X-Band local area weather radar – preliminary calibration results

2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
N.E. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Weather Radar ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Rain Gauges ◽  
X Band ◽  
Danish Meteorological Institute ◽  
Typical Range ◽  
Meteorological Institute ◽  
Good Calibration

DHI has developed a cost-effective X-Band Local Area Weather Radar (LAWR) with a typical range (radius) of 60 km, 500 × 500 m areal resolution and 253 reflection levels. The development is performed in a co-operation with a number of European partners, including Danish Meteorological Institute. The specifications of the weather radar and preliminary results from the calibration are presented. Good calibration results have been obtained using high-resolution rain gauges.

scholarly journals Performance of high-resolution X-band weather radar networks – the PATTERN example

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. 8233-8270
Author(s):  
K. Lengfeld ◽  
M. Clemens ◽  
H. Münster ◽  
F. Ament
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Weather Radar ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Rain Event ◽  
Range Resolution ◽  
Radar Networks ◽  
X Band

Abstract. This publication intends to proof that a network of low-cost local area weather radars (LAWR) is a reliable and scientifically valuable complement to nationwide radar networks. A network of four LAWRs has been installed in northern Germany within the framework of the project Precipitation and Attenuation Estimates from a High-Resolution Weather Radar Network (PATTERN) observing precipitation with temporal resolution of 30 s, azimuthal resolution of 1° and spatial resolution of 60 m. The network covers an area of 60 km × 80 km. In this paper algorithms used to obtain undisturbed precipitation fields from raw reflectivity data are described and their performance is analysed. In order to correct for background noise in reflectivity measurements operationally, noise level estimates from the measured reflectivity field is combined with noise levels from the last 10 time steps. For detection of non-meteorological echoes two different kinds of clutter filters are applied: single radar algorithms and network based algorithms that take advantage of the unique features of high temporal and spatial resolution of the network. Overall the network based clutter filter works best with a detection rate of up to 70%, followed by the classic TDBZ filter using the texture of the logarithmic reflectivity field. A comparison of a reflectivity field from the PATTERN network with the product from a C-band radar operated by the German Meteorological Service indicates high spatial accordance of both systems in geographical position of the rain event as well as reflectivity maxima. A longterm study derives good accordance of X-band radar of the network with C-band radar. But especially at the border of precipitation events the standard deviation within a range gate of the C-band radar with range resolution of 1 km is up to 3 dBZ. Therefore, a network of high-resolution low-cost LAWRs can give valuable information on the small scale structure of rain events in areas of special interest, e.g. urban regions, in addition the nationwide radar networks.

scholarly journals Radar Applications in Northern Scotland (RAiNS)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan R Neely ◽  
Louise Parry ◽  
David Dufton ◽  
Lindsay Bennett ◽  
Chris Collier
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Weather Radar ◽  
Polarimetric Radar ◽  
Summer Period ◽  
Radar Observations ◽  
X Band ◽  
Precipitation Estimates ◽  
Radar Applications ◽  
Quantitative Precipitation Estimates ◽  
Hydrological Applications

AbstractThe Radar Applications in Northern Scotland (RAiNS) experiment took place from February to August 2016 near Inverness, Scotland. The campaign was motivated by the need to provide enhanced weather radar observations for hydrological applications for the Inverness region. Here we describe the campaign in detail and observations over the summer period of the campaign that show the improvements that high-resolution polarimetric radar observations may have on quantitative precipitation estimates in this region compared to concurrently generated operational radar quantitative precipitation estimates (QPE). We further provide suggestions of methods for generating QPE using dual-polarisation X-band radars in similar regions.

