Rain Cell Size Distribution Using Radar Data During Squall Line Episodes

레이더 자료를 이용한 강우입자분포의 통계적 분석 연구

The main objective of this paper is to present the rain cell size distribution observed during squall line episodes in the Sudano-Sahelian region. The used data were collected during the EPSAT Program [Etude des Precipitation par SATellite (Satellites Study of Precipitation)] which has been developed since 1958, on an experimental area located near Niamey, Niger (2 10′32"E, 13 28′38"N). The data were obtained with a C-band radar and a network composed of approximately 100 raingages over a 10,000 $\textrm{km}^2$. In this work a culling of the squall line episodes was made for the 1992 rainy season. After radar data calibration using the raingage network a number of PPI (Plan Position Indicator) images were generated. Each image was then treated in order to obtain a series of radar reflectivity (Z) maps. To describe the cell distribution, a contouring program was used to analyze the areas with rain rate greater than or equal to the contour threshold (R$\geq$$\tau$). 24700 contours were generated, where each iso-pleth belongs to a predefined threshold. Computing each cell surface and relating its area to an equi-circle (a circle having the same area as the cell), a statistical analysis was made. The results show that the number of rain cells having a given size is an inverse exponential function of the equivalent radius. The average and median equivalent radii ate 1.4 and 0.69 In respectively. Implications of these results for the precipitation estimation using threshold methods are discussed.