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Estimating radar reflectivity - Snowfall rate relationships and their uncertainties over Antarctica by combining disdrometer and radar observations

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Research
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [7];  [2]
  1. KU Leuven (Belgium); University of Colorado
  2. KU Leuven (Belgium)
  3. Delft University of Technology (Netherlands); KU Leuven (Belgium)
  4. University of Aveiro (Portugal); KU Leuven (Belgium)
  5. University of Cologne (Germany)
  6. University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States); NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, CO (United States)
  7. NASA GSFC/Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, VA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Snowfall rate (SR) estimates over Antarctica are sparse and characterised by large uncertainties. Yet, observations by precipitation radar offer the potential to get better insight in Antarctic SR. Relations between radar reflectivity (Ze) and snowfall rate (Ze-SR relations) are however not available over Antarctica. Here, we analyse observations from the first Micro Rain Radar (MRR) in Antarctica together with an optical disdrometer (Precipitation Imaging Package; PIP), deployed at the Princess Elisabeth station. The relation Ze = A*SRB was derived using PIP observations and its uncertainty was quantified using a bootstrapping approach, randomly sampling within the range of uncertainty. This uncertainty was used to assess the uncertainty in snowfall rates derived by the MRR. We find a value of A = 18 [11–43] and B = 1.10 [0.97–1.17]. The uncertainty on snowfall rates of the MRR based on the Ze-SR relation are limited to 40%, due to the propagation of uncertainty in both Ze as well as SR, resulting in some compensation. The prefactor (A) of the Ze-SR relation is sensitive to the median diameter of the snow particles. Larger particles, typically found closer to the coast, lead to an increase of the value of the prefactor (A = 44). Smaller particles, typical of more inland locations, obtain lower values for the prefactor (A = 7). The exponent (B) of the Ze-SR relation is insensitive to the median diameter of the snow particles. In contrast with previous studies for various locations, shape uncertainty is not the main source of uncertainty of the Ze-SR relation. Parameter uncertainty is found to be the most dominant term, mainly driven by the uncertainty in mass-size relation of different snow particles. Uncertainties on the snow particle size distribution are negligible in this study as they are directly measured. Here, future research aiming at reducing the uncertainty of Ze-SR relations should therefore focus on obtaining reliable estimates of the mass-size relations of snow particles.
Research Organization:
University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE; USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Earth and Environmental Systems Science Division
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0013306
OSTI ID:
1673612
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1538020
OSTI ID: 1550329
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Research, Journal Name: Atmospheric Research Vol. 196; ISSN 0169-8095
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (18)

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Precipitation at Dumont d'Urville, Adélie Land, East Antarctica: the APRES3 field campaigns dataset journal January 2018
How does the ice sheet surface mass balance relate to snowfall? Insights from a ground-based precipitation radar in East Antarctica journal January 2018
Evaluation of the CloudSat surface snowfall product over Antarctica using ground-based precipitation radars journal January 2018
Evaluation of CloudSat snowfall rate profiles by a comparison with in situ micro-rain radar observations in East Antarctica journal January 2019
A New Regional Climate Model for POLAR-CORDEX: Evaluation of a 30-Year Hindcast with COSMO-CLM 2 Over Antarctica journal February 2019
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Figures / Tables (10)

Figure 1(p. 7)figure Figure 1
Figure 2(p. 11)figure Figure 2
Table 1(p. 14)table Table 1
Figure 3(p. 15)figure Figure 3
Figure 4(p. 17)figure Figure 4
Figure 5(p. 20)figure Figure 5
Table 2(p. 22)table Table 2
Figure 6(p. 25)figure Figure 6
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Figure 8(p. 27)figure Figure 8

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Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
Antarctica
Disdrometer
Radar
Snowfall rate
Uncertainty quantification