HR: 1340h
AN: H43E-0543    [Abstracts]
TI: Filming the Rain
AU: * Nichols, J J
EM: jennifer-nichols@uiowa.edu
AF: IIHR - Hydroscience && Engineering, The University of Iowa 3007 Sierra Court SW, Iowa City, IA 52240 United States
AU: Lewandowski, P A
EM: piotr-lewandowski@uiowa.edu
AF: IIHR - Hydroscience && Engineering, The University of Iowa 3007 Sierra Court SW, Iowa City, IA 52240 United States
AU: Rasmussen, M K
EM: matthew-rasmussen@uiowa.edu
AF: IIHR - Hydroscience && Engineering, The University of Iowa 3007 Sierra Court SW, Iowa City, IA 52240 United States
AU: Walker, J T
EM: jtw165@psu.edu
AF: Penn State University Department of Meteorology, 503 Walker Building, University Park, PA 16802 United States
AU: Krajewski, W F
EM: witold-krajewski@uiowa.edu
AF: IIHR - Hydroscience && Engineering, The University of Iowa 3007 Sierra Court SW, Iowa City, IA 52240 United States
AU: Eichinger, W E
EM: william-eichinger@uiowa.edu
AF: IIHR - Hydroscience && Engineering, The University of Iowa 3007 Sierra Court SW, Iowa City, IA 52240 United States
AB: Rainfall measurements are necessary for weather forecasting, flood prediction, water supply control, agricultural planning, along with many other applications. One method of measuring rainfall is through the use of disdrometers. A disdrometer measures individual raindrops as they pass through sheets of laser light. Disdrometers not only give the number of drops passing through the measurement space, but also size, shape and velocity of each individual drop. The initial goal for this project was to observe the measurement process focusing on the wind effects on raindrop trajectories as they near and pass through a disdrometer. Using a high-speed digital camera along with specifically placed lighting the authors were able to capture and track individual drops as they passed through the measurement field of the disdrometer. The authors were able to observe that splash from the disdrometer itself yields a significant degree of inaccuracy. This filming project was performed using drops created by a hose as well as real rainfall events. The authors discuss the challenges of the experimental setup and present qualitative results.
DE: 3354 Precipitation (1854)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005