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Climatological characteristics of summer precipitation over East Asia measured by TRMM PR: A review

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Abstract

Precipitation is an important indicator of climate change and a critical process in the hydrological cycle, on both the global and regional scales. Methods of precipitation observation and associated analyses are of strategic importance in global climate change research. As the first space-based radar, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Precipitation Radar (PR) has been in operation for almost 17 years and has acquired a huge amount of cloud and precipitation data that provide a distinctive view to help expose the nature of cloud and precipitation in the tropics and subtropics. In this paper we review recent advances in summer East Asian precipitation climatology studies based on long-term TRMM PR measurements in the following three aspects: (1) the three-dimensional structure of precipitation, (2) the diurnal variation of precipitation, and (3) the recent precipitation trend. Additionally, some important prospects regarding satellite remote sensing of precipitation and its application in the near future are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

This review is dedicated to commemorating the Chinese climatologist Shaowu Wang, who was one of the committee members for the doctoral dissertation oral defense of the first author on 31 August 1993. The comments from the reviewers and Dr. Xiangdong Zhang are appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China

    Yunfei Fu, Xiao Pan, Yuanjian Yang, Fengjiao Chen & Peng Liu

  2. Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Sciences and Satellite Remote Sensing of Anhui Province, Anhui Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Hefei, 230031, China

    Yunfei Fu & Yuanjian Yang

  3. Anhui Meteorological Information Centre, Hefei, 230031, China

    Fengjiao Chen

  4. Anhui Academy for Environmental Science Research, Hefei, 230071, China

    Peng Liu

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  1. Yunfei Fu
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  2. Xiao Pan
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  5. Peng Liu
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Correspondence to Yunfei Fu.

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Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41230419, 91337213, and 41675041) and China Meteorological Administration Special Public Welfare Research Fund (GYHY201306077).

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Fu, Y., Pan, X., Yang, Y. et al. Climatological characteristics of summer precipitation over East Asia measured by TRMM PR: A review. J Meteorol Res 31, 142–159 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-017-6156-9

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