Vertical structure and microphysical observations of winter precipitation in an inner valley during the Cerdanya-2017 field campaign
Precipitations processes at windward and leeward sides of the mountains have been object of study for many decades. Instead, inner mountain valleys, where usually most mountain population lives, have received considerably less attention. This article examines precipitation processes during a winter...
| Autores: | , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/350594 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/350594 https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2021.105826 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Precipitation (Meteorology) -- Measurement Rain and rainfall Radar meteorology Mountain precipitation Inner valley Micro rain radar Parsivel disdrometer Microphysical processes Pyrenees Cerdanya-2017 Precipitacions (Meteorologia) -- Mesurament Pluja Radarmeteorologia Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria electrònica::Instrumentació i mesura::Sensors i actuadors Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria agroalimentària::Ciències de la terra i de la vida::Climatologia i meteorologia |
| Sumario: | Precipitations processes at windward and leeward sides of the mountains have been object of study for many decades. Instead, inner mountain valleys, where usually most mountain population lives, have received considerably less attention. This article examines precipitation processes during a winter field campaign in an inner valley of the Pyrenees (NE Spain) using, among other instruments, a K-band vertically pointing Doppler radar (Micro Rain Radar) and a laser-based optical disdrometer (Parsivel). A decoupling is found between the stalled air of the valley and the air of the free atmosphere above the mountain crest level, evidenced by an increase of turbulence and spectral width of precipitation particles. Wind shear layer may promote riming and aggregation of the ice and snow particles. Two main rainfall regimes are found during the campaign: (1) stratiform rainfall mostly produced by water vapour deposition processes, although sometimes riming and aggregation become important, and (2) weak convection with slight dominance of collision-coalescence processes. Precipitation characteristics at the bottom of the valley show typical continental features such as low Liquid Water Content, despite the valley is only about 100 |
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