Update on the Performance and Evaluation of the Total Precipitation Sensor in Alaska

Category: Instruments

The authors provide an update on the performance and evaluation of the Total Precipitation Sensor (TPS) installed at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility North Slope of Alaska (NSA) sites in Barrow and Atqasuk, as well as University of Alaska-managed sites. The TPS design is intended to avoid the undercatch biases of traditional gages, but may not detect smaller-sized snow particles. Output from the TPS is being compared to that from the collocated NOAA Climate Reference Network (CRN) sites, snow particle counters, and changes from snow depth sensors. Additional data from wind tunnel experiments suggest that not only may the sensor fail to detect trace precipitation, but the asymmetry caused by the ‘gooseneck’ design must also be accounted for in the wind pumping portion of the sensor algorithm.

This poster will be displayed at ASR Science Team Meeting.