HR: 1330h
AN: H23A-02    [Abstracts]
TI: Analysis of Small-Scale Rainfall Variability in South Louisiana Using a Dense Rain Gauge Network
AU: * Aduvala, A V
EM: anandvishnu@louisiana.edu
AF: University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O.Box 42291, Lafayette, LA 70504
AU: Habib, E
EM: habib@louisiana.edu
AF: University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O.Box 42291, Lafayette, LA 70504
AU: Meselhe, E
EM: meselhe@louisiana.edu
AF: University of Louisiana at Lafayette, P.O.Box 42291, Lafayette, LA 70504
AU: Tokay, A
EM: tokay@radar.gsfc.nasa.gov
AF: University of MaryLand Baltimore county, Baltimore County,USA,
AB: Despite the technological advances that have been made in the area of radar hydrology, accurate and reliable radar-derived rainfall amounts over scales relevant to hydrologic applications are not readily available. One of the difficult problems causing this situation is the inadequacy of the rain gauge point measurements commonly used for evaluation of radar rainfall estimates. The use of gauge observations to validate area-averaged radar rainfall estimates makes it imperative to take into considerations two main issues: scale differences between radar and rain gauges, and rainfall variability across scales smaller than radar resolutions. The current study is an attempt to understand and possibly characterize rainfall small-scale variability and its impact on the validation of radar-rainfall estimates. The study site is a dense rain gauge network in south Louisiana. The network, which has been in operation since 2004, includes a total of 13 dual-rain gauge sites with separations distances ranging from less than one km to about few kilometers. The network also includes an acoustic Joss-Waldvogel disdrometer, which provides continuous estimates of raindrop size spectra. The study focuses on estimation of the spatial correlation function, the variogram, and the errors associated with areal rainfall estimates from gauge measurements. It is worth noting that Louisiana is considered one of the wettest states in the US, and to the best of the authors' knowledge, information about rainfall small-scale variability in this region has not been previously available.
DE: 1854 Precipitation (3354)
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly