Statistical and Physical Descriptions of Raindrop Size Distributions in Equatorial Malaysia from Disdrometer Observations

This work investigates the physical characteristics of raindrop size distribution (DSD) in an equatorial heavy rain region based on three years of disdrometer observations carried out at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM’s) campus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The natural characteristics of DSD are...

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Main Authors: Hong Yin Lam, Jafri Din, Siat Ling Jong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Advances in Meteorology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/253730
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author Hong Yin Lam
Jafri Din
Siat Ling Jong
author_facet Hong Yin Lam
Jafri Din
Siat Ling Jong
author_sort Hong Yin Lam
collection DOAJ
description This work investigates the physical characteristics of raindrop size distribution (DSD) in an equatorial heavy rain region based on three years of disdrometer observations carried out at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM’s) campus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The natural characteristics of DSD are deduced, and the statistical results are found to be in accordance with the findings obtained from others disdrometer measurements. Moreover, the parameters of the Gamma distribution and the normalized Gamma model are also derived by means of method of moment (MoM) and maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). Their performances are subsequently validated using the rain rate estimation accuracy: the normalized Gamma model with the MLE-generated shape parameter µ was found to provide better accuracy in terms of long-term rainfall rate statistics, which reflects the peculiarities of the local climatology in this heavy rain region. These results not only offer a better understanding of the microphysical nature of precipitation in this heavy rain region but also provide essential information that may be useful for the scientific community regarding remote sensing and radio propagation.
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institution Kabale University
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spelling doaj-art-26c02dc6adb1448d918f0a31e8bec2f52025-02-03T05:58:12ZengWileyAdvances in Meteorology1687-93091687-93172015-01-01201510.1155/2015/253730253730Statistical and Physical Descriptions of Raindrop Size Distributions in Equatorial Malaysia from Disdrometer ObservationsHong Yin Lam0Jafri Din1Siat Ling Jong2Department of Communication Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, UTM, 81310 Skudai, Johor, MalaysiaDepartment of Communication Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, UTM, 81310 Skudai, Johor, MalaysiaDepartment of Communication Engineering, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, UTM, 81310 Skudai, Johor, MalaysiaThis work investigates the physical characteristics of raindrop size distribution (DSD) in an equatorial heavy rain region based on three years of disdrometer observations carried out at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM’s) campus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The natural characteristics of DSD are deduced, and the statistical results are found to be in accordance with the findings obtained from others disdrometer measurements. Moreover, the parameters of the Gamma distribution and the normalized Gamma model are also derived by means of method of moment (MoM) and maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). Their performances are subsequently validated using the rain rate estimation accuracy: the normalized Gamma model with the MLE-generated shape parameter µ was found to provide better accuracy in terms of long-term rainfall rate statistics, which reflects the peculiarities of the local climatology in this heavy rain region. These results not only offer a better understanding of the microphysical nature of precipitation in this heavy rain region but also provide essential information that may be useful for the scientific community regarding remote sensing and radio propagation.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/253730
spellingShingle Hong Yin Lam
Jafri Din
Siat Ling Jong
Statistical and Physical Descriptions of Raindrop Size Distributions in Equatorial Malaysia from Disdrometer Observations
Advances in Meteorology
title Statistical and Physical Descriptions of Raindrop Size Distributions in Equatorial Malaysia from Disdrometer Observations
title_full Statistical and Physical Descriptions of Raindrop Size Distributions in Equatorial Malaysia from Disdrometer Observations
title_fullStr Statistical and Physical Descriptions of Raindrop Size Distributions in Equatorial Malaysia from Disdrometer Observations
title_full_unstemmed Statistical and Physical Descriptions of Raindrop Size Distributions in Equatorial Malaysia from Disdrometer Observations
title_short Statistical and Physical Descriptions of Raindrop Size Distributions in Equatorial Malaysia from Disdrometer Observations
title_sort statistical and physical descriptions of raindrop size distributions in equatorial malaysia from disdrometer observations
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/253730
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AT siatlingjong statisticalandphysicaldescriptionsofraindropsizedistributionsinequatorialmalaysiafromdisdrometerobservations