Different algorithms for forecasting and tracking meteorological systems have been developed over... more Different algorithms for forecasting and tracking meteorological systems have been developed over the years. Many of them are used to study cloud propagation, precipitation and lightning for nowcasting. Therefore, it is necessary to define carefully the parameters (e.g., intensity thresholds and minimum size) that impact tracking of these variables. In order to represent the physical aspects of rain propagation over the Amazon region, several methods of correction and displacement detection were studied. Different parameters were used to validate the methods based on the extrapolated rain cell. A probability detection of 78.4% and 68.6% was achieved for 20 dBZ thresholds during the wet and dry season, respectively. However, the POD decreases for higher reflectivity thresholds. The results for corrections by Inner Nuclei showed that embedded convection can dictate the propagation of rain cells. Split and merge corrections performed well; however, they applied only to a few cases. Cor...
Thunderstorms in southeastern South America (SESA) stand out in satellite observations as being a... more Thunderstorms in southeastern South America (SESA) stand out in satellite observations as being among the strongest on Earth in terms of satellite-based convective proxies, such as lightning flash rate per storm, the prevalence for extremely tall, wide convective cores and broad stratiform regions. Accurately quantifying when and where strong convection is initiated presents great interest in operational forecasting and convective system process studies due to the relationship between convective storms and severe weather phenomena. This paper generates a novel methodology to determine convective initiation (CI) signatures associated with extreme convective systems, including extreme events. Based on the well-established area-overlapping technique, an adaptive brightness temperature threshold for identification and backward tracking with infrared data is introduced in order to better identify areas of deep convection associated with and embedded within larger cloud clusters. This is ...
Knowledge and studies on precipitation in the Amazon Basin (AB) are determinant for environmental... more Knowledge and studies on precipitation in the Amazon Basin (AB) are determinant for environmental aspects such as hydrology, ecology, as well as for social aspects like agriculture, food security, or health issues. Availability of rainfall data at high spatio-temporal resolution is thus crucial for these purposes. Remote sensing techniques provide extensive spatial coverage compared to ground-based rainfall data but it is imperative to assess the quality of the estimates. Previous studies underline at regional scale in the AB, and for some years, the efficiency of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) 3B42 Version 7 (V7) (hereafter 3B42) daily product data, to provide a good view of the rainfall time variability which is important to understand the impacts of El Nino Southern Oscilation. Then our study aims to enhance the knowledge about the quality of this product on the entire AB and provide a useful understanding about his capacity to reproduce the annual rainfall regi...
ABSTRACT The project CHUVA (Cloud processes of the main precipitation systems in Brazil: A contri... more ABSTRACT The project CHUVA (Cloud processes of the main precipitation systems in Brazil: A contribution to cloud resolving modeling and to the GPM) is been carrying and its main goal is understand the physical processes involved on the precipitating systems which occur over Brazil. The project plans the setting up of a series of instruments in different parts of Brazil and so far many instruments had been deployed over the three field campaigns. Among the instruments, a dual polarization X band radar, two micro rain radars, a multi-channel ground radiometer, disdrometers, pluviometers are the more important equipments used to collect rainfall information from both: warn and cold clouds. Preliminary results show evident differences in some cloud microphysics observed in different rain events during the campaigns. Besides, rainfall maps produced by the radar data were compared to those similar maps produced by satellite. The X band radar radome, when wet, imposed some attenuation on the radar reflectivities values and an algorithm to compensate such attenuation had been developed based on data observed by disdrometers and micro rain radars. The preliminary results will be shown during the conference and it is expected that the community could discuss and evaluate them under the light of the GPM purposes.
This study focuses on the possible relationship between ice water path (IWP) retrievals using hig... more This study focuses on the possible relationship between ice water path (IWP) retrievals using high-frequency channels (89 and 150 GHZ) from: Advanced Microwave Sensor Unit B and Moisture Humidity Sounder sensors (NOAA 16-19) and the life cycle stage of convective clouds. In the first part of this study, the relationship between IWP and the cloud area expansion rate is analyzed using the 235 K isotherm from GOES-12 thermal infrared images (10.7 μm). Then, the relationships between cloud convective fraction, rain rates (from ground radar) and cloud life cycle are analyzed. The selected area and time period coincides with the research activities of the CHUVA-GLM project at São José dos Campos, Brazil. The results show that 84% of precipitating clouds contain ice, according to the microwave surface and precipitation products system (MSPPS) algorithm. Convective systems in the intensifying stage (when the area is expanding and the minimum temperature is decreasing) tend to have larger IW...
