Precipitation estimation from the ARM distributed radar network during the MC3E field campaign
Authors
Adam Theisen — Argonne National Laboratory
Scott Giangrande — Brookhaven National Laboratory
Scott Matthew Collis — Argonne National Laboratory
Ali Tokay — University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Category
Infrastructure & Outreach
Description
The Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment (MC3E) was the first demonstration of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s scanning precipitation radar platforms. A goal for the MC3E field campaign over the Southern Great Plains (SGP) facility was to demonstrate the capabilities of ARM polarimetric radar systems for providing unique insights into deep convective storm evolution and microphysics. One practical application of interest for climate studies and the forcing of cloud resolving models is improved Quantitative Precipitation Estimates (QPE) from ARM radar systems positioned at SGP.This study presents the results of ARM radar-based precipitation estimates during the two-month MC3E campaign. Collocated ground disdrometer resources, precipitation profiling radars, and nearby surface Oklahoma Mesonet gauge records are consulted to evaluate potential ARM radar-based rainfall products and optimal methods. Rainfall products are also evaluated against the regional (Next-Generation Radar [NEXRAD])-standard observations.