DOE/SC-ARM-TR-110

Rain Gauge
Instrument Handbook

MJ Bartholomew

January 2016
 DISCLAIMER

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the U.S.

Government. Neither the United States nor any agency thereof, nor any
of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes
any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or
usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed,
or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.
Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service
by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not
necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or
favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof. The views and
opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect
those of the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.
 DOE/SC-ARM-TR-110

Rain Gauge Instrument Handbook

MJ Bartholomew

January 2016

Work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy,

Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research
 MJ Bartholomew, January 2016, DOE/SC-ARM-TR-110

Acronyms and Abbreviations

ARM Atmospheric Radiation Measurement
DIST disdrometer
DQ data quality
LED light-emitting diode
PM planned maintenance
QME quality measurement experiment
RMSE root-mean-square error
VAP value-added products
VDIS video disdrometer

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Contents
1.0 General Overview ................................................................................................................................. 1
2.0 Contacts ................................................................................................................................................ 1
3.0 Data Description and Examples ........................................................................................................... 2
3.1 Data File Contents ........................................................................................................................ 2
3.2 Primary Variables......................................................................................................................... 2
3.3 Expected Uncertainty ................................................................................................................... 3
3.4 Definition of Uncertainty ............................................................................................................. 4
3.5 Diagnostic Variables .................................................................................................................... 4
3.6 Dimensional Variables ................................................................................................................. 4
4.0 Data-Quality Flags................................................................................................................................ 5
5.0 Data-Quality Health and Status ............................................................................................................ 6
5.1 Data Reviews by Instrument Mentor............................................................................................ 6
5.2 Data Assessments by Site Scientists/Data-Quality Office ........................................................... 7
5.3 Value-Added Products and Quality Measurement Experiments .................................................. 7
6.0 Instrument Details................................................................................................................................. 7
6.1 Detailed Description..................................................................................................................... 7
6.2 List of Components ...................................................................................................................... 7
7.0 Data-Acquisition Cycle ........................................................................................................................ 9
8.0 Processing Received Signals ................................................................................................................ 9
9.0 Siting Requirements ............................................................................................................................. 9
10.0 Calibration .......................................................................................................................................... 10
11.0 User Manuals ...................................................................................................................................... 10
12.0 Routine Operation and Maintenance .................................................................................................. 10
12.1 Frequency ................................................................................................................................... 10
12.2 Inspection of Site Ground Near the Instrument.......................................................................... 10
12.3 Visual Inspection of Instrument Components ............................................................................ 10
12.3.1 Conduit, Cables, and Connectors .................................................................................... 10
12.3.2 Check Status of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) on CR1000 Data Logger ........................ 10
12.3.3 Check Status of Power LED on Disdrometer Processor ................................................. 11
12.3.4 Check Clock Values Shown on LoggerNet Connect Screen........................................... 11
12.4 Active Maintenance and Testing Procedures ............................................................................. 11
12.4.1 Rain Gauge ...................................................................................................................... 11
12.4.2 Rain Gauge Tip Test ....................................................................................................... 11
13.0 Software Documentation .................................................................................................................... 12
14.0 Supplemental Information .................................................................................................................. 12
14.1 Formulas Used in Data Processing............................................................................................. 12

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14.2 Drop-Size Classes ...................................................................................................................... 13

Figures
1 Disdrometer wiring diagram ....................................................................................................... 8
2 Disdrometer and tipping bucket system enclosure 1 .................................................................. 8
3 Disdrometer and tipping bucket system enclosure 2 .................................................................. 9

Tables
1 Tipping bucket rain gauge variables, RAIN datastream ............................................................. 2
2 New variables for RAIN datastream for weighing bucket gauges.............................................. 3
3 Tipping bucket dimensional variables ........................................................................................ 4
4 Weighing bucket dimensional variables ..................................................................................... 5
5 Tipping bucket data-quality flags ............................................................................................... 5
6 New data-quality flags for RAIN datstream ............................................................................... 6

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1.0 General Overview

To improve the quantitative description of precipitation processes in climate models, the Atmospheric
Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility deployed rain gauges located near
disdrometers (DISD and VDIS datastreams). This handbook deals specifically with the rain gauges that
make the observations for the RAIN datastream. Other precipitation observations are made by the surface
meteorology instrument suite (i.e., MET datastream).