The knowledge of the diurnal cycle of precipitation is of extreme relevance to understanding the ... more The knowledge of the diurnal cycle of precipitation is of extreme relevance to understanding the physical/dynamic processes associated with the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation. The main difficulty of this task is the lack of surface precipitation information over certain regions on an hourly time scale and the low spatial representativeness of these data (normally surface gauges). In order to overcome these difficulties, the main objective of this study is to create a 3-h precipitation accumulation database from the gauge-adjusted daily regional precipitation products to resolve the diurnal cycle properly. This study also proposes to evaluate different methodologies for partitioning gauge-adjusted daily precipitation products, i.e., a product made by the combination of satellite estimates and surface gauge observations, into 3-h precipitation accumulation. Two methodologies based on the calculation of a conversion factor F between a daily gauge-adjusted product, c...
The main objective of this study is to assess the ability of several high-resolution satellite-ba... more The main objective of this study is to assess the ability of several high-resolution satellite-based precipitation estimates to represent the Precipitation Diurnal Cycle (PDC) over Brazil during the 2014–2018 period, after the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite (GPM). The selected algorithms are the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP), The Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) and Climate Prediction Center (CPC) MORPHing technique (CMORPH). Hourly rain gauge data from different national and regional networks were used as the reference dataset after going through rigid quality control tests. All datasets were interpolated to a common 0.1° × 0.1° grid every 3 h for comparison. After a hierarchical cluster analysis, seven regions with different PDC characteristics (amplitude and phase) were selected for this study. The main results of this research could be summarized as follow: (i) Those regions where thermal heating produce deep con...
In developing countries, accurate rainfall estimation with adequate spatial distribution is limit... more In developing countries, accurate rainfall estimation with adequate spatial distribution is limited due to sparse rain gauge networks. One way to solve this problem is the use of satellite-based precipitation products. These satellite products have significant spatial coverage of rainfall estimates and it is of fundamental importance to investigate their performance across space–time scales and the factors that affect their uncertainties. In the open literature, some studies have already analyzed the ability of satellite-based rain estimation products to estimate average rainfall values. These investigations have found very close agreement between the estimates and observed data. However, further evaluation of the satellite precipitation products is necessary to improve their reliability to estimate extreme values. In this scenario, the main goal of this work is to evaluate the ability of satellite-based precipitation products to capture the characteristics of extreme precipitation ...
The uncertainties associated with rainfall estimates comprise various measurement scales: from ra... more The uncertainties associated with rainfall estimates comprise various measurement scales: from rain gauges and ground-based radars to the satellite rainfall retrievals. The quality of satellite rainfall products has improved significantly in recent decades; however, such algorithms require validation studies using observational rainfall data. For this reason, this study aims to apply the H-SAF consolidated radar data processing to the X-band radar used in the CHUVA campaigns and apply the well established H-SAF validation procedure to these data and verify the quality of EUMETSAT H-SAF operational passive microwave precipitation products in two regions of Brazil (Vale do Paraíba and Manaus). These products are based on two rainfall retrieval algorithms: the physically based Bayesian Cloud Dynamics and Radiation Database (CDRD algorithm) for SSMI/S sensors and the Passive microwave Neural network Precipitation Retrieval algorithm (PNPR) for cross-track scanning radiometers (AMSU-A/AM...
This paper summarizes the successful use of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-10 ... more This paper summarizes the successful use of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-10 (GOES-10) and -12 (GOES-12), mainly beyond their retirement as operational satellites in the United States, in support of meteorological activities in South America (SA). These satellites were maneuvered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to approximately 60°W, enabling other countries in Central and South America to benefit from their ongoing measurements. The extended usefulness of GOES-10 and -12 was only possible as a result of a new image geolocalization system developed by NOAA for correcting image distortions and evaluated in collaboration with the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research. The extension allowed GOES-10 and -12 to monitor SA for an additional 7 years proving the efficiency of this navigation capability implemented for the first time in the GOES series well beyond the expected satellites’ lifetime. Such successful capability is inco...
