Premium
Liquid water content estimates using simultaneous S and K a band radar measurements
Author(s) -
Ellis Scott M.,
Vivekanandan Jothiram
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1029/2010rs004361
Subject(s) - radar , remote sensing , liquid water content , environmental science , attenuation , x band , meteorology , rainwater harvesting , volume (thermodynamics) , echo (communications protocol) , polarimetry , liquid water , geology , optics , physics , cloud computing , scattering , computer science , telecommunications , quantum mechanics , biology , operating system , ecology , computer network , earth science
A technique for the estimation of total liquid water content (LWC; the sum of cloud water and rainwater contents) using simultaneous S and K a band scanning radar observations is proposed and tested using the National Center for Atmospheric Research simultaneous S band and K a band dual‐polarimetric (S‐PolKa) radar system. The sources of error for this wavelength pair are evaluated, and the methods to mitigate them are discussed. The results are LWC estimates at each radar volume that are equivalent to specifying a reflectivity (Z) – LWC relation constrained by the measured attenuation over 2 km radar ray segments. Because the radars are scanning, the LWC can be mapped out over the spatial volume and temporal evolution of the clouds. The method produces reasonable results that qualitatively compare well to in situ aircraft observations.