Disdrometer

The Thies CLIMA laser disdrometer measures the number, the size and the fall velocity of hydrometeors. The optical sensor generates a horizontal light beam, and when a particle falls through it, the receiving signal is reduced; the amplitude and the duration of the reduction are related to the particle size and the fall speed, respectively. The instrument produces a data matrix containing the number of particles counted (1-min resolution), their size and fall velocity. The Observatorymanages two disdrometer: the first operates since December 2014 at Mario Zucchelli Station, and the second installed in December 2021 at Concordia Station.