TY - JOUR
T1 - Difference between cloud top height and storm height for heavy rainfall using trmm measurements
AU - Song, Hwan Jin
AU - Kim, Sunyoung
AU - Roh, Soonyoung
AU - Lee, Hyesook
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - This study compares the regional characteristics of heavy rain clouds in terms of Cloud Top Height (CTH) and Storm Height (SH) from long-term Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observations. The SH is derived from Precipitation Radar reflectivity, and the CTH is estimated, using visible and infrared scanner brightness temperature (10.8 μm) and reanalysis temperature profiles. As the rain rate increases, the average CTH and average SH increase, but by different degrees in different regions. Heavy rainfall in continental rainfall regimes, such as Central Africa and the United States, is characterized by high SH, in contrast to oceanic rainfall regions, such as the northwestern Pacific, Korea, and Japan; the increased atmospheric instability in dry environments is interpreted as a continental flood mechanism. Conversely, heavy rain events in Korea and Japan occur in a thermodynamically near-neutral environment with large amounts of water vapor, which are characterized by the lowest CTH, SH, and ice water content. The northwestern Pacific exhibits the lowest SH in humid environments, similar to Korea and Japan; however, this region also characteristically exhibits the highest convective instability condition, as well as high CTH and CTH−SH values, in contrast to Korea and Japan. The observed CTH and SH characteristics of heavy rain clouds should be useful for evaluating and improving satellite-based precipitation estimates and numerical model cloud parameterization.
AB - This study compares the regional characteristics of heavy rain clouds in terms of Cloud Top Height (CTH) and Storm Height (SH) from long-term Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) observations. The SH is derived from Precipitation Radar reflectivity, and the CTH is estimated, using visible and infrared scanner brightness temperature (10.8 μm) and reanalysis temperature profiles. As the rain rate increases, the average CTH and average SH increase, but by different degrees in different regions. Heavy rainfall in continental rainfall regimes, such as Central Africa and the United States, is characterized by high SH, in contrast to oceanic rainfall regions, such as the northwestern Pacific, Korea, and Japan; the increased atmospheric instability in dry environments is interpreted as a continental flood mechanism. Conversely, heavy rain events in Korea and Japan occur in a thermodynamically near-neutral environment with large amounts of water vapor, which are characterized by the lowest CTH, SH, and ice water content. The northwestern Pacific exhibits the lowest SH in humid environments, similar to Korea and Japan; however, this region also characteristically exhibits the highest convective instability condition, as well as high CTH and CTH−SH values, in contrast to Korea and Japan. The observed CTH and SH characteristics of heavy rain clouds should be useful for evaluating and improving satellite-based precipitation estimates and numerical model cloud parameterization.
KW - Cloud Top Height
KW - Heavy rainfall
KW - Japan
KW - Korea
KW - Storm Height
KW - TRMM
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85091742185&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2151/jmsj.2020-044
DO - 10.2151/jmsj.2020-044
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85091742185
SN - 0026-1165
VL - 98
SP - 901
EP - 914
JO - Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan
JF - Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan
IS - 5
ER -