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Detailed Reference Information |
Robertson, F.R., Fitzjarrald, D.E. and Kummerow, C.D. (2003). Effects of uncertainty in TRMM precipitation radar path integrated attenuation on interannual variations of tropical oceanic rainfall. Geophysical Research Letters 30: doi: 10.1029/2002GL016416. issn: 0094-8276. |
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Considerable uncertainty surrounds the issue of whether precipitation over the tropical oceans (30¿ N/S) systematically changes with interannual sea-surface temperature (SST) anomalies that accompany El Nino (warm) and La Nina (cold) events. Time series of rainfall estimates from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) over the tropical oceans show marked differences with estimates from two TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) passive microwave algorithms. We show that path-integrated attenuation derived from the effects of precipitation on the radar return from the ocean surface exhibits interannual variability that agrees closely with the TMI time series. Our analysis of discrepancies between the PR rainfall and attenuation suggests that uncertainty in the assumed drop size distribution and associated attenuation/reflectivity/rainfall relationships inherent in single-frequency radar methods is a serious issue for studies of interannual variability. |
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Abstract |
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Keywords
Global Change, Water cycles, Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics, Convective processes, Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics, Precipitation, Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics, Remote sensing, Oceanography, Physical, El Nino |
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union 2000 Florida Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009-1277 USA 1-202-462-6900 1-202-328-0566 service@agu.org |
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