Repository logo

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
  1. Home
  2. Academic and Research Output
  3. Journal articles
  4. A Comparison between the GPM Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar and Ground-Based Radar Precipitation Rate Estimates in the Swiss Alps and Plateau
 
research article

A Comparison between the GPM Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar and Ground-Based Radar Precipitation Rate Estimates in the Swiss Alps and Plateau

Speirs, Peter  
•
Gabella, Marco
•
Berne, Alexis  
2017
Journal Of Hydrometeorology

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) provides a unique set of three-dimensional radar precipitation estimates across much of the globe. Both terrain and climatic conditions can have a strong influence on the reliability of these estimates. Switzerland provides an ideal testbed to evaluate the performance of the DPR in complex terrain: it consists of a mixture of very complex terrain (the Alps) and the far flatter Swiss Plateau. It is also well instrumented, covered with a dense gauge network as well as a network of four dual-polarization C-band weather radars, with the same instrument network used in both the Plateau and the Alps. Here an evaluation of the GPM DPR rainfall rate products against the MeteoSwiss radar rainfall rate product for the first two years of the GPM DPR's operation is presented. Errors in both detection and estimation are considered, broken down by terrain complexity, season, precipitation phase, precipitation type, and precipitation rate. Errors are considered both integrated across the entire domain and spatially, and consistent underestimation of precipitation by GPM is found. This rises to -51% in complex terrain in the winter, primarily due to the predominance of DPR measurements wholly in the solid phase, where problems are caused by lower reflectivities. The smaller vertical extent of precipitation in winter is also likely a cause. Both detection and estimation performance are found to be significantly better in summer than in winter, in liquid than in solid precipitation, and in flatter terrain than in complex terrain.

  • Details
  • Metrics
Type
research article
DOI
10.1175/Jhm-D-16-0085.1
Web of Science ID

WOS:000405926000003

Author(s)
Speirs, Peter  
Gabella, Marco
Berne, Alexis  
Date Issued

2017

Publisher

American Meteorological Society

Published in
Journal Of Hydrometeorology
Volume

18

Issue

5

Start page

1247

End page

1269

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
LTE  
Available on Infoscience
September 5, 2017
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/140342
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Contact
  • infoscience@epfl.ch

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on X
  • Follow us on Youtube
AccessibilityLegal noticePrivacy policyCookie settingsEnd User AgreementGet helpFeedback

Infoscience is a service managed and provided by the Library and IT Services of EPFL. © EPFL, tous droits réservés