Quality control of rain data used for urban runoff systems

1998 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. K. Jørgensen ◽  
S. Rosenørn ◽  
H. Madsen ◽  
P. S. Mikkelsen
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Rain Gauges ◽  
Software Packages ◽  
Essential Input ◽  
Danish Meteorological Institute ◽  
And Storage ◽  
Rain Data ◽  
Meteorological Institute

When improving software packages such as MOUSE and SAMBA for designing sewers and storage basins, and simulating overflows and flooding the quality of the input becomes important. The essential input to these modelling tools are the historical rain series. This paper presents the procedures for collection and quality control of rain data from a network of tipping bucket rain gauges in Denmark carried out by the Danish Meteorological Institute. During rain, the RIMCO gauge counts the number of tips (each of 0.2 mm of precipitation) every minute. The quality control of the rain data includes an automatic and a manual bit marking, where the automatic control basically is pointing out minutes with extreme intensities. In the manual control, the maximum intensities as well as the daily totals of precipitation are inspected, using weather charts, intensity plots and precipitation sums of nearby Hellmann gauges. Shortcomings and improvements of the quality control are discussed. Although, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the quality control, long term corrections will always be necessary.

scholarly journals RadarNet-Sur First Weather Radar Network in Tropical High Mountains

2017 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 1235-1254 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jörg Bendix ◽  
Andreas Fries ◽  
Jorge Zárate ◽  
Katja Trachte ◽  
Rütger Rollenbeck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Weather Radar ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Radar Signal ◽  
High Mountains ◽  
Radar Network ◽  
X Band ◽  
Southern Ecuador

Abstract Weather radar networks are indispensable tools for forecasting and disaster prevention in industrialized countries. However, they are far less common in the countries of South America, which frequently suffer from an underdeveloped network of meteorological stations. To address this problem in southern Ecuador, this article presents a novel radar network using cost-effective, single-polarization, X-band technology: the RadarNet-Sur. The RadarNet-Sur network is based on three scanning X-band weather radar units that cover approximately 87,000 km2 of southern Ecuador. Several instruments, including five optical disdrometers and two vertically aligned K-band Doppler radar profilers, are used to properly (inter) calibrate the radars. Radar signal processing is a major issue in the high mountains of Ecuador because cost-effective radar technologies typically lack Doppler capabilities. Thus, special procedures were developed for clutter detection and beam blockage correction by integrating ground-based and satelliteborne measurements. To demonstrate practical applications, a map of areas frequently affected by intense rainfall is presented, based on a time series of one radar that has been in operation since 2002. Such information is of vital importance to, for example, infrastructure management because rain-driven landslides are a major issue for road maintenance and safety throughout Ecuador. The presented case study of exceptionally strong rain events during the recent El Niño in March 2015 highlights the system’s practicality in weather forecasting related to disaster management. For the first time, RadarNet-Sur warrants a spatial-explicit observation of El Niño-related heavy precipitation in a transect from the coast to the highlands in a spatial resolution of 500 m.

scholarly journals Multi-year 100-metre-scale urban precipitation study based on X-band radar observations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Finn Burgemeister ◽  
Marco Clemens ◽  
Felix Ament
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Measurement Errors ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Elevation Angle ◽  
Weather Radar ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Hourly Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Climatology ◽  
X Band ◽  
Precipitation Characteristics

<p>An operational, single-polarized X-band weather radar <span>monitors precipitation within a 20 km scan radius around</span> Hamburg’s city center for almost eight years. This weather radar operates at an elevation angle (~3.5°) with a high temporal (30 s), range (60 m), and sampling (1°) resolution refining observations of the German nationwide C-band radars. <span>Studies on short time periods (several months and case studies) proofs the performance of this low-cost local area weather radar. The synergy of observations of the X-band radar, vertically pointing micro rain radars, and rain gauges yields a reliable eight-year precipitation climatology with 100 m resolution. </span><span>The two guiding questions of this presentation are: </span><span>Is the variability of this precipitation climatology representative </span><span>and not contaminated by measurement errors</span><span>? </span><span>Which </span><span>sub-hourly precipitation characteristics </span><span>can we infer</span><span> from th</span><span>is</span><span> precipitation climatology?</span></p><p><span>S</span>everal sources of radar-based errors <span>were</span> <span>adjusted gradually</span> affecting th<span>e</span> <span>precipitation</span> estimate, <span>e.g.</span> the radar calibration, alignment, attenuation, noise, non-meteorologial echoes<span>. Additionally, statistical relations (</span><span><em>k</em></span><span>-</span><span><em>Z</em></span><span> and </span><span><em>Z</em></span><span>-</span><span><em>R</em></span><span> relation) increase the uncertainty of the precipitation estimate. However, the deployment of additional vertically pointing micro rain radars yields drop size distributions at relevant heights, which increases the data quality effectively and assess</span><span>es</span><span> the statistics of the long-term precipitation observations. The resulting climatology allows studies on the spatial and temporal scale of urban precipitation. We outline the performance of the climatology, present first results on sub-hourly precipitation characteristics and discuss open issues and limitations.</span></p><p>This multi-year urban precipitation analysis is groundwork for further hydrological research in an urban area within the project <em>Sustainable Adaption Scenarios for Urban Areas – Water from Four Sides</em> of the Cluster of Excellence <em>Climate Climatic Change, and Society</em> (CliCCS). Future urban precipitation studies will be improved by the extension of networked observations with a second X-band weather radar site and additional micro rain radars in Hamburg measuring since the beginning of 2021.</p>

