Spatial Variability of Raindrop Size Distribution at Beijing City Scale and Its Implications for Polarimetric Radar QPE

Abstract

Understanding the characteristics of the raindrop size distribution (DSD) is crucial to improve our knowledge of the microphysical processes of precipitation and to improve the accuracy of radar quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE). In this study, the spatial variability of DSD in different regions of Beijing and its influence on radar QPE are analyzed using 11 disdrometers. The DSD data are categorized into three regions: Urban, suburban, and mountainous according to their locations. The DSD exhibits evidently different characteristics in the urban, suburban, and mountain regions of Beijing. The average raindrop diameter is smaller in the urban region compared to the suburban region. The average rain rate and raindrop number concentration are lower in the mountainous region compared to both urban and suburban regions. The difference in DSD between urban and suburban regions is due to the difference in DSD for the same precipitation types, while the difference in DSD between mountain and plains (i.e., urban and suburban regions) is the combined effect of the convection/stratiform ratio and the difference of DSD for the same precipitation types. Three DSD-based polarimetric radar QPE estimators were retrieved and estimated. Among these three QPE estimators, R(ZH), R(Kdp), and R(Kdp, ZDR), R(Kdp, ZDR) performs best, followed by R(Kdp), and R(ZH) performs worst. R(Kdp) is more sensitive to the representative parameters, while R(ZH) and R(Kdp, ZDR) are more sensitive to observational error and systematic bias (i.e., calibration).