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News: Frequency Of Rain

Different Clouds, Different Rain?

Title: Frequency of occurrence of rain from liquid-, mixed- and ice-phase clouds derived from A-Train satellite retrievals
doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2015GL064604
Product Tags: CLOUDSAT-TRMM, CPR, MODIS-AUX, 2B-GEOPROF, 2C-PRECIP-COLUMN, 2C-RAIN-PROFILE, ECMWF-AUX

The tropics, being generally warm, tend to produce rain from liquid clouds (which are warmer clouds) while outside of the tropics, rain tends to come from ice clouds (which are colder). But just how much of the world’s rain comes from ice clouds, and how much from liquid clouds, or mixed clouds (those with ice and liquid)?

Mülmenstädt et al. seek to be the first to do a global survey of the fraction of rain that comes from each cloud type, and use CloudSat’s Cloud Profiling Radar (CPR) to do so. The 2C-PRECIP-COLUMN data product is the best for the job, as it identifies precipitation even in the ground clutter region, where the reflectivity of the ground can confuse other instruments.

To learn more about what Mülmenstädt et al. found, read the full article here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2015GL064604

Synopsis Author: Kalina Velev, JPL