Open AccessDevelopment of an Inexpensive Raindrop Size Spectrometer
Author(s) -
William Henson,
G. L. Austin,
Harry Oudenhoven
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.774
H-Index - 124
eISSN - 1520-0426
pISSN - 0739-0572
DOI - 10.1175/jtech1665.1
Subject(s) - disdrometer , software deployment , remote sensing , terrain , radar , environmental science , calibration , weather radar , computer science , multispectral image , spectrometer , meteorology , rain gauge , optics , geology , physics , telecommunications , ecology , quantum mechanics , biology , operating system
The deployment of weather radar, notably in mountainous terrain with many microclimates, requires the use of several or even many drop size spectrometers to provide confidence in the quantitative relation between radar reflectivity and rainfall. While there are several different commercial disdrometers available they are all expensive, large, or fragile, which militates against multiple deployment in the field. The design brief was for a reasonably accurate and sensitive, low-cost and rugged disdrometer to support field work. A design based on piezoceramic disks normally used in hydrophones is described. Calibration and typical field results are presented.