Hydrometeors Distribution in Intense Precipitating Cloud Cells Over the Earth’s During Two Rainfall Seasons

• Published in: Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing 2024, Vol.52 (1), p.95-111
• Main Authors: Kumar, Shailendra, Flores‑Rojas, Jose Luis, Moya-Álvarez, Aldo S., Martínez-Castro, Daniel, Silva, Yamina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Altitude; Convective clouds; Diameters; Drop size; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Foothills; Hydrometeors; Liquid phases; Ocean basins; Parameters; Precipitation; Radar; Raindrops; Rainfall; Remote Sensing/Photogrammetry; Research Article; Size distribution; Spatial distribution
• ISSN: 0255-660X; 0974-3006
• DOI: 10.1007/s12524-023-01805-x

In the present study, we used attenuated corrected radar reflectivity factor ( Z e ) and rain-drop size distribution (DSD) to investigate the hydrometeors distribution in the intense precipitating cloud cells (PCCs) from precipitation radar (PR) onboard on Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM). The DSD parameters consist of two variables, namely, mass-weighted mean diameter ( D m ) in mm and normalized scaling parameters for hydrometeors concentration ( N w ) in mm –1  m –3 . We defined two types of PCCs, which are the proxies for the intense rainfall events. First PCC is termed as Cumulonimbus Towers (CbTs), which consist of Z e  >  = 20 dBZ at 12 km altitude, and its base height must be less than 3 km altitude. We also defined intense convective clouds (ICCs), which consist of Z e  > 30 (40) dBZ at 8 km (3 km), respectively, and are termed as ICC8 and ICC3, respectively. The spatial distribution reveals that continental areas consist of a higher frequency of CbTs and ICC8s compared to oceanic areas, whereas ICC3s are uniformly distributed over tropical land and oceanic areas. The DSD parameters reveal that intense PCCs have larger hydrometeors ( D m ), whereas weaker (less Z e ) vertical profiles consist of higher concentration ( N w ) of smaller hydrometeors ( D m ). Land consists of larger hydrometeors ( D m ) compared to oceanic areas, and differences are higher in liquid phase regimes compared to mixed phase regimes. The vertical profiles of Z e , D m and N w are showing the higher regional differences among the different land-based areas, compared to various tropical ocean basins. Western Himalaya Foothills and Sierra De Cordoba consist of the strongest vertical profiles with the largest D m on the Earth’s areas during JJAS and DJFM months, respectively.