Different algorithms for forecasting and tracking meteorological systems have been developed over... more Different algorithms for forecasting and tracking meteorological systems have been developed over the years. Many of them are used to study cloud propagation, precipitation and lightning for nowcasting. Therefore, it is necessary to define carefully the parameters (e.g., intensity thresholds and minimum size) that impact tracking of these variables. In order to represent the physical aspects of rain propagation over the Amazon region, several methods of correction and displacement detection were studied. Different parameters were used to validate the methods based on the extrapolated rain cell. A probability detection of 78.4% and 68.6% was achieved for 20 dBZ thresholds during the wet and dry season, respectively. However, the POD decreases for higher reflectivity thresholds. The results for corrections by Inner Nuclei showed that embedded convection can dictate the propagation of rain cells. Split and merge corrections performed well; however, they applied only to a few cases. Cor...
Thunderstorms in southeastern South America (SESA) stand out in satellite observations as being a... more Thunderstorms in southeastern South America (SESA) stand out in satellite observations as being among the strongest on Earth in terms of satellite-based convective proxies, such as lightning flash rate per storm, the prevalence for extremely tall, wide convective cores and broad stratiform regions. Accurately quantifying when and where strong convection is initiated presents great interest in operational forecasting and convective system process studies due to the relationship between convective storms and severe weather phenomena. This paper generates a novel methodology to determine convective initiation (CI) signatures associated with extreme convective systems, including extreme events. Based on the well-established area-overlapping technique, an adaptive brightness temperature threshold for identification and backward tracking with infrared data is introduced in order to better identify areas of deep convection associated with and embedded within larger cloud clusters. This is ...
Knowledge and studies on precipitation in the Amazon Basin (AB) are determinant for environmental... more Knowledge and studies on precipitation in the Amazon Basin (AB) are determinant for environmental aspects such as hydrology, ecology, as well as for social aspects like agriculture, food security, or health issues. Availability of rainfall data at high spatio-temporal resolution is thus crucial for these purposes. Remote sensing techniques provide extensive spatial coverage compared to ground-based rainfall data but it is imperative to assess the quality of the estimates. Previous studies underline at regional scale in the AB, and for some years, the efficiency of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) 3B42 Version 7 (V7) (hereafter 3B42) daily product data, to provide a good view of the rainfall time variability which is important to understand the impacts of El Nino Southern Oscilation. Then our study aims to enhance the knowledge about the quality of this product on the entire AB and provide a useful understanding about his capacity to reproduce the annual rainfall regi...
ABSTRACT The project CHUVA (Cloud processes of the main precipitation systems in Brazil: A contri... more ABSTRACT The project CHUVA (Cloud processes of the main precipitation systems in Brazil: A contribution to cloud resolving modeling and to the GPM) is been carrying and its main goal is understand the physical processes involved on the precipitating systems which occur over Brazil. The project plans the setting up of a series of instruments in different parts of Brazil and so far many instruments had been deployed over the three field campaigns. Among the instruments, a dual polarization X band radar, two micro rain radars, a multi-channel ground radiometer, disdrometers, pluviometers are the more important equipments used to collect rainfall information from both: warn and cold clouds. Preliminary results show evident differences in some cloud microphysics observed in different rain events during the campaigns. Besides, rainfall maps produced by the radar data were compared to those similar maps produced by satellite. The X band radar radome, when wet, imposed some attenuation on the radar reflectivities values and an algorithm to compensate such attenuation had been developed based on data observed by disdrometers and micro rain radars. The preliminary results will be shown during the conference and it is expected that the community could discuss and evaluate them under the light of the GPM purposes.
This study focuses on the possible relationship between ice water path (IWP) retrievals using hig... more This study focuses on the possible relationship between ice water path (IWP) retrievals using high-frequency channels (89 and 150 GHZ) from: Advanced Microwave Sensor Unit B and Moisture Humidity Sounder sensors (NOAA 16-19) and the life cycle stage of convective clouds. In the first part of this study, the relationship between IWP and the cloud area expansion rate is analyzed using the 235 K isotherm from GOES-12 thermal infrared images (10.7 μm). Then, the relationships between cloud convective fraction, rain rates (from ground radar) and cloud life cycle are analyzed. The selected area and time period coincides with the research activities of the CHUVA-GLM project at São José dos Campos, Brazil. The results show that 84% of precipitating clouds contain ice, according to the microwave surface and precipitation products system (MSPPS) algorithm. Convective systems in the intensifying stage (when the area is expanding and the minimum temperature is decreasing) tend to have larger IW...
