Evaluating Light Rain Drop Size Estimates from Multiwavelength Micropulse Lidar Network Profiling

AbstractThis paper investigates multiwavelength retrievals of median equivolumetric drop diameter D0 suitable for drizzle and light rain, through collocated 355-/527-nm Micropulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) observations collected during precipitation occurring 9 May 2012 at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) project site. By applying a previously developed retrieval technique for infrared bands, the method exploits the differential backscatter by liquid water at 355 and 527 nm for water drops larger than ≈50 μm. In the absence of molecular and aerosol scattering and neglecting any transmission losses, the ratio of the backscattering profiles at the two wavelengths (355 and 527 nm), measured from light rain below the cloud melting layer, can be described as a color ratio, which is directly related to D0. The uncertainty associated with this method is related to the unknown shape of the drop size spectrum and to the measurement error. Molecular and aerosol scattering contributions and relative transmission ...

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