Estimating the snow density using collocated Parsivel and Micro-Rain Radar measurements: a preliminary study from ICE-POP 2017/2018
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: A new method is developed to derive the bulk density and bulk water fraction of a population of particles from collocated measurements from the Micro-Rain Radar (MRR) and Particle Size and Velocity disdrometer (Parsivel). A rigorous particle-scattering simulation, namely the T-matrix method, is applied to Parsivel's particle size distribution data to calculate the reflectivity ( Z HH ). The possible combinations of the particle's ice, air, and water are derived to compare them with the MRR-measured Z HH . The combination of the minimum water fraction and maximum ice fraction subsequently determines the bulk density ( ρ bulk ). The proposed method is applied to the data collected from the International Collaborative Experiments for Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic winter games (ICE-POP 2018) projects and its pre-campaign. The estimated ρ bulk was examined independently by a comparison of the liquid-equivalent snowfall rate (SR) of collocated Pluvio devices. The bias values are adequately low (SR: −0.25–0.06 mm h −1 ). The retrieved bulk density also shows good consistency with collocated Precipitation Imaging Package (PIP) retrievals. The results indicate the capability of the proposed algorithm to derive reliable ρ bulk , leveraging the compact and easily deployable designs of MRR and Parsivel. The derived bulk density of the two warm–low cases (28 February and 7 March 2018) shares a similar transition as the systems were decaying. The higher bulk density and bulk water fraction were found in the coastal sites (BKC and GWU have a median value of ρ bulk and are 0.05 to 0.12 g cm −3 ), typically accompanied by higher liquid-water constituents (mean values of the top 5 % bulk water fraction are 0.07 to 0.45) than the inland sites (YPO and MHS have a median value of ρ bulk and are 0.06 to 0.10, and mean values of the top 5 % bulk water fraction are 0.001 to 0.008) during such synoptic conditions.
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,725
OpenAlex ID: W4403847214