2.0 Contacts
Mentor

Mary Jane Bartholomew

Brookhaven National Laboratory
MS 490D
Upton, NY 11973
Phone: 631-344-2444
Fax: 631-344-2060
E-mail: [email protected]

Instrument Developers

Tipping Buckets
NovaLynx Corp.
Grass Valley, California
www.novalynx.com

Weighing Bucket Rain Gauges

Belfort Instrument Company
727 Wolfe St.
Baltimore, MD 21213
ww.belfortinstrument.com

Deployment Locations and History

Tipping Buckets Begin End

Darwin, ARM TWPC3 February 2006 November 30, 2010
Southern Great Plains, ARMC1 April, 2006 September 9, 2010

Weighing Bucket Rain Gauges Begin End

Darwin, ARMTWPC3 December, 2010 January 2015
Southern Great Plains ARMC1 September, 2010 Ongoing
Manus, ARM TWPC1 December, 2010 January 2015
ENA December, 2013 Ongoing

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Near-Real-Time Data Plots

http://plot.dmf.arm.gov/plotbrowser/

3.0 Data Description and Examples

3.1 Data File Contents

Datastreams

Where xxx = three letter site designation, n = the site number

Rain Gauges

XxxrainCn.00 tipping bucket and weighing bucket

XxxrainCn.b1 tipping bucket and weighing bucket
XxxrainauxCn.00 tipping bucket only
XxxraiauxnCn.b1 tipping bucket only

3.2 Primary Variables

The primary variables for the tipping bucket and the weighing bucket rain gauges are listed in Table 1 and
Table 2, respectively.

Table 1. Tipping bucket rain gauge variables, RAIN datastream.

Measurement
Quantity Variable Interval Unit
seconds since YYYY-mm-dd
Base time in epoch base_time 1 min
XX:XX:XX X:XX
seconds since YYYY-mm-dd
Time offset from base_time time_offset 1 min
XX:XX:XX X:XX
seconds since YYYY-mm-dd
Time offset from midnight time 1 min
XX:XX:XX X:XX
a
North latitude lat Constant degrees
a
East longitude lon Constant degrees
a
Altitude alt Constant meters above sea level
Instrument serial number serial_number Constant
Calibration date calib_date Constant
Precipitation precip_tbrg 1 min millimeters
Rainfall rate rain_rate 1 min millimeters/hr
a
lat/lon/alt refer to the ground where the instrument is sited, NOT the height of the sensor.

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Table 2. New variables for RAIN datastream for weighing bucket gauges.
Measurement
Quantity Variable Interval Unit
seconds since YYYY-mm-dd
Base time in epoch base_time 1 min
XX:XX:XX X:XX
seconds since YYYY-mm-dd
Time offset from base_time time_offset 1 min
XX:XX:XX X:XX
seconds since YYYY-mm-dd
Time offset form midnight time 1 min
XX:XX:XX X:XX
a
North latitude lat Constant Degrees
a
East longitude lon Constant Degrees
a
Altitude alt Constant Meters above sea level
instrument serial number serial_number Constant
Precipitation amount precip 1 min Millimeters
Precipitation rate precip_rate 1 min Millimeters/hour
Sensor 1 temperature temp1 1 min Degrees C
Sensor 2 temperature temp 2 1 min Degrees C
Sensor 3 temperature temp3 1 min Degrees C
Sensor weight 1 weight1 1 min kg
Sensor weight 2 weight2 1 min kg
Sensor weight 3 weight3 1 min kg
Sensor 1 frequency frequency1 1 min Hz
Sensor 2 frequency frequency2 1min Hz
Sensor 3 frequency frequency3 1 min Hz
Logger panel temperature ptemp 1 min Degrees C
Logger minimum voltage volt_min 1min volts
Bucket total weight total_weight 1min kg
Bucket total mm of
total_mm 1 min Millimeters
precipitation
scans_per_minu
Logger scan total 1 min Unitless
te
Sensor status stat_latch 1 min Unitless
Sensor error error_latch 1 min Unitless
a
lat/lon/alt refer to the ground where the instrument is sited, NOT the height of the sensor.

3.3 Expected Uncertainty

Impact disdrometers measure rain drop size over the range of 0.3 to 5.4 mm. The expected uncertainty is
3% of drop diameter for those drops landing on the very center of the sensor. Mainly because the
sensitivity of the sensor is somewhat dependent on the location of a drop impact on the sensitive surface
of the sensor cone, the pulse amplitudes of drops of equal diameter will form a distribution around the
average amplitude. The standard deviation of this distribution, transformed into drop diameters, is
approximately ±5% if the drops are distributed evenly over the sensitive surface. The specified accuracy
of a drop-size measurement of ±5% of the measured drop diameter means that the average measured

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diameter of a large number of drops of equal diameter, evenly distributed over the sensitive surface of the
sensor will be within 5% of their actual diameter.

