Separate Poster Introduction: http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EMS2015/session/19937

Precipitation is a key element of the hydrological cycle. Its changes in totals, variability and extremes have a direct feedback to the community. Positive anomalies can cause floods, whereas droughts originate from negative anomalies. The comprehensive knowledge of former changes in precipitation occurrence and related local effects is essential for an adequate adaptation to projected future changes.
Despite the aforementioned relevance, the most recent IPCC AR5 WG1 report has again identified deficiencies in the capabilities of current precipitation monitoring data sets and gridded analysis in terms of coverage, geo-spatial resolution and data homogeneity. On the upside, recent advances towards an enhanced integration of the four major observational regimes (In-situ, Satellite, Radar, and Microwave-Link) in order to combine their regime specific strengths have emerged since AR5 but require a platform to synthesise efforts and approaches.
In addressing these needs this new session shall serve the inauguration of a platform for a scientific exchange serving strategic goals as follows
• Definition of observational requirements for “climate ready” monitoring reflecting state-of-the-art capabilities in in-situ and remote sensing techniques
• Introduction of concepts to utilize radar measurements in climatological context
• An European contribution to two WCRP GC on Underpinning and Predicting Weather and Climate Extremes and on Water Availability
• A knowledge base for the preparation of C3S proposals
• A regular account on advances on reference observational precipitation data sets
• Development of requirement specifications for the Level 0 measurements to be examined in the complementary general session on atmospheric measurements
• Report on advances in data storage, documentation and dissemination taking additional note on quickly emerging web-services technologies
For the precipitation parameter the scope of this session is meant to be truly complementary to the well-established cross-parameter ASI/OBS session on atmospheric measurements from local to regional scale.
This session invites papers regarding gridded precipitation analyses based on data sets from all observational regimes (Gauges, Satellite, Radar, and Microwave-Link) and their combination. Furthermore, papers dealing with interpolation techniques for precipitation are as much welcome as demonstrations and proposals for hydro-climatological assessments including trend analyses or drought monitoring, and analysis products ready for model verification across all relevant scales.