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Large‐scale correlation of rainfall rate based on data from Spanish sites
Author(s) -
GarciadelPino Pedro,
Benarroch Ana,
Riera Jose M.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
international journal of satellite communications and networking
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.388
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1542-0981
pISSN - 1542-0973
DOI - 10.1002/sat.1070
Subject(s) - orography , computer science , satellite , scale (ratio) , environmental science , remote sensing , meteorology , cartography , geology , geography , precipitation , aerospace engineering , engineering
SUMMARY Modern and future satellite systems working in the Ka and Q/V bands often require the application of site diversity to mitigate the degradations caused by rain. Satellite systems operating in these bands may make use of multi‐beam techniques to provide high‐capacity services. To achieve an efficient performance in both techniques, precise information is necessary on the occurrence of simultaneous rain fades in various links under a given satellite coverage. This is attained through the knowledge of the spatial characteristics of rainfall rate over the area of interest. The availability of a large database of rain gauge data from about 50 sites in Spain has allowed the undertaking of a study on the large‐scale spatial distribution of rainfall rate. Joint distributions and correlation parameters have been investigated for pairs of sites, and experimental results have been compared with predictions based on the ITU‐R site diversity model, obtaining the best results when stratiform rainfall is dominant in both sites. Some statistical dependence has been found even for distances above 700 km. The values obtained from the statistical analysis have been represented taking a given site as reference in maps of contour lines using standard mapping procedures. Correlation parameters are expected to decrease with distance; however, the contour maps reveal a significant influence of climatic and geographic factors such as weather fronts, orography or the proximity to the sea. The statistics and maps obtained are useful to optimise both power sharing in multi‐beam satellite systems and the application of site diversity. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.