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Parameterization of Rainfall Microstructure for Radar Meteorology and Hydrology

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Parameterization of Rainfall Microstructure for Radar Meteorology and Hydrology Parameterization of Rainfall Microstructure for Radar Meteorology and Hydrology R. Uijlenhoet Publishedbefor ei nDecembe r 1999a sdoctora lthesi s Rapport 109 Sub-department Water Resources Nieuwe Kanaal 11, 6709 PA Wageningen The Netherlands Internet: www.dow.wau.nl/whh ISSN 0926-230X Remko Uijlenhoet Parameterization of Rainfall Microstructure for Radar Meteorology and Hydrology PROEFSCHRIFT ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor op gezag van de rector magnificus van Wageningen Universiteit, dr. C. M. Karssen, in het openbaar te verdedigen op dinsdag 21 december 1999 des namiddags te vier uur in de Aula. Promotoren: dr. ir. R. A. Feddes hoogleraar bodemnatuurkunde, agrohydrologie en grondwaterbeheer dr. ir. L. P. Ligthart hoogleraar microgolftransmissie, radar en remote sensing technologie Technische Universiteit Delft, International Research Centre for Telecommunications-transmission and Radar Co-promotor: ir. J. N. M. Strieker universitair hoofddocent bij de leerstoelgroep hydrologie en kwantitatief waterbeheer Financial support for the research in this thesis hasbee n provided byth e Commission of the European Communities under the EPOCH and ENVIRONMENT programmes (Contracts No. EPOC-CT90-0026, EV5V-CT92-0182 and ENV4-CT96-5030). Opponenten: prof. dr. ir. J. Grasman, Wageningen Universiteit dr. A. J. Illingworth, University of Reading, Verenigd Koninkrijk prof. dr. J. A. Smith, Princeton University, Verenigde Staten dr. J. Testud, CETP/CNRS, Vélizy, Frankrijk Druk: Universal Press, Veenendaal Foto omslag: Quirin van Os / KNMI CIP-DATA KONINKLIJKE BIBLIOTHEEK, DEN HAAG Uijlenhoet, Remko Parameterization of rainfall microstructure for radar meteorology and hydrology / Remko Uijlenhoet. Doctoral thesis Wageningen University. - With ref. - With summary in Dutch. ISBN 90-5808-156-7 Subject headings: hydrology / meteorology. Financial support for the research in this thesis has been provided by the Commission of the European Communities under the EPOCH and ENVIRONMENT programmes (Contracts No. EPOC-CT90-0026, EV5V-CT92-0182 and ENV4-CT96-5030). Promotoren: dr. ir. R. A. Feddes hoogleraar bodemnatuurkunde, agrohydrologie en grondwaterbeheer dr. ir. L. P. Ligthart hoogleraar microgolftransmissie, radar en remote sensing technologie Technische Universiteit Delft, International Research Centre for Telecommunications-transmission and Radar Co-promotor: ir. J. N. M. Strieker universitair hoofddocent bij de leerstoelgroep hydrologie en kwantitatief waterbeheer Opponenten: prof. dr. ir. J. Grasman, Wageningen Universiteit dr. A. J. Illingworth, University of Reading, Verenigd Koninkrijk prof. dr. J. A. Smith, Princeton University, Verenigde Staten dr. J. Testud, CETP/CNRS, Vélizy, Frankrijk CIP-DATA KONINKLIJKE BIBLIOTHEEK, DEN HAAG Uijlenhoet, Remko Parameterization of rainfall microstructure for radar meteorology and hydrology / Remko Uijlenhoet. Doctoral thesis Wageningen University. - With ref. - With summary in Dutch. ISBN 90-5808-156-7 Subject headings: hydrology / meteorology. Abstract Uijlenhoet, R., 1999. Parameterization of rainfall microstructure for radar meteoro­ logy and hydrology. Doctoral thesis, Wageningen University, The Netherlands. 279pp . A comprehensive general framework for the description and analysis of the microstruc­ ture of rainfall is presented. The microstructure of rainfall is parameterized in terms of the raindrop size distribution, which determines both the macroscopic physical properties of rainfall relevant for radar meteorology and hydrology and their relation­ ships. To demonstrate that the definitions of rainfall related variables naturally lead to power law relationships, a rainfall parameterization based on the exponential rain­ drop size distribution is presented. The importance of the distinction between the properties of raindrops present in a volume of air and those of raindrops arriving at a surface is emphasized. A general formulation for the raindrop size distribution as a scaling law is derived, based on the ubiquitous power law relationships between rainfall related variables. The scaling law formulation is independent of any a priori assumption regarding the functional form of the raindrop size distribution and unifies all previously published parameterizations. It allows a separation of the effects of changes in the shape of the raindrop size distribution from those of changes in the rain rate. The values of the scaling exponents indicate whether it is the raindrop concentration or the character­ istic raindrop size which controls the variability of the raindrop size distribution. The gap between the scaling law and traditional parameterizations is bridged