Precipitation amounts measured by the tipping bucket gauges and weighing bucket gauges are reported
every minute with an uncertainty of 0.01 mm; rain rates have an uncertainty of 0.6 mm/hr.

3.4 Definition of Uncertainty

We define uncertainty as the range of probable maximum deviation of a measured value from the true
value within a 95% confidence interval. Given a bias (mean) error B and uncorrelated random errors
characterized by a variance , the root-mean-square error (RMSE) is defined as the vector sum of these.

2 1/ 2
R M S BE2

(B may be generalized to be the sum of the various contributors to the bias and 2 the sum of the
variances of the contributors to the random errors). To determine the 95% confidence interval, we use the
Student’s t distribution, tn;0.025
Then, the uncertainty is calculated as twice the RMSE.

3.5 Diagnostic Variables

When the rainfall rate is between 1 and 10 mm/hr for several hours, a comparison with the tipping bucket
rain gauge is warranted. In such cases, the total rain amounts over the event should agree to within 15%.
Otherwise, the best indicators of instrument health and performance are carried out by monitoring the
quality control flags discussed in the next section.

3.6 Dimensional Variables

Dimensional variables for the tipping bucket and weighing bucket gauges are given in Table 3 and Table
4, respectively.

Table 3. Tipping bucket dimensional variables.

Measurement
Quantity Variable Interval Unit
Seconds since YYYY-mm-
Base time in epoch base_time 1 min or 30 min
dd XX:XX:XX X:XX
Seconds since YYYY-mm-
Time offset from base_time time_offset 1 min or 30 min
dd XX:XX:XX X:XX
Seconds since YYYY-mm-
Time offset form midnight time 1 min or 30 min
dd XX:XX:XX X:XX
a
North latitude lat Once Degrees
a
East longitude lon Once Degrees
a
Altitude alt Once Meters above sea level
a
lat/lon/alt refer to the ground where the instrument is sited, NOT the height of the sensor.

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Table 4. Weighing bucket dimensional variables.

Quantity Variable Measurement Interval Unit
Seconds since YYYY-mm-
Base time in epoch base_time 1 min or 30 min
dd XX:XX:XX X:XX
seconds since YYYY-mm-
Time offset from base_time time_offset 1 min or 30 min
dd XX:XX:XX X:XX
seconds since YYYY-mm-
Time offset form midnight time 1 min or 30 min
dd XX:XX:XX X:XX
a
North latitude lat Once Degrees
a
East longitude lon Once Degrees
a
Altitude alt Once Meters above sea level
a
lat/lon/alt refer to the ground where the instrument is sited, NOT the height of the sensor.

4.0 Data-Quality Flags

If data are missing for a sample time, a “missing_value” value of -999 is assigned to that field. Data-
quality flags for the tipping bucket and weighing bucket rain gauges are provided in Table 5 and Table 6
respectively.

Table 5. Tipping bucket data-quality flags.

Measurement
Quantity Variable Interval Minimum Maximum Delta
Sample time qc_time 1 min
qc_precip_tbr
Precipitation total 1 min 0 10 N/A
g
Battery voltage qc_vbat 60 min 9.6 16 N/A
Battery minimum qc_batt_min 60 min 9.6 16
Battery maximum qc_batt_max 60 min 9.6 None
qc_panel_tem
Panel temperature 60 min -25.0 50.0 N/A
p
Panel temperature
qc_panel_min 60 min -25.0 50.0 N/A
minimum
Panel temperature
qc_panel_max 60 min -25.0 50.0 N/A
maximum

