Title
Multi-instrument rainfall-rate estimation in the Peruvian central andes
Date Issued
01 October 2020
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
American Meteorological Society
Abstract
Agriculture is one of the main economic activities in the Peruvian Andes; rainwater alone irrigates more than 80% of the fields used for agriculture purposes. However, the cloud and rain generation mechanisms in the Andes still remain mostly unknown. In early 2014, the Instituto Geofísico del Perú (IGP) decided to intensify studies in the central Andes to better understand cloud microphysics; the Atmospheric Microphysics And Radiation Laboratory officially started operations in 2015 at IGP’s Huancayo Observatory. In this work, a Ka-band cloud profiler [cloud and precipitation profiler (MIRA-35c)], a UHF wind profiler [Clear-Air and Rainfall Estimation (CLAIRE)], and a VHF wind profiler [Boundary Layer and Tropospheric Radar (BLTR)] are used to estimate rainfall rate at different conditions. The height dependence of the drop size diameter versus the terminal velocity, obtained by the radars, in the central Andes (3350 m MSL) was eval-uated. The estimates of rainfall rate are validated to ground measurements through a disdrometer [second-generation Particle, Size, and Velocity (PARSIVEL2)] and two rain gauges. The biases in the cumulative rainfall totals for the PARSIVEL2, MIRA-35c, and CLAIRE were 18%, 23%, and-32%, respectively, and their respective absolute biases were 19%, 36%, and 63%. These results suggest that a real-time calibration of the radars, MIRA-35c and CLAIRE, is necessary for better estimation of precipitation at the ground. They also show that the correction of the raindrop terminal fall velocity, obtained by separating the vertical wind velocity (BLTR), used in the estimation the raindrop diameter is not sufficient, especially in convective conditions.
Start page
1811
End page
1826
Volume
37
Issue
10
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Otras ciencias agrícolas Sensores remotos Meteorología y ciencias atmosféricas
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85092242630
Source
Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology
ISSN of the container
07390572
Sponsor(s)
Acknowledgments. The authors thank the personnel of the Instituto Geofísico del Perú at Jicamarca Radio Observatory and at Huancayo Observatory for their support during the development of this project. This research is partially funded by INNÓVATE PERÚ (387-PNICP-PIAP-2014). The Jicamarca Radio Observatory is a facility of the Instituto Geofísico del Perú operated with the support from the NSF AGS-1433968 through Cornell University.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus