Arid Zone Research ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (4): 1048-1057.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2021.04.16

• Weather and Climate • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Statistical characteristics of raindrop size distribution and its Z-R relationship for different precipitation clouds in summer in the Qilian Mountains

ZHANG Yuxin1,2(),HAN Huibang1,2(),GUO Shiyu1,2,TIAN Jianbing1,2,TANG Wentin1,2   

  1. 1. Meteorological Disaster Prevention Technology Center in Qinghai Province, Xining 810001, Qinghai, China
    2. Key Laboratory for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in Qinghai Province, Xining 810001, Qinghai, China
  • Received:2021-02-25 Revised:2021-03-12 Online:2021-07-15 Published:2021-08-03
  • Contact: Huibang HAN E-mail:nuistzyx@126.com;hmjerry@163.com

Abstract:

The microphysical characteristics, raindrop spectrum distribution, particle falling velocity, and Z-R relationship of the precipitation particle spectrum in different precipitation cloud systems (stratiform cloud and convective cloud) in the southern foothold of Qilian Mountains were analyzed using laser raindrop spectrometer observation data from August to September of 2019. The results show that the microphysical parameters of convective cloud precipitation in summer in the Qilian Mountains were all larger than those of stratiform cloud precipitation, and the different stages of convective cloud development had a substantial influence on the rain intensity and microphysical parameters of raindrops. The actual raindrop distribution in summer was most similar to a Gamma distribution in Qilian Mountain, but both an M-P distribution and Gamma distribution led to the overestimation of raindrop concentration. The falling velocities of raindrops at different scales were different, and at the same scale, the range of particle velocities in convective cloud precipitation was slightly larger than that in stratiform cloud precipitation. The fitting curves of traditional particle velocities were underestimated. The Z-R relationship of summer stratiform cloud precipitation in the Qilian Mountain was Z=445R 1.50 and that of convective cloud precipitation was Z=427R 1.88. The traditional radar precipitation estimation method underestimated precipitation in this area.

Key words: raindrop size distribution, convective precipitation, stratiform precipitation, microphysical characteristics, Qilian Mountains