Performance of post-processing algorithms for rainfall intensity using measurements from tipping-bucket rain gauges
Eight rainfall events recorded from May to September 2013 at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) have been selected to investigate the performance of post-processing algorithms used to calculate the rainfall intensity (RI) from tipping-bucket rain gauges (TBRGs). We assumed a drop-counter catchin...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2016-11-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| Online Access: | http://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/9/5699/2016/amt-9-5699-2016.pdf |
| Summary: | Eight rainfall events recorded from May to September 2013 at Hong
Kong International Airport (HKIA) have been selected to investigate the
performance of post-processing algorithms used to calculate the rainfall
intensity (RI) from tipping-bucket rain gauges (TBRGs). We assumed a
drop-counter catching-type gauge as a working reference and compared rainfall
intensity measurements with two calibrated TBRGs operated at a time
resolution of 1 min. The two TBRGs differ in their internal mechanics, one
being a traditional single-layer dual-bucket assembly, while the other has
two layers of buckets. The drop-counter gauge operates at a time resolution
of 10 s, while the time of tipping is recorded for the two TBRGs. The
post-processing algorithms employed for the two TBRGs are based on the
assumption that the tip volume is uniformly distributed over the inter-tip
period. A series of data of an ideal TBRG is reconstructed using the virtual
time of tipping derived from the drop-counter data. From the comparison
between the ideal gauge and the measurements from the two real TBRGs, the
performances of different post-processing and correction algorithms are
statistically evaluated over the set of recorded rain events. The improvement
obtained by adopting the inter-tip time algorithm in the calculation of the
RI is confirmed. However, by comparing the performance of the real and ideal
TBRGs, the beneficial effect of the inter-tip algorithm is shown to be
relevant for the mid–low range (6–50 mm<mspace width="0.125em" linebreak="nobreak"/>h<sup>−1</sup>) of rainfall
intensity values (where the sampling errors prevail), while its role vanishes
with increasing RI in the range where the mechanical errors prevail. |
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| ISSN: | 1867-1381 1867-8548 |