C.M.H. Unal

The polarization-dependent relation between radar backscatter from the ocean surface and surface wind vector at frequencies between 1 and 18 GHz

A series of airborne scatterometer measurements carried out with the DUTSCAT multifrequency airborne scatterometer are discussed. This study deals with the first results obtained from the analysis of these measurements. The objective of this activity is to establish a multifrequency dual-polarization radar signature database, and with it a multidimensional version of the current CMOD1 model. The main features of the data set are the following. The wind exponent of the upwind normalized radar cross section (NRCS) increases with frequency and incidence angle in the case of HH polarization. The upwind/downwind ratio is mainly negative at 20 degrees of incidence angle, always at C-, X-, and Ku1-bands. >

Retrieval of information about turbulence in rain by using Doppler-polarimetric Radar

This paper considers new possibilities of turbulence intensity retrieval by using Doppler and Doppler-polarimetric radar sounding. Peculiarities of microwave scattering on moving droplets of different size and shape underlie new methods that are introduced, discussed, and checked by using radar data

Combined Doppler and Polarimetric Radar Measurements: Correction for Spectrum Aliasing and Nonsimultaneous Polarimetric Measurements

Combining Doppler and polarimetric information is advantageous for atmospheric studies. On the one hand, Doppler information gives insight into the microphysical and dynamic properties of radar targets, that is, radial velocity and its variability. The polarization diversity, on the other hand, has a strong link to the microphysical properties of targets such as shape and orientation. Polarimetric measurements, however, have an adverse effect on Doppler processing. Measurements of the complete scattering matrix require at least two pulses and result in the reduction of the maximum unambiguous Doppler velocity that can lead to Doppler spectrum aliasing. Moreover, dynamic properties of targets, because of the nonsimultaneity of the measurements performed with different polarizations, affect the accuracy of polarimetric radar measurements. A solution to these two problems is given in this paper. It is shown that by applying a relatively simple processing technique the effect of nonsimultaneous polarimetric measurements can be reduced even in the case of strong Doppler spectrum aliasing. This leads to better estimates of the copolar cross-correlation coefficient. Furthermore, this processing results in the maximum unambiguous Doppler velocity as if no polarimetric measurements were performed, with the added advantage of obtaining the actual Doppler velocities. To illustrate the proposed processing technique, precipitation measurements taken with the Delft Atmospheric Research Radar (DARR) are used.

Spectral Polarimetric Radar Clutter Suppression to Enhance Atmospheric Echoes

The clutter present in the Doppler spectra of atmospheric targets can be removed by using polarimetry. The purpose is to suppress the Doppler velocity bins where spectral polarimetric parameters have atypical values. This procedure largely improves profiles of moments and polarimetric parameters of atmospheric targets. Several spectral polarimetric clutter-reduction techniques, which are based on thresholding and intended for real-time processing, are discussed in this paper. A new method, the double spectral linear depolarization ratio clutter-suppression technique, is proposed. Very satisfactory performances are obtained with this method, which can be used in the full range of elevations (08–908). Spectral polarimetric clutter-suppression techniques for real-time processing were studied for the S-band high-resolution Transportable Atmospheric Radar (TARA) profiler. For this study, precipitation, cloud, and clear-air scattering are considered examples of atmospheric echoes. After successful testing in 2008, the double spectral linear depolarization ratio filter was implemented in the real-time processing of the X-band scanning drizzle radar (IDRA).

Precipitation Measurement at CESAR, the Netherlands

Abstract The Cabauw Experimental Site for Atmospheric Research (CESAR) observatory hosts a unique collection of instruments related to precipitation measurement. The data collected by these instruments are stored in a database that is freely accessible through a Web interface. The instruments present at the CESAR site include three disdrometers (two on the ground and one at 200 m above ground level), a dense network of rain gauges, three profiling radars (1.3, 3.3, and 35 GHz), and an X-band Doppler polarimetric scanning radar. In addition to these instruments, operational weather radar data from the nearby (∼25 km) De Bilt C-band Doppler radar are also available. The richness of the datasets available is illustrated for a rainfall event, where the synergy of the different instruments provides insight into precipitation at multiple spatial and temporal scales. These datasets, which are freely available to the scientific community, can contribute greatly to our understanding of precipitation-related atmosp...

