Open AccessPolarimetric Attenuation Correction in Heavy Rain at C Band
Author(s) -
Jae-Hoi Gu,
Alexander V. Ryzhkov,
P. Zhang,
Peter P. Neilley,
Michael Knight,
Brenton M. Wolf,
DongIn Lee
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied meteorology and climatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.079
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1558-8432
pISSN - 1558-8424
DOI - 10.1175/2010jamc2258.1
Subject(s) - attenuation , correction for attenuation , polarimetry , differential phase , remote sensing , radar , c band , weather radar , storm , environmental science , meteorology , geology , physics , optics , phase (matter) , scattering , telecommunications , computer science , quantum mechanics
The ability of C-band polarimetric radar to account for strong attenuation/differential attenuation is demonstrated in two cases of heavy rain that occurred in the Chicago, Illinois, metropolitan area on 5 August 2008 and in central Oklahoma on 10 March 2009. The performance of the polarimetric attenuation correction scheme that separates relative contributions of “hot spots” (i.e., strong convective cells) and the rest of the storm to the path-integrated total and differential attenuation has been explored. It is shown that reliable attenuation correction is possible if the radar signal is attenuated by as much as 40 dB. Examination of the experimentally derived statistics of the ratios of specific attenuation Ah and differential attenuation ADP to specific differential phase KDP in hot spots is included in this study. It is shown that these ratios at C band are highly variable within the hot spots. Validation of the attenuation correction algorithm at C band has been performed through cross-checking with S-band radar measurements that were much less affected by attenuation. In the case of the Oklahoma storm, a comparison was made between the data collected by closely located C-band and S-band polarimetric radars.