HR: 0800h
AN: C21A-0057    [Abstracts]
TI: Accuracy of precipitation measurements in the Arctic, Barrow, Alaska
AU: * Sugirua, K
EM: sugiura@jamstec.go.jp
AF: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Institute of Observational Research for Global Change, 2-15, Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan
AU: Ohata, T
AF: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Institute of Observational Research for Global Change, 2-15, Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka, 237-0061, Japan
AU: Yang, D
AF: University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Water and Environmental Research Center, 457 Duckering Building, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5860, United States
AU: Sasaki, T
AF: Tele Atlas, 2-13-12, Hirakawa-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0093, Japan
AU: Sato, T
AF: National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, Snow and Ice Research Center, Shinjo Branch, Tokamachi, Shinjo, 996-0091, Japan
AU: Sato, A
AF: National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, Snow and Ice Research Center, Suyoshi, Nagaoka, 940-0821, Japan
AB: To improve the accuracy of precipitation measurements in the Arctic, the daily solid precipitation in Barrow, Alaska, was measured using a Double Fence Intercomparison Reference (DFIR) as the WMO reference standard for solid precipitation measurements. Further, a new approach using a snow particle counter (SPC) that outputs the number flux of snow particles without directly catching them is introduced. The correction procedures for wind, wetting losses, and trace amounts are applied on a daily basis to the DFIR precipitation. Using the precipitable water vapor estimates obtained from GPS observations (RINEX data) and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data (NOAA- CIRES CDC), a precipitation pattern was investigated. On the whole, the corrected DFIR precipitation was 1.32 times the non-corrected one. The SPC-estimated precipitation exhibited a better performance than the corrected DFIR one. Gauges using an optical sensor may be effective in low precipitation areas such as the polar regions. The daily mean diameter of snow particles ranging from 0.05 to 0.5 mm with an average of 0.16 mm was smaller than that in the mid-latitudes. The particle diameter distribution was not sufficiently shaped compared to that without snowfall. In particular, relatively small snow particles were blown during mid-winter due to a cold polar air mass and lack of water vapor.
DE: 0700 CRYOSPHERE (4540)
DE: 0736 Snow (1827, 1863)
DE: 0794 Instruments and techniques
DE: 1840 Hydrometeorology
DE: 1854 Precipitation (3354)
SC: Cryosphere [C]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting