Consistency of Vertical Reflectivity Profiles and Echo-Top Heights between Spaceborne Radars Onboard TRMM and GPM
Globally consistent long-term radar measurements are imperative for understanding the global climatology and potential trends of convection. This study investigates the consistency of vertical profiles of reflectivity (VPR) and 20-dBZ echo-top height (Topht20) between the two precipitation radars on...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/9/1987 |
| _version_ | 1797503115115626496 |
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| author | Lei Ji Weixin Xu Haonan Chen Nana Liu |
| author_facet | Lei Ji Weixin Xu Haonan Chen Nana Liu |
| author_sort | Lei Ji |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Globally consistent long-term radar measurements are imperative for understanding the global climatology and potential trends of convection. This study investigates the consistency of vertical profiles of reflectivity (VPR) and 20-dBZ echo-top height (Topht20) between the two precipitation radars onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellites. Results show that VPR coincidently observed by the TRMM’s and GPM’s Ku-band radar agree well for both convective and stratiform precipitation, although certain discrepancies exist in the VPR of weak convection. Topht20s of the TRMM and GPM are consistent either for coincident events, or latitudinal mean during the 7-month common period, all with biases within the radar range resolution (0.1–0.2 km). The largest difference in the Topht20 between the TRMM’s and GPM’s Ku-band radar occurs in shallow precipitation. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed, including sidelobe clutter, beam-mismatch, non-uniform beam filling, and insufficient sampling. Finally, a 23-year (1998–2020) climatology of Topht20 has been constructed from the two spaceborne radars, and the global mean Topht20 time series shows no significant trend in convective depth during the last two decades. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:45:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6a71fcfceae94d53835d22545c05c184 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:45:54Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-6a71fcfceae94d53835d22545c05c1842023-11-23T09:08:54ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-04-01149198710.3390/rs14091987Consistency of Vertical Reflectivity Profiles and Echo-Top Heights between Spaceborne Radars Onboard TRMM and GPMLei Ji0Weixin Xu1Haonan Chen2Nana Liu3School of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, ChinaSchool of Atmospheric Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, ChinaDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USADepartment of Earth System Science, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USAGlobally consistent long-term radar measurements are imperative for understanding the global climatology and potential trends of convection. This study investigates the consistency of vertical profiles of reflectivity (VPR) and 20-dBZ echo-top height (Topht20) between the two precipitation radars onboard the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellites. Results show that VPR coincidently observed by the TRMM’s and GPM’s Ku-band radar agree well for both convective and stratiform precipitation, although certain discrepancies exist in the VPR of weak convection. Topht20s of the TRMM and GPM are consistent either for coincident events, or latitudinal mean during the 7-month common period, all with biases within the radar range resolution (0.1–0.2 km). The largest difference in the Topht20 between the TRMM’s and GPM’s Ku-band radar occurs in shallow precipitation. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed, including sidelobe clutter, beam-mismatch, non-uniform beam filling, and insufficient sampling. Finally, a 23-year (1998–2020) climatology of Topht20 has been constructed from the two spaceborne radars, and the global mean Topht20 time series shows no significant trend in convective depth during the last two decades.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/9/1987TRMMGPMprecipitation radarvertical profiles of reflectivityradar echo-top heightconvection |
| spellingShingle | Lei Ji Weixin Xu Haonan Chen Nana Liu Consistency of Vertical Reflectivity Profiles and Echo-Top Heights between Spaceborne Radars Onboard TRMM and GPM Remote Sensing TRMM GPM precipitation radar vertical profiles of reflectivity radar echo-top height convection |
| title | Consistency of Vertical Reflectivity Profiles and Echo-Top Heights between Spaceborne Radars Onboard TRMM and GPM |
| title_full | Consistency of Vertical Reflectivity Profiles and Echo-Top Heights between Spaceborne Radars Onboard TRMM and GPM |
| title_fullStr | Consistency of Vertical Reflectivity Profiles and Echo-Top Heights between Spaceborne Radars Onboard TRMM and GPM |
| title_full_unstemmed | Consistency of Vertical Reflectivity Profiles and Echo-Top Heights between Spaceborne Radars Onboard TRMM and GPM |
| title_short | Consistency of Vertical Reflectivity Profiles and Echo-Top Heights between Spaceborne Radars Onboard TRMM and GPM |
| title_sort | consistency of vertical reflectivity profiles and echo top heights between spaceborne radars onboard trmm and gpm |
| topic | TRMM GPM precipitation radar vertical profiles of reflectivity radar echo-top height convection |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/9/1987 |
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