Description: In-situ measurements of raindrop size distributions, fall velocities, drop number concentrations and surface rain rates recorded by an OTT Parsivel2 disdrometer named "PAR007" at a height of 180 meters in the meteorological tower of Cabauw. This highly unusual location for a precipitation sensor was specifically chosen to study the effect of wind, turbulence and shielding on raindrop size distributions, as well as to quantify the vertical variability of rain near the surface. Two other disdrometers "PAR001_Cabauw" and "PAR002_Cabauw" located on the ground, approximately 200 meters away can be used as a reference to assess biases and measurement uncertainty. The site also features a vertically profiling micro-rain radar named "MRR002_Cabauw".
Format: Each NetCDF file covers a full month of observations. The temporal resolution is 1 minute. Data are provided "as is", without any post-processing. The NetCDF files contain all relevant information about all the variables, attributes and units. The global attributes of the NetCDF files contain important information about the type of sensor, logging software, project contributors and history of the dataset. If a monthly file is missing, no data are available for this month.
Relevance: Optical disdrometer data are useful for studying the type, dynamics and microphysics of precipitation from the perspective of a fixed observer on the ground. The data can be used to help calibrate weather radars, improve quantitative precipitation estimates, calculate the absorption/attenuation/propagation of electromagnetic signals through the atmosphere, and quantify important physical quantities such as liquid water content, rain amount, intensity and kinetic energy.
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