Manufacturing Rainfall: A Case Study on the Measure of Violent Rain in China

• In Event: Navigating the Nexus: Governance, Tech, & Infrastructure in Crisis Management

Abstract

In the tradition of STS (Science and Technology Studies) research, scholars have recognized how the data in science is influenced and constructed by social factors. And Disaster research helps us understanding how science and politics interact. Following this research approach, this study discusses how the concept of "rainfall intensity" is defined and constructed. At the same time, this study is influenced by the philosophy of engineering. In STS research, technology is often a vassal of universal science, while the “ontology of engineering” places the specific technical choice in a more central position. In this case, the engineering definition of scientific concepts in turn influences the research of scientists.
Scholars in the field of science and environmental politics have long been concerned about the relationship between experts, governments, and the public. Our research puts the instrument manufacturers in a more important position than in previous studies, trying to introduce the concept of institutional complexity from new institutionalism. In our case, multiple institutions are intertwined, leading to the concept of rainfall intensity being overlooked.
Applying grounding theory, we plan to conduct interviews on scientific experts in the field of natural disasters, instrument manufacturers, instrument calibration parties, and weather department staffs, so as to exceed a single role perspective and obtain a comprehensive understanding of this issue.
We have already conducted preliminary interviews with rain gauge manufacturers, instrument calibration staffs, and environmental science experts. Our conclusion is that the lax requirement of rainfall intensity among national standards leads to a lack of motivation for gauge manufacturers to produce gauges that can reliably respond to extreme rainfall intensities. Scientists, subjecting to the dual constraints of empirical data and instruments, rarely deal with extreme rainfall intensity in their modelling. These gaps add up, causing the concept of "rainfall" failing to depict the extreme nature.

Authors

• Tianyang Lu, Peking University

• Zezheng Lin

• Yuan Zheng, Tsinghua University