Adjusting precipitation amounts from Geonor and Pluvio automated weighing gauges to preserve continuity of observations in Canada

Milewska, Ewa J.; Vincent, Lucie A.; Hartwell, Megan M.; Charlesworth, Kathleen; Mekis, Éva

doi:10.1080/07011784.2018.1530611

Cited by 18 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The number of stations with temperature and precipitation observations decreased considerably after 2005, mainly as a result of relocation and closure of traditional manual observation stations and the introduction of automated systems. Work is in progress for joining past manual and current automated weather observations in order to preserve continuity for climate trends and monitoring (Milewska et al, 2018;Milewska & Hogg, 2002;Milewska & Vincent, 2016;Vincent, Milewska, Wang, & Hartwell, 2018). Results regarding the changes in very warm and very cold temperatures (defined by the summer and winter 95th and 5th percentiles of tmax and tmin) have revealed three important pieces of information.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Canada's Climate: Trends in Indices Based on Daily Temperature and Precipitation Data

et al. 2018

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Trends in indices based on daily temperature and precipitation are examined for two periods: 1948-2016 for all stations in Canada and 1900-2016 for stations in the south of Canada. These indices, a number of which reflect extreme events, are considered to be impact relevant. The results show changes consistent with warming, with larger trends associated with cold temperatures. The number of summer days (when daily maximum temperature >25°C) has increased at most locations south of 65°N, and the number of hot days (daily maximum temperature >30°C) and hot nights (daily minimum temperature >22°C) have increased at a few stations in the most southerly regions. Very warm temperatures in both summer and winter (represented by the 95th percentile of their daily maximum and minimum temperatures, respectively) have increased across the country, with stronger trends in winter. Warming is more pronounced for cold temperatures. The frost-free season has become longer with fewer frost days, consecutive frost days, and ice days. Very cold temperatures in both winter and summer (represented by the 5th percentile of their daily maximum and minimum temperatures, respectively) have increased substantially across the country, again with stronger trends in the winter. Changes in other temperature indices are consistent with warming. The growing season is now longer, and the number of growing degree-days has increased. The number of heating degree-days has decreased across the country, while the number of cooling degree-days has increased at many stations south of 55°N. The frequency of annual and spring freeze-thaw days shows an increase in the interior provinces and a decrease in the remainder of the country. Changes in precipitation indices are less spatially coherent. An increase in the number of days with rainfall and heavy rainfall is found at several locations in the south. A decrease in the number of days with snowfall and heavy snowfall is observed in the western provinces, while an increase is found in the north. There is no evidence of significant changes in the annual highest 1-day rainfall and 1-day snowfall. The maximum number of consecutive dry days has decreased, mainly in the south. RÉSUMÉ [Traduit par la rédaction] Nous examinons les tendances d'indices fondés sur les températures et les précipitations quotidiennes pour deux périodes : de 1948 à 2016, pour toutes les stations au Canada, et de 1900 à 2016, pour les stations du sud du pays. Ces indices, dont certains représentent des événements extrêmes, sont considérés comme pertinents sur le plan des impacts. Les résultats montrent des changements en accord avec un réchauffement et des tendances prononcées associées à des températures froides. Le nombre de jours estivaux (lorsque la température quotidienne maximale > 25°C) a augmenté à la plupart des sites au sud de 65°N, et les nombres de jours chauds (température quotidienne maximale >30°C) et de nuits chaudes (température quotidienne minimale >22°C) ont augmenté à quelques stations, dans les régions les plus au ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in Canada's Climate: Trends in Indices Based on Daily Temperature and Precipitation Data

et al. 2018

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“…Meanwhile, the Ku-pol retrieval gives a slight reduction in S from the Ku-only retrieval, which is already biased low for this event. Compared to the Pluvio, the All-obs retrieval is biased high, however, after correcting the Pluvio data for wind (Milewska et al, 2019), this retrieval is in better agreement, however, these same wind corrections bias the 9 Jan event higher than the retrievals and in better agreement with the PIP. calculations involve a variety of assumptions to derive particle mass from shape and fall speed (Tokay et al, 2021), a range between the minimum and maximum from these calculations is shaded around the mean PIP-derived value.…”