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Table 6. New data-quality flags for RAIN datastream (weighing bucket gauges).
Measurement
Quantity Variable Interval Minimum Maximum
Time offset from base_time qc_time_offset 1 min
Time offset form midnight time 1 min 0 86,400
Precipitation amount qc_precip 1 min -10 200
Precipitation rate qc_precip_rate 1 min -600 1200
Sensor 1 temperature qc_temp1 1 min -40 100
Sensor 2 temperature qc_temp 2 1 min -40 100
Sensor 3 temperature qc_temp3 1 min -40 100
Sensor weight 1 qc_weight1 1 min 0.33 8
Sensor weight 2 qc_weight2 1 min 0.33 8
Sensor weight 3 qc_weight3 1 min 0.33 8
Sensor 1 frequency qc_frequency1 1 min
Sensor 2 frequency qc_frequency2 1 min
Sensor 3 frequency qc_frequency3 1 min
Logger panel temperature qc_ptemp 1 min -40 100
Logger minimum voltage qc_volt_min 1 min 8 20
Bucket total weight qc_total_weight 1 min 1 8
Bucket total mm of
qc_total_mm 1 min -20 200
precipitation
qc_scans_per_min
Logger scan total 1 min 16 21
ute
Sensor status qc_stat_latch 1 min 000 111
Sensor error qc_error_latch 1 min 0 1

5.0 Data-Quality Health and Status

The following links go to current data-quality health and status results:
DQ HandS (Data-Quality Health and Status)
NCVweb for interactive data plotting using.

The tables and graphs shown at these sites contain the techniques used by ARM’s data-quality analysts,
instrument mentors, and site scientists to monitor and diagnose data-quality.

5.1 Data Reviews by Instrument Mentor

QC frequency: Once or twice a week
QC delay: Three days behind the current day
QC type: DSview plots for instrument operation status, otherwise DQ HandS diagnostic plots
Inputs: None
Outputs: Data-Quality Problem Report and Data-Quality Report as needed
Reference: None.

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5.2 Data Assessments by Site Scientists/Data-Quality Office

All Data-Quality Office and most Site Scientist techniques for checking have been incorporated within
DQ HandS and can be viewed there.

5.3 Value-Added Products and Quality Measurement Experiments

Many of the scientific needs of the ARM Program are met through the analysis and processing of existing
data products into “value-added” products, or VAPs. Despite extensive instrumentation deployed at the
ARM sites, there will always be quantities of interest that are either impractical or impossible to measure
directly or routinely. Physical models using ARM instrument data as inputs are implemented as VAPs
and can help fill some of the unmet measurement needs of the program. Conversely, ARM produces some
VAPs, not in order to fill unmet measurement needs, but to improve the quality of existing measurements.
In addition, when more than one measurement is available, ARM also produces “best estimate” VAPs. A
special class of VAP, called a Quality Measurement Experiment (QME), does not output geophysical
parameters of scientific interest. Rather, a QME adds value to the input datastreams by providing for
continuous assessment of the quality of the input data based on internal consistency checks, comparisons
between independent similar measurements, or comparisons between measurement with modeled results,
and so forth. For more information, see VAPs and QMEs web page.

6.0 Instrument Details

6.1 Detailed Description
A detailed discussion of the disdrometer instrumentation and technique can be found in Section 9 of the
users handbook. See 260-2500e-manual.pdf for a discussion of the tipping bucket rain gauge. See Belfort
AEPG Manual Rev 11162012 for weighing bucket.

6.2 List of Components

The sensors are well described in the links mentioned above. The other components of the system
comprise the data acquisition system. Two waterproof enclosure boxes house the electronics used to
collect and send the data to the site data management facility. Figure 1 shows the wiring diagram, and
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show close-up views of the data acquisition electronics.

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Figure 1. Disdrometer wiring diagram.

Figure 2. Disdrometer and tipping bucket system enclosure 1.

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Figure 3. Disdrometer and tipping bucket system enclosure 2.

7.0 Data-Acquisition Cycle

During normal operation, both the disdrometer and the rain gauge make measurements once a minute.

8.0 Processing Received Signals

The manufacturer of the disdrometer provides software for data acquisition, analysis, and inspection. The
program is called Disdrodata, and it runs on a personal computer, which in this case is an ARM Core PC,
Dell GX620 running Windows XP.

Data acquisition for the tipping bucket rain gauge is carried out with a CR1000 Campbell Scientific data
logger.

9.0 Siting Requirements

The site requirements for the rain gauges include a solid footing. A wind screen will be required for an
open Southern Great Plains prairie installation and may be needed at the ARM Darwin site as well.
Nearby objects should be placed away at a distance least twice their height. If snowfall could occur at the
site, the opening of the gauge should be above average snow level.

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10.0 Calibration
Tipping bucket gauges should follow the calibration procedures used for the ARM MET system.
Currently, a tip test is conducted once every 2 weeks. When ARM’s dynamic calibration system is ready,
a full calibration should be done once a year.

