Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study investigates the microphysical characteristics of warm-season precipitation with observations from the second generation Parsivel disdrometer OTT2 in Ningbo, situated in eastern coastal China. A comparative analysis is conducted on the raindrop size distribution (DSD) across various rain types and regions, with a focus on elucidating the relationships between different rain rate (R), raindrop sizes, concentrations, and radar reflectivity (Z). Moreover, this study meticulously analyzes the shape-slope (μ-Λ) relationship of raindrops during the warm season in this region. The results reveal that during warm-season convection in coastal eastern China, the mass-weighted mean diameter (Dm) and the logarithmic generalized intercept parameter (log10Nw) are 2.21 mm and 3.51, respectively. This indicates the presence of low-concentration large raindrops, distinguishing this region from other parts of China such as Guangdong, Hubei, Nanjing, and Beijing. Additionally, the enhancement of convective R is predominantly driven by the increase in raindrop size. Convective rainfall accounts for 67.0 % of the total precipitation, while stratiform contributes 11.1 %. Both types of rain display a unimodal distribution in number concentration and diameter, peaking at 0.3-0.6 mm. Additionally, both generally follow the three-parameter Gamma distribution, despite minor deviations in the occurrences of larger and smaller raindrops. The μ-Λ relationship in eastern coastal China is similar to that of the southern coastal regions, both being dominated by large raindrops. The Z-R relationship for warm-season convection is expressed as Z = 396.96R1.34. These findings are vital for optimizing regional model cloud microphysics parameterization and improving the precision of local radar-based quantitative precipitation estimates.
Authors: Dongdong WANG, Sujia YUE, Xaioli GU, Sheng CHEN, Shengjun ZHANG, Yanzhen QIAN, Ju TAO, Zheng QIAN
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,657
OpenAlex ID: W4409234092