Open AccessAnalysis of Rain Types and Their Z–R Relationships at Different Locations in the High Andes of Southern Ecuador
Author(s) -
Johanna OrellanaAlvear,
Rolando Célleri,
Rütger Rollenbeck,
Jörg Bendix
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied meteorology and climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.079
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1558-8432
pISSN - 1558-8424
DOI - 10.1175/jamc-d-17-0009.1
Subject(s) - disdrometer , precipitation , drizzle , rain gauge , orographic lift , altitude (triangle) , precipitation types , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , climatology , orography , spatial distribution , meteorology , geology , geography , mathematics , remote sensing , geometry
Information on the spatiotemporal rainfall occurrence, its microphysical characteristics, and its reflectivity–rainfall ( Z – R ) relations required to provide rainfall mapping based on rain radar data is limited for tropical high mountains. Therefore, this study aims to analyze rainfall types in the Andes cordillera to derive different rain-type Z – R relations using disdrometer observations at three study sites representative for different geographic positions and elevations (2610, 3626, and 3773 m MSL). Rain categorization based on mean drop volume diameter ( D m ) thresholds [0.1 1.0 mm) are attributed to transitional rainfall as found in other studies. (vi) Rain-type Z – R relations show a better adjustment in comparison with site-specific Z – R relationships. This study is the first contribution of Z – R relations for tropical rainfall in the high Andes.