11.0 User Manuals

Tipping Bucket Manual - 260-2500e-manual.pdf
Weighing Bucket Manual - Belfort AEPG Manual Rev 11162012

12.0 Routine Operation and Maintenance

12.1 Frequency
Weekly

12.2 Inspection of Site Ground Near the Instrument

Visually check the grounds around the instrument for hazards such as rodent burrows, settling in buried
conduit trenches, and insect nests.

Checklist Response:
No Problems Noted
Problem - Enter any applicable comments for this planned maintenance (PM) Activity

12.3 Visual Inspection of Instrument Components

12.3.1 Conduit, Cables, and Connectors

Check that all the conduits on the bottom of the control boxes are secure. Check all conduits from the
control boxes to the sensors for damage. Check all sensor wires inside the control box for tightness and
damage. Check all the connections at the sensors for damage, water intrusion, and tightness.

Checklist Response:
No Problems Noted
Problem - Enter any applicable comments for this PM Activity

12.3.2 Check Status of Light-Emitting Diode (LED) on CR1000 Data Logger

The LED should flash once every second during normal operation.

Checklist Response:
No Problems Noted

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Problem - Enter any applicable comments for this PM Activity

12.3.3 Check Status of Power LED on Disdrometer Processor

The green LED light on the power switch should be lit.

Checklist Response:
No Problems Noted
Problem - Enter any applicable comments for this PM Activity

12.3.4 Check Clock Values Shown on LoggerNet Connect Screen

The station clock should automatically be set to the server clock if times differ by 1 second or more. This
automatic check is done once a day by the LoggerNet program. The times should never differ by more
than 1 minute.

Checklist Response:
No Problems Noted
Problem - Enter any applicable comments for this PM Activity

12.4 Active Maintenance and Testing Procedures

12.4.1 Rain Gauge

Remove the rain gauge funnel and ensure that both the large and small funnels are clear of debris. Check
the wiring and connector for tightness and the housing for debris and damage. Inspect all conduits and
cables. Re-install the rain gauge funnel.

Checklist Response:
No Problems Noted
Problem - Enter any applicable comments for this PM Activity

12.4.2 Rain Gauge Tip Test

1. Set flag 7 to high using the port and flags utility within the LoggerNet program running on the
system’s computer. and log the time when the flag was set.
2. A red led should now light up on Com port 5 of the CR1000 device in Enclosure 1.
3. Remove the funnel from the top of the rain gauge and manually tip the rain gauge bucket several
times to make sure that it is free to move.
4. If desired, the flag_tot variable can be checked. It should be equal the number of manual tips.
5. Check the output of variable rain_mm. It should be equal to # tips × 0.254.
6. Reset flag 7 to low or 0, and log the time that the flag was reset.

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Checklist Response:
No problems noted
Problem - Enter any applicable comments for this PM Activity

13.0 Software Documentation

Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge
Data logger script
File splitting script
Ingest software

14.0 Supplemental Information

14.1 Formulas Used in Data Processing

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14.2 Drop-Size Classes

Drop-Size Output Lower Diameter
Class in Code Threshold of Average Fall Velocity of Interval of
DISDROD of Drop Diameter of a Drop with Drop-Size
ATA Processor Diameter; Drops in Class Diameter Di
Program RD-80 mm 1 (Di), mm (vDi), m/s mm
1 1-13 0.313 0.359 1.435 0.092
2 14-23 0.405 0.455 1.862 0.100
3 24-31 0.505 0.551 2.267 0.091
4 32-38 0.596 0.656 2.692 0.119
5 30-44 0.715 0.771 3.154 0.112
6 45-54 0.827 0.913 3.717 0.172
7 55-62 0.999 1.116 4.382 0.233
8 63-69 1.232 1.331 4.986 0.197
9 70-75 1.429 1.506 5.423 0.153
10 76-81 1.582 1.665 5.793 0.166
11 82-87 1.748 1.912 6.315 0.329
12 88-93 2.077 2.259 7.009 0.364
13 94-98 2.441 2.584 7.546 0.286
14 99-103 2.727 2.869 7.903 0.284
15 104-108 3.011 3.198 8.258 0.374
16 109-112 3.385 3.544 8.556 0.319
17 113-117 3.704 3.916 8.784 0.423
18 118-121 4.127 4.350 8.965 0.446
19 122-126 4.573 4.859 9.076 0.572
20 127 5.145 5.373 9.137 0.455

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