Premium
Sensing Heavy Precipitation With GNSS Polarimetric Radio Occultations
Author(s) -
Cardellach E.,
Oliveras S.,
Rius A.,
Tomás S.,
Ao C. O.,
Franklin G. W.,
Iijima B. A.,
Kuang D.,
Meehan T. K.,
Padullés R.,
Torre Juárez M.,
Turk F. J.,
Hunt D. C.,
Schreiner W. S.,
Sokolovskiy S. V.,
Van Hove T.,
Weiss J. P.,
Yoon Y.,
Zeng Z.,
Clapp J.,
XiaSerafino W.,
Cerezo F.
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1029/2018gl080412
Subject(s) - polarimetry , remote sensing , radio occultation , precipitation , satellite , gnss applications , occultation , environmental science , geology , meteorology , geophysics , physics , astronomy , ionosphere , scattering , optics
This study presents, for the first time ever, occulting signals of the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSSs) acquired at two polarizations from a Low Earth Orbiter, and it shows that they sense heavy precipitation. The data sets are obtained from early stages of the Radio Occultation and Heavy Precipitation experiment aboard the PAZ satellite, launched in February 2018 and activated in May 2018. Preliminary calibration algorithms are applied to remove other systematic effects, and the resulting vertical profiles of polarimetric phase shift observations are compared to precipitation information from other missions. The analysis of the data shows consistency between Radio Occultation and Heavy Precipitation experiment aboard the PAZ satellite polarimetric phase shift measurements and presence of hydrometeors, with strong signatures from heavy precipitation. The polarimetric measurements also capture vertical features consistent with the vertical structures of precipitation.