Network of wind profilers to understand boundary layer evolution and precipitating clouds over Asia monsoon

To understand the structure and behavior of monsoon cloud systems is a prerequisite for accurate representation of diabatic processes in large-scale numerical simulation and prediction of monsoons and of the global circulation. Therefore, our group at IORGC initiated collaborative research activity with several Institutes/Universities (those operate profilers) to understand ‘Asia monsoon convection' using VHF/UHF wind profiler (WP) network and other collocated instruments. For this purpose wind profilers operated at five different locations over Asia and Western Tropical Pacific Ocean [at India (Gadanki), Thailand (Bangkok), Taiwan (Chung-Li) and Japan (Tokyo)] and Palau (Aimeliik) are utilized to understand three-dimensional wind field, convective boundary layer associated with mesoscale precipitating systems. In particular, these wind profilers directly measure the vertical wind component within a convective environment and reveal details about the vertical structure of precipitating cloud systems. 2-years L-band WP data from all the five locations are used to understand the marine and continental boundary layer influence on precipitating cloud systems. VHF wind profilers at Gadanki and Chung-Li are used to estimate vertical profiles of raindrop size distribution (DSD) to improve the model for radar rainfall remote sensing and to obtain information of micro-physical processes of raindrops during their landfall. Several event analyses are presented to investigate the dependence of vertical DSD profile on climatological regimes and cloud microphysics which are different from one another. The result may also be useful to model vertical DSD profiles at other tropical regions.