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- Title
Microphysical Characteristics of Precipitation Over Eastern China and Its Coastal Regions.
- Authors
Sun, Yue; Zhao, Chuanfeng; Fan, Hao
- Abstract
Many studies have investigated the macro‐ and micro‐physical properties of precipitation, but few classified precipitation into warm‐ and cold‐topped, which affects precipitation phase and precipitation type significantly. Furthermore, the impact of moisture and dynamics on microphysical characteristics of precipitation has been less studied. Using precipitation data from the GPM 2A DPR between May and September from 2015 to 2023, this study conducts a systematic study on microphysical characteristics of precipitation over eastern China and its coastal areas. This study divides precipitation cases into 20 categories, including warm‐/cold‐topped (CTP/WTP) convective/stratiform light/moderate/heavy/extreme/the most extreme precipitation. The findings reveal distinct differences along with similarities in various precipitation categories between eastern China and its coastal regions. The convection ratio for CTP increases with higher precipitation intensity, while WTP is dominated by convective precipitation. The more CTP, the higher the solid water content. The heavier precipitation, the higher liquid water content contributes. The mass‐weighted diameter (Dm) for CTP shows three variations from high to low with little or slight decrease with altitude at upper‐layer, followed by a rapid increase at middle‐layer and finally decreasing slightly at low‐layer. The CTP Dm grows rapidly with temperature from −18.58 (−13.93)°C for convective (stratiform) precipitation and their maximum growth rate are almost located in melting layer. Dm (raindrop density) is larger (lower) over land than ocean and larger (lower) for CTP than WTP. Dm shows positive relation to vertical velocity and specific humidity, especially sensitive to the middle‐ and upper‐layers meteorological conditions. Plain Language Summary: A systematic precipitation characteristics study can help improve understanding of precipitation processes and then improve the accuracy of precipitation prediction, which is important for human society. Using precipitation data from the GPM 2A DPR between May and September from 2015 to 2023, this study conducts a comprehensive comparative analysis of precipitation characteristics over land and adjacent ocean in eastern China. It shows that cold‐topped (CTP) and warm‐topped (WTP) precipitation exhibit different vertical structure of mass‐weighted diameter (Dm) and precipitation rate. The vertical variation of Dm for cold precipitation shows three distributions at different height ranges: little or slight decrease with altitude at high heights, a rapid increase at middle heights, and slight decrease at low heights. Dm (raindrop density) is larger (lower) over land than ocean and larger (lower) for CTP than WTP. Dm shows positive relation to vertical velocity and specific humidity, which is especially sensitive to the middle‐ and upper‐layer meteorological conditions. Key Points: Cold‐ and warm‐topped precipitation exhibit different vertical structural characteristics of mass‐weighted diameter and precipitation rateRaindrop size of cold‐topped precipitation shows three vertical variations of decrease, increase and decrease from low to high altitudesMass‐weighted precipitation diameter (droplet density) is larger (lower) over land than ocean
- Subjects
CHINA; RAINDROP size; RAINDROPS; HUMIDITY; ALTITUDES; OCEAN; OCEAN temperature
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres, 2024, Vol 129, Issue 9, p1
- ISSN
2169-897X
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2023JD039817