Precipitation Microphysics in Tropical Cyclones: A Global Perspective Using the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement Mission Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar

Precipitation microphysics in tropical cyclones (TCs) are often poorly represented in nu-merical simulations, which ultimately affects TC structure, evolution, and prediction. This provides a large incentive to better observe and understand the underlying microphysical processes in TCs in order to improve precipitation forecasts and improve warning operations. 59 TCs from 2014-2020 were matched up with overpasses from the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) on a global scale to identify cloud properties and associated precipitation processes by quantifying vertical slopes of reflectivity in the liquid and ice phase. Further, vertical profiles of reflectivity were partitioned into different 850-200 hPa shear-relative quadrants of each storm, different annuli from the storm center, and 6 TC ocean basins globally. Preliminary results showed the downshear-left quadrant exhibited the highest frequency of negative slopes of reflectivity in the liquid phase indicating collision-coalescence dominant precipitation. Additionally, all shear-relative quadrants revealed negative slopes of reflectivity in the ice phase implying ice hydrometeor growth. These findings can potentially be used to improve the representation of cloud properties and the accuracy of the DPR particle size distribution algorithm in TCs.