Multi-year precipitation characteristics based on in-situ and remote sensing observations at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

Abstract. Accurate precipitation data are essential for understanding the Arctic climate, yet estimates from satellite, re-analysis, or climate models remain uncertain. Ground-based observations, which are sparse in the Arctic, are needed for a better understanding of precipitation processes and, as reference points, can help to characterize uncertainties and improve precipitation estimates. We present extended precipitation measurements at the Arctic research station AWIPEV in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, consisting of a Pluvio precipitation gauge, a Parsivel disdrometer, and a micro rain radar. Analyzing four years of data (August 2017–December 2021), we characterized precipitation by amount, type, and frequency and also focused on extreme events. Monthly precipitation at Ny-Ålesund varied widely, from 1 to 155 mm. We also associated the contribution of weather systems, i.e., of atmospheric rivers (ARs), cyclones, and fronts, to precipitation amount. Though ARs (separated or co-located with other weather systems) occur only 8 % of the time at Ny-Ålesund, 43 % of the total precipitation amount is measured during these events and 22 % when only ARs are present. Cyclones contributed 40 % (21 %) of the total precipitation amount if all (separated) cyclone events are considered. Extreme precipitation events were largely associated with ARs, i.e. in 11 out of 12 cases. Determining precipitation occurrence depends very much on the observation method and the temporal resolution, from 1 % (Pluvio at 1-minute resolution) to 21 % (micro rain radar) and increased to 38 % with daily resolved Pluvio data. Identifying precipitation type solely through Parsivel remains challenging, and a more detailed evaluation using in-situ methods is needed.