Geographical characteristics of raindrop size distribution for rainy season in Eastern China

The raindrop size distribution (DSD) reflects the size distribution of raindrop particles and is of great significance for studying the microphysical processes of precipitation and improving the accuracy of quantitative precipitation estimation. In this study, eight years of disdrometer data were used to analyse the characteristics of the DSD at different geographical locations (the island station ISL and the inland plain station INL) in eastern China to explore its geographical distribution characteristics. The results show that the peak values of N(D) at the ISL and INL stations appear at 0.56 mm and 0.69 mm in diameter, respectively. The ISL station has a higher N(D) for small particles and a lower N(D) for large particles. In terms of convective precipitation, the ISL station tends to be more maritime-like, while the INL station is more continental-like. In addition, the μ-Λ relationships obtained in this study indicate that for the same Λ, the μ value at the ISL station is less than that at the INL station. The diameters of most particles at the two stations are between 1 and 2 mm, and the range of μ values at the ISL station is larger. For stratiform (convective) precipitation, the Z-R relationships at the ISL and INL stations are Z = 255.2R^1.515 (Z = 133.7R^1.641) and Z = 298.8R^1.545 (Z = 206.4R^1.551), respectively, indicating that the Z-R relationships mainly depend on the precipitation type rather than the region. In INL, the collisional breakup process is more prominent, with approximately 17% of DSDs reaching EDSD, compared to only 10% at ISL.