Section: Snowfall Rate and Water Equivalentmentioning

confidence: 78%

Snow Microphysical Retrieval from the NASA D3R Radar During ICE-POP 2018

Munchak

Schrom

Helms

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Abstract. A method is developed to use both polarimetric and dual-frequency radar measurements to retrieve microphysical properties of falling snow. It is applied to the Ku- and Ka-band measurements of the NASA Dual-polarization, Dual-frequency Doppler Radar (D3R) obtained during the International Collaborative Experiment for PyeongChang Olympic and Paralympics (ICE-POP 2018) field campaign, and incorporates the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer Simulator (ARTS) microwave single scattering property database for oriented particles. The retrieval uses optimal estimation to solve for several parameters that describe the particle size distribution (PSD), relative contribution of pristine, aggregate, and rimed ice species, and the orientation distribution along an entire radial simultaneously. Examination of Jacobian matrices and averaging kernels show that the dual wavelength ratio (DWR) measurements provide information regarding the characteristic particle size, and to a lesser extent, the rime fraction and shape parameter of the size distribution, whereas the polarimetric measurements provide information regarding the mass fraction of pristine particles and their characteristic size and orientation distribution. Thus, by combining the dual-frequency and polarimetric measurements, some ambiguities can be resolved that should allow a better determination of the PSD and bulk microphysical properties (e.g., snowfall rate) than can be retrieved from single-frequency polarimetric measurements or dual-frequency, single-polarization measurements. The D3R ICE-POP retrievals were validated using Precipitation Imaging Package (PIP) and Pluvio weighing gauge measurements taken nearby at the May Hills ground site. The PIP measures the snow PSD directly, and its measurements can be used to derived the snowfall rate (volumetric and water equivalent), mean volume-weighted particle size, and effective density, as well as particle aspect ratio and orientation. Four retrieval experiments were performed to evaluate the utility of different measurement combinations: Ku-only, DWR-only, Ku-pol, and All-obs. In terms of correlation, the volumetric snowfall rate (r = 0.95) and snow water equivalent rate (r = 0.92) were best retrieved by the Ku-pol method, while the DWR-only method had the lowest magnitude bias for these parameters (−31 % and −8 %, respectively). The methods that incorporated DWR also had the best correlation to particle size (r = 0.74 and r = 0.71 for DWR-only and All-obs, respectively), although none of the methods retrieved density particularly well (r = 0.43 for All-obs). The ability of the measurements to retrieve mean aspect ratio was also inconclusive, although the polarimetric methods (Ku-pol and All-obs) had reduced biases and MAE relative to the Ku-only and DWR-only methods. The significant biases in particle size and snowfall rate appeared to be related to biases in the measured DWR, emphasizing the need for accurate DWR measurements and frequent calibration in future D3R deployments.

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“…At our three main field sites, we used shielded weighing gauges (OTT Pluvio and Geonor). These shielded gauges are well-known for their accuracy and have been used interchangeably by Environment and Climate Change Canada (Milewska et al, 2019). Tipping-bucket rain gauges were installed at our secondary field sites (HOBO Table 1.…”

Section: Precipitation Gaugesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Meteorological observations collected during the Storms and Precipitation Across the continental Divide Experiment (SPADE), April–June 2019

Thériault¹,

Déry

Pomeroy

et al. 2021

Earth Syst. Sci. Data

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Abstract. The continental divide along the spine of the Canadian Rockies in southwestern Canada is a critical headwater region for hydrological drainages to the Pacific, Arctic, and Atlantic oceans. Major flooding events are typically attributed to heavy precipitation on its eastern side due to upslope (easterly) flows. Precipitation can also occur on the western side of the divide when moisture originating from the Pacific Ocean encounters the west-facing slopes of the Canadian Rockies. Often, storms propagating across the divide result in significant precipitation on both sides. Meteorological data over this critical region are sparse, with few stations located at high elevations. Given the importance of all these types of events, the Storms and Precipitation Across the continental Divide Experiment (SPADE) was initiated to enhance our knowledge of the atmospheric processes leading to storms and precipitation on either side of the continental divide. This was accomplished by installing specialized meteorological instrumentation on both sides of the continental divide and carrying out manual observations during an intensive field campaign from 24 April–26 June 2019. On the eastern side, there were two field sites: (i) at Fortress Mountain Powerline (2076 m a.s.l.) and (ii) at Fortress Junction Service, located in a high-elevation valley (1580 m a.s.l.). On the western side, Nipika Mountain Resort, also located in a valley (1087 m a.s.l.), was chosen as a field site. Various meteorological instruments were deployed including two Doppler light detection and ranging instruments (lidars), three vertically pointing micro rain radars, and three optical disdrometers. The three main sites were nearly identically instrumented, and observers were on site at Fortress Mountain Powerline and Nipika Mountain Resort during precipitation events to take manual observations of precipitation type and microphotographs of solid particles. The objective of the field campaign was to gather high-temporal-frequency meteorological data and to compare the different conditions on either side of the divide to study the precipitation processes that can lead to catastrophic flooding in the region. Details on field sites, instrumentation used, and collection methods are discussed. Data from the study are publicly accessible from the Federated Research Data Repository at https://doi.org/10.20383/101.0221 (Thériault et al., 2020). This dataset will be used to study atmospheric conditions associated with precipitation events documented simultaneously on either side of a continental divide. This paper also provides a sample of the data gathered during a precipitation event.

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Adjusting precipitation amounts from Geonor and Pluvio automated weighing gauges to preserve continuity of observations in Canada

Cited by 18 publications

References 35 publications

Changes in Canada's Climate: Trends in Indices Based on Daily Temperature and Precipitation Data

Changes in Canada's Climate: Trends in Indices Based on Daily Temperature and Precipitation Data

Snow Microphysical Retrieval from the NASA D3R Radar During ICE-POP 2018

Meteorological observations collected during the Storms and Precipitation Across the continental Divide Experiment (SPADE), April–June 2019

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