gou, Y.; Che, Y.; Xu, H.; Li, Q. Characteristics of Warm Clouds and Precipitation in South China during the Pre-Flood Season Using Datasets from a Cloud Radar, a Ceilometer, and a Disdrometer. Remote Sens. 2019, 11, 3045.
Zheng, J.; Liu, L.; Chen, H.; Gou, Y.; Che, Y.; Xu, H.; Li, Q. Characteristics of Warm Clouds and Precipitation in South China during the Pre-Flood Season Using Datasets from a Cloud Radar, a Ceilometer, and a Disdrometer. Remote Sens.2019, 11, 3045.
Zheng, J.; Liu, L.; Chen, H.; Gou, Y.; Che, Y.; Xu, H.; Li, Q. Characteristics of Warm Clouds and Precipitation in South China during the Pre-Flood Season Using Datasets from a Cloud Radar, a Ceilometer, and a Disdrometer. Remote Sens. 2019, 11, 3045.
Abstract
Warm cloud-precipitation plays a vital role in the hydrological cycle, weather, and climate. Comprehensive observation and study of warm cloud-precipitation can advance our understanding of the internal physical processes and provide valuable information for developing the numerical models. This paper mainly focused on a study of characteristics of warm cloud-precipitation in South China during the pre-flood season using datasets observed from a Ka-band cloud radar, laser ceilometer and disdrometer. Eighteen kinds of quantities from these three instruments were used to precisely elucidate the distribution, diurnal variation, vertical structure, and physical property of warm cloud-precipitation. The results showed that the occurrence of aloft cloud-precipitation decreased with the increase of height, and most of the hydrometeors were distributed below 2 km. During the observation period, the ground rainfall mainly came from light precipitation; however, short-time and sharp showers contributed to the majority of rain amounts. Most of the cloud layers were single-layer, with base heights below 2.2 km, thickness thinner than 2.1 km, and top heights within 0.6-4.2 km. Warm cloud-precipitation owned certain diurnal variations, with a rising trend of cloud base heights in the afternoon and midnight. During 0230-1100, 1200-1800, and 2100-2300, the convections were relatively active with higher cloud tops, thicker cloud thickness, and higher rainfall occurrences. Separation and statistical results of cloud and precipitation indicated that they owned different vertical structures and physical properties, exhibiting different value ranges and changes of radar reflectivity, vertical air motion, particle size, number concentration, liquid water, and rain rate at different height levels. The particle size distributions of cloud and precipitation both were exponential. Radar-derived raindrop size distribution was very coherent with the ground measurement when the reflectivity of precipitation was within 10-20 dBZ. However, for other reflectivity regimes, instrument sensitivity, sampling height, attenuation, and non-precipitating weak targets can affect the comparison.
Keywords
warm cloud-precipitation; cloud radar; ceilometer; disdrometer; South China
Subject
Environmental and Earth Sciences, Atmospheric Science and Meteorology
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
