Evaluation of Underwater Rainfall Measurements During the Ionian Sea Rainfall Experiment

Rainfall on the sea surface generates a loud and distinctive sound underwater. This sound propagates downward and attenuates, producing an effective listening area or an equivalent “ catchment basin” for a listening device that is a function of depth and frequency. Acoustical measurements of rainfall are reported from four passive aquatic listeners (PALs) at 60-, 200-, 1000-, and 2000-m depths from a mooring in the Ionian Sea off the southwestern coast of Greece (37N, 21.5E) from January to April 2004. These measurements are compared to colocated high-resolution X-band dual-polarization (XPOL) radar rainfall measurements. The XPOL radar reports the spatial distribution of rainfall variability over the listening areas of the PALs. Four quality-controlled rainfall events, including drizzle, squall line, and heavy rainfall, are presented in this study. The radar rainfall is spatially averaged over the mooring and compared with the four different acoustic measurements at different depths. To understand the issue of spatial averaging, quantitative comparisons are presented, showing a high correlation between the acoustic measurements and the area-averaged radar estimates at corresponding resolutions.