The Utilization of Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) and Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) in Indicating of Rainfall Intensity

over Kototabang, West Sumatera, Indonesia

Eddy Hermawan Center for Atmospheric Science and Climate Applications, Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN), Jl. Dr. Junjunan 133, Bandung 40173, Indonesia E-mail : eddy_lapan@yahoo.com

Abstract This study is mainly concerned to the utilization of the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) as one of the most important giant radar at the equatorial region. This radar is located at Kototabang, West Sumatera, Indonesia as a collaboration project between Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University, Japan and the Indonesian National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN). There are many studies using this radar, one of them is indicating of rainfall intensity at Kototabang and surrounded area. We selected this region, since Kototabang as one of the most important site for the ground-truth of the upcoming of Global Precipitation Measurements (GPM) satellite next. The preliminary result of this radar is already done by Fukao et. all (2003). A similar study is also already done by Renggono et. all (2001), but they used the Boundary Layer Radar (BLR). Since, this radar is mainly used to observe wind velocity structure in three dimension, we wish strongly to give more attentions to the characteristics of horizontalvertical wind velocity structure, especially during wet and dry season. Since we dont know exactly also when wet and dry season coming over this area, we applied the monthly of Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) data for twenty five years observation over Sumatera Island (1979-2004). Then, we found that wet and dry season over Sumatera Island, especially on the EAR site are occurred in November and July, respectively. Then, we analyzed the daily of EAR data set started from January to December 2002 with good time and spatial height resolution. We concentrated on November and July, 2002, respectively. In the same time, we analyzed the Optical Rain Gauge (ORG) also to investigate the rainfall intensity of this period. We found a good agreement between EAR and ORG data, especially on determining when the rainfall over Kototabang is started and finished. From those figures we can see that rainfall usually occurred when the horizontal-vertical wind velocity variations larger than normal condition. This is occurred not only in wet season, but in dry season also. We are still developing this study, since EAR could not distinguish definitely the differences between continued rainfall and dis-continued rainfall. We need more investigate the longer of EAR data analysis and most probably the BLR data also to obtain the significant statistical analysis since we assume that rainfall intensity over Kototabang is mainly coming from the convective cloud activities from this are a only. We neglect affects from another rainfall that mostly comes from the surrounded area of Kototabang station. Keywords : EAR, GPCP, ORG, GPM and Kototabang

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1.

Introduction
It is of important to understand activity the

2.

The Specification of EAR

The EAR has a circular antenna array of

characteristics

convective

including

distribution of precipitation and its diurnal variation in tropical region precisely regarding the study on heat and water circulations of Asian Monsoon. In a current research on Asian Monsoon, they have been examined using in-situ rain gauge network, geostationary meteorological satellites and atmospheric re-analysis data set. As a result, it is a gradually clarified that they have a strong relation to topographical features and are made of complicated interaction among various scales of convective systems. Especially, the Indonesian maritime continent is one of regions having the most a lot of precipitation in the world, and a complex of various scales of many islands and surrounding oceans. The changes on precipitation distribution and its diurnal variation in this region have big influence power for the heat and water circulations in not only the Asian Monsoon region, but also the world climate through the latent heating processes. In this study, we applied the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) data which located at Kototabang, West Sumatera, Indonesia which have been operated by Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University, Japan since 2001. As one of an MST (Mesosphere-StratosphereTroposphere) radar, the EAR can be used to determine wind velocity fluctuations with good time and spatial high resolution. This is a similar to the MU (Middle and Upper) atmosphere radar belongs of Kyoto University also at Shigaraki, Japan. A preliminary results of the basic concept of this radar is already done Fukao et. all (2003), while Renggono et. all (2001) has already done also in investigating the differences between stratiform and convective clouds over Kototabang using the BLR (Boundary Layer Radar). We are interest to continue their study by applying the EAR data on the indication of rainfall intensity pattern over Kototabang. How this radar could detect this rainfall pattern will be discussed in this paper.

approximately 110 m in diameter, which consist of 560 three-element Yagis. It is an active phased array system with each Yagi driven by a solid-state transceiver module. This system configuration makes it possible to direct the antenna beam by electronic control up to 5000 times per second. The EAR transmits an intense radio wave of 47 MHz to the sky, and receives extremely weak echoes scattered back by atmospheric turbulence. It can observe winds and turbulence in the altitude range from 1.5 km to 20 km (troposphere and lower stratosphere). It can also observe echoes from ionospheric irregularities at heights more than 90 km. The explanations more detail is presented at Table 2.1 below. Table 2.1. Specifications of the EAR System (Fukao et. all, 2003) Item
Location

Specifications
0.20oS ; 100.32o E ; 865 m above MSL

Geomagnetic latitude and longitude

Radar system

10.63oS ; 171.93oE

Monostatic pulse Doppler radar

Operating frequency
Antenna Aperture Beam width Beam direction in azimuth Beam direction in angle Gain

47.0 MHz
Quasi-circular antenna array of 560 three-element Yagi antennas 110 m in diameter 3.4o (half power width; one way) 0-360o in 0.1o steps 0-30o in 0.1o steps (no grating lobe) 33 dBi

