(Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences)

Passive microwave remote sensing of precipitation from platforms such as the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I), the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR), and the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM) has been a major focus in hydrological research for the past several years. Estimation of precipitation from these platforms relies on the accuracy of the particular retrieval algorithm being utilized. Retrieval algorithms are based on cloud radiation databases (CRDs) that relate in-situ measurements of brightness temperatures to a-priori microphysical profiles located in CRDs. A potential problem with a CRD retrieval based approach is that profiles can be chosen that are unrepresentative of the dynamical and thermodynamical state of the atmosphere. Recently, the concept of the Cloud Dynamics and Radiation Database (CDRD) for precipitation retrieval purposes has been introduced. The CDRD is an improved version of current CRDs. The CDRD contains the same information as present CRDs, but in addition contains information about the dynamical and thermodynamica