RT Journal Article
T1 On the optimal measuring area for pointwise rainfall estimation: a dedicated experiment with 14 laser disdrometers
A1 Tapiador, Francisco
A1 Navarro, Andrés
A1 Moreno, Raúl
A1 Jiménez-Alcazar, Alfonso
A1 Marcos, Cecilia
A1 Tokay, Ali
A1 Durán Montejano, Luis
A1 Bodoque, José María
A1 Martín, Raúl
A1 Petersen, Walt
A1 Castro, Martí
AB Laser disdrometers measure the particle size distribution (PSD) of hydrometeors through a small cross-sectional (tens of square centimeters) surface. Such a limited area induces a sampling effect in the estimates of the PSD, which translates to error in the reflectivity-rain-rate (Z-R) relationship used for ground radar estimates of rainfall, estimates of kinetic energy of precipitation, and any other hydrometeorological application relying on particle size information. Here, the results of a dedicated experiment to estimate the extent of the effect of limited area sampling of rainfall are presented. Using 14 Parsivel, version 1 (Parsivel-1), disdrometers placed within 6 m(2), it was found that the combined area of at least seven disdrometers is required for the estimates to start converging to a stable value. The results can be used to quantify the degree of over-/underestimation of precipitation parameters for a single instrument due to the limited collecting area effect. It has been found that a single disdrometer may underestimate instantaneous rain rate by 70%.
PB American Meteorological Society
SN 1525-755X
YR 2017
FD 2017
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94955
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/94955
LA eng
NO Tapiador, F. J., and Coauthors, 2017: On the Optimal Measuring Area for Pointwise Rainfall Estimation: A Dedicated Experiment with 14 Laser Disdrometers. J. Hydrometeor., 18, 753–760, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM-D-16-0127.1.
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
NO Instituto de Salud Carlos III
NO National Aeronautics and Space Administration
DS Docta Complutense
RD 24 dic 2025