Assessment of Small-Scale Rainfall Variability from NASA GPM-GV Dense Rain-gauge Network

In collaboration with its international partners, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is developing a Ground Validation System (GVS) as a contribution to the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. As part of this effort, NASA is establishing a state-of-the-art GPM GV rain gauge, disdrometer and multi-parameter radar measurement facility on the Virginia eastern shore (WFF PRF) geared toward validation of NASA precipitation products (spaceborne and/or combined ground and spaceborne retrieval algorithms). During the fall of 2012 and early spring of 2013 a newly-established dense network of 25 dual-tipping bucket rain gauge platforms, situated in an area footprint of 25 km2 (e..g, scale of an individual GPM dual-frequency radar footprint), recorded a significant number of precipitation events. The observed events ranged in intensity from light to severe and represented a mixture of convective and stratiform rainfall system types. In this work we use the collected data to analyze the small-scale, horizontal variability of rainfall in a coastal environment. Our goal is to address the uncertainties associated with raingauge validation of satellite and radar-based rainfall products.