by providing explicit expressions for the scaling law for all analytical distributions proposed in the literature. The scaling law formulation is verified experimentally using mean raindrop size distributions for various climatic settings (based on two classical parameterizations) and raw raindrop size distributions from The Netherlands. For the mean distributions the scaling procedure yields excellent results, for the raw distributions a residual amount of scatter about the mean curves remains, indicating that rain rate alone cannot explain all observed variability. As an example of the application of the scaling law, a new method for establishing power law radar reflectivity-rain rate relationships is derived. The method is applied to the mentioned mean and raw distributions. The large inter-event variability of the coefficients indicates that climatological radar reflectivity-rain rate relationships will be of little practical use. The Poisson homogeneity hypothesis, a fundamental assumption in radar meteoro­ logy, is tested on an extraordinary stationary time series of raindrop size distributions. The arrival rate fluctuations of the raindrops which contribute most to rain rate and radar reflectivity are found to behave according to Poisson statistics. Finally, perspectives for future research are presented. Additional index words: raindrop size distribution, scaling law, remote sensing, radar meteorology, hydrology. Voorwoord Hoewel universitaire bestuurders en politici daar nog wel eens anders over willen denken, valt wetenschappelijk onderzoek in het algemeen lastig te plannen. In dat verband is het illustratief de titel van een proefschrift eens met de titel van het oorspronkelijke onderzoeksvoorstel te vergelijken. In mijn geval luidde dat laatste: 'Toepassing van verschillende typen weerradar voor het schatten van neerslag over een verstedelijkt gebied ten behoeve van het waterbeheer'. Het zal duidelijk zijn dat dit proefschrift een enigszins afwijkend onderwerp behandelt. De aandacht is verschoven van de toepassing naar aspecten van de achterliggende theorie. Hetgeen overigens niet wegneemt dat de motivatie voor dit werk altijd de hydrologische toepassing is gebleven. Dat is ook de reden geweest waarom de EU dit onderzoek het afgelopen decennium heeft willen financieren. Uit experimenten uitgevoerd gedurende de eerste jaren van het project bleek echter dat we niet in staat waren om bevredigende ver­ klaringen te vinden voor de discrepanties tussen wat weerradars waarnemen en wat de traditionele regenmeters meten. Daarom is de nadruk van het onderzoek in de loop der jaren meer komen te liggen op het beter begrijpen van de manier waarop de verschillende instrumenten regen meten en daarmee samenhangend het beter be­ grijpen van de structuur van regen zelf. Dit proefschrift behandelt enkele recente ontwikkelingen op dit laatste gebied. Met deze nieuwe inzichten kunnen we nu terug naar de radarmetingen om een poging te wagen de radarhydrologie vlot te trekken. De eerste die ik op deze plaats moet bedanken is mijn directe begeleider, Han Stricker. Hij heeft het onderzoek naar de hydrologische toepassing van weerradar in Wageningen eind jaren tachtig een krachtige impuls gegeven door samenwerking met de radardeskundigen van de Technische Universiteit Delft te zoeken. De regen die voor telecommunicatieonderzoekers 'ruis' is, is voor hydrologen immers 'signaal'. Deze gezamenlijke interesse heeft de basis gelegd voor mijn promotieonderzoek en dit proefschrift is hiervan het uiteindelijke resultaat. Han heeft de inhoudelijke keuzes die ik de afgelopen jaren heb gemaakt altijd gesteund, ook toen het accent van het onderzoek verschoof van toegepast naar meer theoretisch. Hij omschreef dit proces eens als 'van de regen in de drup'. Aannemende dat hij dit in de letterlijke zin van het woord bedoelde, kan de essentie van dit proefschrift inderdaad niet kernachtiger worden omschreven. Herman Russchenberg is vanaf het begin actief bij het onderzoek betrokken ge­ weest. Mede door zijn toedoen is de 'signaal/ruis verhouding' van het Delftse radaron- derzoek de laatste jaren aanzienlijk toegenomen. Regen en wolken zijn van alleen storende factoren een zelfstandig object van studie geworden aan het IRCTR. Dat is de samenwerking met Wageningse en andere onderzoekers vanzelfsprekend alleen maar ten goede gekomen. De interesse van Herman voor mijn werk gedurende de afsluitende fase van het onderzoek heb ik als zeer motiverend ervaren. Mijn promotoren, Prof. Feddes en Prof. Ligthart, bedank ik voor het in mij gestelde vertrouwen. Hoewel ik vrees beiden meer dan eens tot wanhoop gedreven te hebben, zowel door de duur van het onderzoek op zich als door de stortvloed aan leeswerk in de laatste fase, hoop ik dat dit proefschrift toch het begin kan vormen van een hernieuwde Wagenings-Delftse samenwerking op het gebied van de radar remote sensing
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