Abstract

The retrieval of raindrop size distribution has a great significance for the study on the microphysical process of cloud and precipitation, as well as the formation and development of precipitation systems. In this paper, given raindrop size distributions, the T-matrix method is used to simulate the radar detection parameters for solid, mixed and liquid particles, with which the DPR algorithm is used to retrieve the raindrop size distribution to analyze the effect and the sensitivity of the algorithm for different phases. The results show that, for snow particles, when the normalized scale parameter N_w is fixed, the retrieved median diameter D₀ is less than the truth value, and the retrieval error increases with the increase of D₀; When D₀ is fixed, the retrieved Nw is larger than the true value and they have a notable linear relationship. With the increase of the N_w, the retrieval error decreases continuously while the retrieved value changes little. For the rain particles, the retrieval of D0 is very good, and the retrieval of N_w is slightly worse. For the mixed particles, the retrieve D0 is less than the true value, and the retrieve N_w is larger than the true value. The retrieval accuracy increases with the decrease of the mixing ratio.

Keywords: Drop size distribution; Dual-frequency radar; Retrieval

Abbreviations: DSD: Drop Size Distribution; PR: Precipitation Radar; GPM: Global Precipitation Measurement; DPR: Dual Frequency Precipitation Radar