Long Term 2DVD Observations of Rainfall Characteristics in the Equatorial Indian and West Pacific Oceans

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Description

2D Video Disdrometer (2DVD) data collected at Manus and Gan Island sites has enabled focused research on rainfall characteristics in these equatorial, open-ocean regions. Atmospheric variability at these sites is dominated by the Madden-Julian Oscillation, which has been shown to organize precipitation temporally and spatially into convective and stratiform components. Over 2 years of data at Manus Island and 4 months worth at Gan Island show: 1) the two sites have nearly identical spectra of integral rainfall quantities such as liquid water content, median drop diameter, rainfall rate, and number concentration; 2) a robust separation between convective and stratiform DSDs exists in all these parameters; 3) simulated radar variables from these 2DVD data have helped form local rainfall estimation relationships for single and dual-polarimetric radars. We elaborate upon implications of using a single or convective/stratiform R(z) relationship(s) for case study and longer-term MJO rainfall studies.