Advances in Geosciences www.adv-geosci.net 1680-7340 1680-7359 20 Observation, Prediction and Verification of Precipitation (EGU Session 2008) 2009 10.5194/adgeo-20-25-2009 http://www.adv-geosci.net/20/25/2009/ http://www.adv-geosci.net/20/25/2009/adgeo-20-25-2009.html http://www.adv-geosci.net/20/25/2009/adgeo-20-25-2009.pdf 25 32 2009-03-16 Precipitation and microphysical studies with a low cost high resolution X-band radar: an innovative project prospective J. Van Baelen j.vanbaelen@opgc.univ-bpclermont.fr Y. Pointin W. Wobrock A. Flossmann G. Peters F. Tridon C. Planche Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique, UMR6016, CNRS/Université Blaise Pascal Clermont-Ferrand II, 24 avenue des Landais, 63177 Aubière, France Meteorologisches Institut, Universitaet Hamburg, Bundesstraße 55, 20146 Hamburg, Germany This paper describes an innovative project which has just been launched at the "Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique" (LaMP) in Clermont-Ferrand in collaboration with the "Meteorologische Institut" in Hamburg, where a low cost X-band high resolution precipitation radar is combined with supporting measurements and a bin microphysical cloud resolving model in order to develop adapted Z–R relationships for accurate rain rate estimates over a local area such as a small catchment basin, an urban complex or even an agriculture domain. In particular, the use of K-band micro rain radars which can retrieve vertical profiles of drop size distribution and the associated reflectivity will be used to perform direct comparisons with X-band radar volume samples while a network of rain-gauges provides ground truth to which our rain estimates will be compared. Thus, the experimental suite of instrumentation should provide a detailed characterization of the various rain regimes and their associated Z–R relationship. Furthermore, we will make use of the hilly environment of the radar to test the use of novel attenuation methods in order to estimate rainfall rates. A second important aspect of this work is to use the detailed cloud modeling available at LaMP. Simulations of precipitating clouds in highly resolved 3-D dynamics model allow predicting the spectra of rain drops and precipitating ice particles. 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