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Transmitter Peak power Average power Number of TR modules Single TR modules power Pulse width IPP Type Noise figure Pulse compression Subpulse width Dynamic range A/D converter Number of range gates 100 kW (sum of all TR modules) 5 kW (max; sum of all TR modules) 560 units (same as Yagi antennas) 180 W/unit 0.5 256 s 200 10 ms (variable in 200 s steps) receiver Single super heterodyne 5 dB (TR modules) Barker, complementary and Spano codes (1 to 16 bits) 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 16.0 s (variable) 70 dB 14 bits 256 (max)

Sumatera Island and surrounding started from January in 1979 to December in 2003. This is a climatology data in image file for twenty five years observation. By investigating this data carefully, we can determine that wet and dry season over Sumatera Island, especially at Kototabang which occurred in November and July, respectively. We also can estimate the annual of rainfall intensity close to Kototabang area. Based on this results, we selected the daily EAR data on November and July in 2002. We used the Fortran77 software to analyze this data, while for plotting we used the XY-graph software created by RISH, Kyoto University, Japan. Then, we analyzed the horizontal-vertical wind velocity as same as time with the daily of ORG (Optical Rain Gauge) data. We used dont use some mathematical formula in study. We just compare the pattern of horizontal-vertical wind velocity with the rainfall intensity observed by the ORG data.

3.

Data used
In this study we used the monthly of GPCP

4.

Results and Discussions

We first present the EAR and ORG data are

(Global Precipitation Climatology Project) data over

presented at Figures 4.1. and 4.2, respectively.

Figure 4.1. The comparison between ORG and EAR data in determining rainfall intensity over Kototabang on July 20, 2002

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Figure 4.2. As the same as Fig. 4.1, but for observation on November 20, 2002

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Based on the GPCP data analysis, we are interest to investigate the detailed this phenomena by investigating the horizontal-vertical wind velocity observed with the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR), especially on November and July, respectively. Then, we compared this result with the Optical Rain Gauge (ORG) data in the same period time with the EAR data as represented in Figures 4.1. and 4.2. above. By comparing both figures, we can see that the EAR and ORG data have the same pattern each other. It means that the enhancement of rainfall intensity over Kototabang is following by the enhancement of horizontal-vertical wind velocity. Before 10.00 LT (Local Time), the time-height variation of horizontalvertical wind velocity is small, then suddenly larger after 10.00 LT. This is a similar with the ORG data where rainfall intensity also larger after 10.00 LT as shown in Figure 4.1. This is for dry season on July 20, 2002. This event it looks similar when we investigate for wet season as shown in Figure 4.2. The time-height variation of horizontal-vertical wind velocity is a quite small before 12.00 LT, then slowly increase after 12.00 LT. If we look at carefully both figures, we can see that the rainfall intensity pattern at dry season is different at wet season. In dry season (represented by July 2002), the rainfall intensity is not occurred continuously. While, in wet season, rainfall is occurred continuously. In this case, the EAR data can not able to distinguish definitely where is continue and discontinue rainfall. But, EAR able to estimate perfectly when the rainfall is starting, but still can not able to estimate when the end of rainfall. It may be correspond to the dynamical rainfall itself. We need to consider that rainfall over Kototabang in that time is already moved to another area, and radar can not detect it.

are suspected as heat engine for global atmospheric change. We usually, use the in-situ measurements to investigate the rainfall intensity, especially on the surface area. Since, the formation of rainfall intensity is related well to the vertical and horizontal wind velocity, we tried to introduce a new radar technique to investigate this observation using the horizontalvertical wind velocity observed with the Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR). We found a good agreement between EAR and ORG data in determining the rainfall intensity pattern at Kototabang. We can see that EAR is able to estimate the starting time of rainfall intensity at Kototabang by investigating the height-time variations of horizontal-vertical wind velocity in each layer, although in this case EAR is not able distinguish definitely where is continue and discontinue rainfall intensity.

5.

Future Works
What we have done above is just a preliminary

results of EAR data in investigating the rainfall intensity behavior over Kototabang, West Sumatera, Indonesia. We need to continue this study by adding more longer data and some statistical analysis. We need add also the cover area of rainfall intensity itself, not Kototabang only. We should consider that rainfall intensity over Kototabang, not always mainly comes from Kototabang, most probably from another area surrounding near by Kototabang.

Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank to the Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere (RISH), Kyoto University, Japan for making the EAR data set analysis. Special thanks are also given to the Shimane University, Japan who provide the Optical Rain Gauge (ORG) data analysis.

References:
[1]. Fukao, S, H. Hashiguchi, M. Yamamoto, T. Tsuda, T. Nakamura and M.K. Yamamoto, Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR) : System Description and First Results, Radio Sciences, 38(3), 1053 (2003). Renggono, F, H. Hashiguchi, S. Fukao, M.D. Yamanaka, S.Y. Ogino, N. Okamoto, F. Murata, B.P. Sitorus, M. Kudsy, M. Kartasasmita, and G. Ibrahim, Precipitating Clouds Observed by 1.3-GHz Boundary Layer Radars in Equatorial Indonesia, Annales Geophysicae. 19, 889-897 (2001).19, 889-897 (2001).

4.

Concluding Remark
The behavior of rainfall intensity at
[2].

Kototabang and surrounded area is very important to be investigated since this region is mostly covered by giant clouds, such as Cumulonimbus, Cb. These clouds

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