Prat Seminar on April 11

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Speaker: Olivier Prat, Research Associate, CICS-NC

Time: Friday, April 11, 1:00 p.m.

Location: ESSIC Large Conference Room

Talk Title: Toward the development of Climate Data Records for precipitation: Evaluation and applications of radar-based, satellite-based, and ground-based QPE products

Talk Abstract: We use a suite of quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) derived from satellite, radar, surface observations, and models to derive precipitation characteristics over CONUS for the period 2002-2012. The NCEP Stage IV product, which is a near real time product providing precipitation data at the hourly temporal scale gridded at a nominal 4-km spatial resolution, is compared over the concurrent period with a suite of satellite multi-sensor datasets (TMPA 3B42, TMPA 3B42RT, CMORPH, PERSIANN). The aforementioned QPE datasets are compared with surface observations from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN-Daily), gridded gauge-analysis products from the PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model) that are used as a baseline for multi-sensor QPE products comparison. The comparisons are performed at various temporal (annual, seasonal, monthly, daily) and spatial (CONUS, river basin, watersheds) scales. We will discuss the impact of differing spatial and temporal resolutions with respect to the datasets ability to capture precipitation patterns and extreme precipitation events. In addition to the effort of evaluating long-term multi-sensor QPE products in the perspective of developing Climate Data Records (CDRs) for precipitation, this work will serve as a benchmark to evaluate the newly available NMQ/Q2 reanalysis over the same period for which we will provide an overview. Recent applications of satellite QPE to characterize the contribution of tropical cyclone rainfall to precipitation budget and extremes for basin around the world will also be presented.

Speaker’s Biography: Dr. Prat obtained a PhD in Physics from the University of Montpellier II (France), a Masters Degree in Fluid Mechanics from the University of Aix-Marseille II (France), and an Engineering Degree from the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Physique de Marseille (currently Ecole Centrale de Marseille). His current research interests include the development and implementation of numerical models for the evolution of rainfall microstructure with explicit representation of microphysical processes. The ultimate goal is to achieve a dynamic simulation of the droplet size distribution that will be used for physical algorithms for radar and satellite rainfall estimation. Dr. Prat joined CICS-NC as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in August 2010 and moved to a Research Associate position in October, 2012.

Speaker’s Recent Articles

Prat, Oliver P.*, and Brian R. Nelson, 2014: Characteristics of annual, seasonal, and diurnal precipitation in the Southeastern United States derived from long-term remotely sensed data, Atmos. Res. [in press].

Prat, Oliver P.*, and Brian R. Nelson, 2013: Precipitation Contribution of Tropical Cyclones in the Southeastern United States from 1998 to 2009 Using TRMM Satellite Data, J. Clim., 26, 1047–1062.

Prat, Oliver P.*, and Ana P. Barros, 2010: Ground observations to characterize the spatial gradients and vertical structure of orographic precipitation – Experiments in the inner region of the Great Smoky Mountains, J. Hydro., 391, 141–156.

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