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Tropospheric wind and humidity derived from spaceborne radar intensity and phase observations
Author(s) -
Hanssen Ramon,
Weinreich Ilona,
Lehner Susanne,
Stoffelen Ad
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/1999gl011012
Subject(s) - radar , remote sensing , mesoscale meteorology , environmental science , planetary boundary layer , geology , meteorology , synthetic aperture radar , boundary layer , satellite , climatology , geography , computer science , physics , telecommunications , astronomy , turbulence , thermodynamics
Causal connections between mesoscale wind patterns and moisture distribution in the lower boundary layer can be studied using satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations. Wind information is retrieved from radar backscatter intensity over water areas, whereas the moisture distribution is reflected in the radar signal delay. The latter can only be observed over land areas, using the interferometric combination of two radar images. This paper reports on the relation between wind and moisture associated with boundary layer rolls and with a cold‐frontal rain band. The combination of both signals, originating from one sensor, is used to infer a quantitative description of the underlying dynamical processes.