resulted in the same conclusions, albeit with less variability
between AEW phases, suggesting a robust relationship
between the convective metrics used in this study in each
region.
Low values of 85 GHz PCT are indicative of a large IWP
(e.g. Xu et al., 2010), while low values of 37 GHz PCT
are indicative of large ice particles or large amounts of
mixed-phase particles. Therefore to determine both liquid
and ice water contributions, IWP (Figure 14) and LWP
(Figure 15) fractions (IWP or LWP divided by the sum
of IWP and LWP, respectively) were calculated for every
PF in each region as a function of AEW regime. All
non-raining pixels were disregarded in the calculation of
IWC and LWC. Following separation into convective and
stratiform components, IWP and LWP fractions allow a
basic interpretation of precipitation processes. High IWP
fractions along with low LWP fractions suggest a strong
dependence on ice-based microphysics. On the other hand,
low IWP and high LWP fractions suggest strong warm-rain
processes.
The difference in stratiform and convective frequency
distributions is evident in each region. Higher (lower)
frequencies of high IWP (LWP) fractions were observed in
convective portions, with the reverse true for the stratiform
portion. Despite these similarities, large variability was
observed both between regions and across AEW regimes
for IWP and LWP fractions (Figures 14–15). Maritime
regions exhibited characteristics suggestive of warm-rain
processes. The increased contribution of ice microphysics