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The Latitudinal Variability of Oceanic Rainfall Properties and Its Implication for Satellite Retrievals: 1. Drop Size Distribution Properties

Publication ,  Journal Article
Protat, A; Klepp, C; Louf, V; Petersen, WA; Alexander, SP; Barros, A; Leinonen, J; Mace, GG
Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
December 16, 2019

In this study, we analyze an in situ shipboard global ocean drop size distribution (DSD) 8-year database to understand the underpinning microphysical reasons for discrepancies between satellite oceanic rainfall products at high latitudes reported in the literature. The natural, latitudinal, and convective-stratiform variability of the DSD is found to be large, with a substantially lower drop concentration with diameter smaller than 3 mm in the Southern hemisphere high latitude (S-highlat, south of 45°S) and Northern Hemisphere polar latitude (N-polar, north of 67.5°S) bands, which is where satellite rainfall products most disagree. In contrast, the latitudinal variability of the normalized oceanic DSD is small, implying that the functional form of the normalized DSD can be assumed constant and accurately parameterized using proposed fits. The S-highlat and N-polar latitude bands stand out as regions with oceanic rainfall properties different from other latitudes, highlighting fundamental differences in rainfall processes at different latitudes and associated specific challenges for satellite rainfall retrieval techniques. The most salient differences in DSD properties between these two regions and the other latitude bands are: (1) a systematically higher (lower) frequency of occurrence of rainfall rates below (above) 1 mm h-1, (2) much lower drop concentrations, (3) very different values of the DSD shape parameter (μ0) from what is currently assumed in satellite radar rainfall algorithms, and (4) very different DSD properties in both the convective and stratiform rainfall regimes. Overall, this study provides insights into how DSD assumptions in satellite radar rainfall retrieval techniques could be refined.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

DOI

EISSN

2169-8996

ISSN

2169-897X

Publication Date

December 16, 2019

Volume

124

Issue

23

Start / End Page

13291 / 13311

Related Subject Headings

  • 3702 Climate change science
  • 3701 Atmospheric sciences
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
  • 0401 Atmospheric Sciences
 

Citation

APA
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ICMJE
MLA
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Protat, A., Klepp, C., Louf, V., Petersen, W. A., Alexander, S. P., Barros, A., … Mace, G. G. (2019). The Latitudinal Variability of Oceanic Rainfall Properties and Its Implication for Satellite Retrievals: 1. Drop Size Distribution Properties. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 124(23), 13291–13311. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031010
Protat, A., C. Klepp, V. Louf, W. A. Petersen, S. P. Alexander, A. Barros, J. Leinonen, and G. G. Mace. “The Latitudinal Variability of Oceanic Rainfall Properties and Its Implication for Satellite Retrievals: 1. Drop Size Distribution Properties.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 124, no. 23 (December 16, 2019): 13291–311. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD031010.
Protat A, Klepp C, Louf V, Petersen WA, Alexander SP, Barros A, et al. The Latitudinal Variability of Oceanic Rainfall Properties and Its Implication for Satellite Retrievals: 1. Drop Size Distribution Properties. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 2019 Dec 16;124(23):13291–311.
Protat, A., et al. “The Latitudinal Variability of Oceanic Rainfall Properties and Its Implication for Satellite Retrievals: 1. Drop Size Distribution Properties.” Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, vol. 124, no. 23, Dec. 2019, pp. 13291–311. Scopus, doi:10.1029/2019JD031010.
Protat A, Klepp C, Louf V, Petersen WA, Alexander SP, Barros A, Leinonen J, Mace GG. The Latitudinal Variability of Oceanic Rainfall Properties and Its Implication for Satellite Retrievals: 1. Drop Size Distribution Properties. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 2019 Dec 16;124(23):13291–13311.

Published In

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres

DOI

EISSN

2169-8996

ISSN

2169-897X

Publication Date

December 16, 2019

Volume

124

Issue

23

Start / End Page

13291 / 13311

Related Subject Headings

  • 3702 Climate change science
  • 3701 Atmospheric sciences
  • 0406 Physical Geography and Environmental Geoscience
  • 0401 Atmospheric Sciences