The problem of measuring precipitation from space is examined through use of NASA's AMPR instrument and NCAR's CP-2 multiparameter radar during the Convection and Precipitation/Electrification Experiment in central Florida. Vast regions of the globe have inadequate ground-based measurements of precipitation. The CP-2 data are used in this paper to infer particle size, shape, and composition within convection; these variables are then compared to radiometer-derived brightness temperature. This, the first paper to show AMPR's potential to study microphysics within convective storms, is a pioneering effort toward classifying and measuring global precipitation using satellite-based instruments.
Vivekanandan, J., J. Turk, and V. N. Bringi, 1993: Comparisons of precipitation measurements by the Advanced Microwave Precipitation Radiometer and multiparameter radar. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 31, 860-870