The knowledge of the diurnal cycle of precipitation is of extreme relevance to understanding the ... more The knowledge of the diurnal cycle of precipitation is of extreme relevance to understanding the physical/dynamic processes associated with the spatial and temporal distribution of precipitation. The main difficulty of this task is the lack of surface precipitation information over certain regions on an hourly time scale and the low spatial representativeness of these data (normally surface gauges). In order to overcome these difficulties, the main objective of this study is to create a 3-h precipitation accumulation database from the gauge-adjusted daily regional precipitation products to resolve the diurnal cycle properly. This study also proposes to evaluate different methodologies for partitioning gauge-adjusted daily precipitation products, i.e., a product made by the combination of satellite estimates and surface gauge observations, into 3-h precipitation accumulation. Two methodologies based on the calculation of a conversion factor F between a daily gauge-adjusted product, c...
The main objective of this study is to assess the ability of several high-resolution satellite-ba... more The main objective of this study is to assess the ability of several high-resolution satellite-based precipitation estimates to represent the Precipitation Diurnal Cycle (PDC) over Brazil during the 2014–2018 period, after the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite (GPM). The selected algorithms are the Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation (GSMaP), The Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) and Climate Prediction Center (CPC) MORPHing technique (CMORPH). Hourly rain gauge data from different national and regional networks were used as the reference dataset after going through rigid quality control tests. All datasets were interpolated to a common 0.1° × 0.1° grid every 3 h for comparison. After a hierarchical cluster analysis, seven regions with different PDC characteristics (amplitude and phase) were selected for this study. The main results of this research could be summarized as follow: (i) Those regions where thermal heating produce deep con...
In developing countries, accurate rainfall estimation with adequate spatial distribution is limit... more In developing countries, accurate rainfall estimation with adequate spatial distribution is limited due to sparse rain gauge networks. One way to solve this problem is the use of satellite-based precipitation products. These satellite products have significant spatial coverage of rainfall estimates and it is of fundamental importance to investigate their performance across space–time scales and the factors that affect their uncertainties. In the open literature, some studies have already analyzed the ability of satellite-based rain estimation products to estimate average rainfall values. These investigations have found very close agreement between the estimates and observed data. However, further evaluation of the satellite precipitation products is necessary to improve their reliability to estimate extreme values. In this scenario, the main goal of this work is to evaluate the ability of satellite-based precipitation products to capture the characteristics of extreme precipitation ...
The uncertainties associated with rainfall estimates comprise various measurement scales: from ra... more The uncertainties associated with rainfall estimates comprise various measurement scales: from rain gauges and ground-based radars to the satellite rainfall retrievals. The quality of satellite rainfall products has improved significantly in recent decades; however, such algorithms require validation studies using observational rainfall data. For this reason, this study aims to apply the H-SAF consolidated radar data processing to the X-band radar used in the CHUVA campaigns and apply the well established H-SAF validation procedure to these data and verify the quality of EUMETSAT H-SAF operational passive microwave precipitation products in two regions of Brazil (Vale do Paraíba and Manaus). These products are based on two rainfall retrieval algorithms: the physically based Bayesian Cloud Dynamics and Radiation Database (CDRD algorithm) for SSMI/S sensors and the Passive microwave Neural network Precipitation Retrieval algorithm (PNPR) for cross-track scanning radiometers (AMSU-A/AM...
This paper summarizes the successful use of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-10 ... more This paper summarizes the successful use of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-10 (GOES-10) and -12 (GOES-12), mainly beyond their retirement as operational satellites in the United States, in support of meteorological activities in South America (SA). These satellites were maneuvered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to approximately 60°W, enabling other countries in Central and South America to benefit from their ongoing measurements. The extended usefulness of GOES-10 and -12 was only possible as a result of a new image geolocalization system developed by NOAA for correcting image distortions and evaluated in collaboration with the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research. The extension allowed GOES-10 and -12 to monitor SA for an additional 7 years proving the efficiency of this navigation capability implemented for the first time in the GOES series well beyond the expected satellites’ lifetime. Such successful capability is inco...
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