Regional Variability in Tropical Convection: Observations from TRMM

Abstract

Observation of the vertical profile of precipitation over the global Tropics is a key objective of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) because this information is central to obtaining vertical profiles of latent heating. This study combines both TRMM precipitation radar (PR) and Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS) data to examine ''wet-season'' vertical structures of tropical precipitation across a broad spectrum of locations in the global Tropics. TRMM-PR reflectivity data (2A25 algorithm) were utilized to produce seasonal mean threedimensional relative frequency histograms and precipitation ice water contents over grid boxes of approximately 5-10 in latitude and longitude. The reflectivity histograms and ice water contents were then combined with LIS lightning flash densities and 2A25 mean rainfall rates to examine regional relationships between precipitation vertical structure, precipitation processes, and lightning production.