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Effects of systematic and random errors on the spatial scaling properties in radar-estimated rainfall
Conference proceeding

Effects of systematic and random errors on the spatial scaling properties in radar-estimated rainfall

G Villarini, G J Ciach, W F Krajewski, K M Nordstrom and V K Gupta
NONLINEAR DYNAMICS IN GEOSCIENCES, p.37
2007
DOI: 10.1007/978-0-387-34918-3_3

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Abstract

Spatial scaling properties of precipitation fields are often investigated based on radar data. However, little is known about the effects of the considerable uncertainties present in radar-rainfall products on the estimated multifractal parameters. The basic systematic factors that can affect the results of such analyses include the selection of a Z-R relationship, the rain/no-rain reflectivity threshold, and the distance from the radar. In addition, the inevitable random errors can strongly distort the radar-based scaling characteristics. The authors examine these problems using high-resolution radar-rainfall maps generated with different parameters based on the Level 11 data from a WSR-88D radar in Kansas, USA. To investigate the effects of random errors, the authors convolute the radar-rainfall with a multiplicative random uncertainty factor, and discuss the effects of different magnitudes and spatial dependences in such an uncertainty process. This study shows that the sensitivity of the multifractal analyses on some of the considered factors is strong and can even dominate the results.

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