Calibration of a polarimetric radar using a rotatable dihedral corner reflector

Based on the existing mathematical formalisms of radar polarimetry, it is necessary to perform accurate and diversified polarimetric measurements in the real world to thoroughly investigate signature definition, identification, and classification of radar targets. For this study the Delft Atmospheric Research Radar (DARR) is used. This ground-based polarimetric FM-CW radar operates in the S-band. The purpose of the present paper is the polarimetric calibration of the DARR. Among the passive reflectors, a rotatable dihedral corner reflector is a suitable calibration object. It enables one to measure different scattering matrices with only one reflector. One alignment must be performed and the scattering matrices are measured at the same range. By measuring several scattering matrices, the accuracy of the calibration result can be estimated. A measurement campaign with a rotatable dihedral corner reflector was therefore performed. The experimental results and the calibration procedure are presented in this paper. >

A New Technique to Categorize and Retrieve the Microphysical Properties of Ice Particles above the Melting Layer Using Radar Dual-Polarization Spectral Analysis

Abstract In this study, a dual-polarization spectral analysis for retrieval of microphysical properties of ice hydrometeors is developed. It is shown that, by using simultaneous Doppler polarimetric observations taken at a 45° elevation angle, it is possible to discriminate between different types of ice particles. Particle size distribution parameters for maximally two dominating types of ice particles (aggregates and plates) observed above the melting layer are retrieved. Prior to the retrieval algorithm, a selection of possible types of ice particles based on environmental conditions is carried out. The retrieval procedure is based on a least squares optimization that simultaneously minimizes fit residuals in a Doppler power spectrum and spectral differential reflectivity. The proposed method is illustrated on transportable atmospheric radar (TARA) observations of stratiform rain collected on 19 September 2001 at Cabauw, Netherlands.

Dual-Polarization Spectral Analysis for Retrieval of Effective Raindrop Shapes

Abstract Dual-polarization radar observations of precipitation depend on size–shape relations of raindrops. There are several studies presented in literature dedicated to the investigation of this relation. In this work a new approach of investigating raindrop size–shape relation on short time and spatial scales from radar observations is presented. The presented method is based on the use of dual-polarization Doppler power spectral analysis. By measuring complete Doppler spectra at a sufficiently high elevation angle at two polarization settings, namely, horizontal and vertical, it is possible to retrieve drop size distribution (DSD) parameters, ambient air velocity, spectral broadening, and the slope of the assumed linear dependence of raindrop size–shape relation. This paper is mainly focused on the development of the retrieval algorithm and analysis of its performance. As a part of the proposed method an efficient algorithm for DSD parameter retrieval was developed. It is shown that the DSD parameter ...

Improved Polarimetric Calibration for Atmospheric Radars

Polarization properties of radar waves that are scattered from atmospheric objects are of great interest in meteorological studies. However, polarimetric radar measurements are often not sufficiently accurate for retrieving physical properties of targets. To compensate for errors, radar polarimetric calibration is applied. Typical calibrations are performed based on measurements of point targets with known scattering matrices located in the boresight of the antenna. Such calibration takes into account the polarization state of the antenna pattern only at one point. Since radar measurements of atmospheric phenomena involve distributed targets that fill the full antenna beam, point target radar calibrations are inadequate for meteorological studies. This paper explains in detail the effects of the complete antenna patterns on weather echoes. It is shown that the conventional polarimetric calibration can be significantly improved by incorporating light-rain (,20 dBZ) zenith-pointing measurements into the calibration procedure. As a result, the sensitivity of cross-polar measurements can be improved by 7 dB on average. Also it is shown that the bias in co-cross-polar correlation coefficient can be reduced.

A new method to separate ground clutter and atmospheric reflections in the case of similar Doppler velocities

This paper introduces a new ground clutter suppression technique which preserves weather echoes. This clutter suppression method uses both statistical and polarimetric properties of the target and clutter. This technique is intended for use in atmospheric studies for weather echoes the spectral properties of which do not differ much from those of ground clutter. This technique can be applied both to the total signal or to its separate Doppler frequency components.