DISDRODB: A global database of raindrop size distribution observations
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Abstract
The raindrop size distribution (DSD) details raindrop concentration and size distributions in an air volume. It's vital for rainfall microstructural analysis, remote sensing interpretation, and accurate representation in atmospheric models. Disdrometers collect DSD observations globally, but data are dispersed, varied in format, and lack standardized tools for processing. As a result, large-scale DSD spatial and temporal variability exploration is challenging. DISDRODB addresses this by advocating common standards for data format, quality control, and processing. It establishes a database and processing framework to store shareable raw measurements, generate clean DSD data, and derive related products (e.g., rain rate, kinetic energy, mean size). This tool benefits scientific communities working with DSD for process understanding, remote sensing, and modeling.