scholarly journals Survey on Electromagnetic Interference in Weather Radars in Northwestern Italy

Environments ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. 126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattia Vaccarono ◽  
Chandra V. Chandrasekar ◽  
Renzo Bechini ◽  
Roberto Cremonini
Keyword(s):  
Data Quality ◽  
Electromagnetic Interference ◽  
Local Area Network ◽  
Weather Radar ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Electromagnetic Spectrum ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Primary Concern ◽  
Weather Radars ◽  
X Band

Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) is one of the main issues in weather radar community. Data quality and post-processing algorithm, such as quantitative precipitation estimation and hydrometeor classification, are often affected by interferences. C-band radars share their operational frequency band with Radio Local Area Network (RLAN) and Wireless Area Network (WLAN), which may cause harmful interferences in radar systems. Nowadays, in northwestern Italy, the X-band weather radar managed by Arpa Piemonte is also receiving interfering signals. This work aims to introduce the RFIs phenomena affecting both C-band and X-band weather radars in Piemonte region, Italy. A preliminary method to detect the interfering sources at C-band is discussed, cross-checking data available in the regional database of electromagnetic sources and in-field measurements. A six-day measurement campaign was performed using the X-band radar as receiving antenna to collect an extensive dataset of interfering signals. The polarimetric features of the acquired RFI dataset are presented. The X-band RFIs show a day–night pattern, likely caused by human-related activities. The growth of wireless telecommunication systems, such as HiperLAN in northwestern Italy, and the continuous demand of electromagnetic spectrum portions make the understanding of electromagnetic interferences in weather radars the primary concern to ensure the data quality.

scholarly journals Characterising patterns of heavy precipitation events in the eastern Mediterranean using a weather radar and convection-permitting WRF simulations

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moshe Armon ◽  
Francesco Marra ◽  
Yehouda Enzel ◽  
Dorita Rostkier-Edelstein ◽  
Efrat Morin
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Weather Radar ◽  
Heavy Precipitation ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Rain Gauges ◽  
Rainfall Patterns ◽  
Precipitation Events

Abstract. Heavy precipitation events (HPEs) can lead to natural hazards (floods, debris flows) and contribute to water resources. Rainfall patterns govern HPEs effects. Thus, a correct characterisation and prediction of rainfall patterns is crucial for coping with HPEs. Information from rain gauges is generally limited due to the sparseness of the networks, especially in presence of sharp climatic gradients. Forecasting HPEs depends on the ability of weather models to generate credible rainfall patterns. This paper characterises rainfall patterns during HPEs based on high-resolution weather radar data and evaluates the performance of a high-resolution, convection-permitting, Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in simulating these patterns. We identified 41 HPEs in the eastern Mediterranean from a 24-year radar record using local thresholds based on quantiles for different durations, and we ran model simulations of these events. For most durations, HPEs near the coastline are characterised by the highest rain intensities, however, for short durations, the highest rain intensities characterise the inland desert. During the rainy season, the centre-of-mass of the rain field progresses from the sea inland. Rainfall during HPEs is highly localised both in space (

scholarly journals Attenuation Calibration of an X-Band Weather Radar Using a Microwave Link

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 395-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Rahimi ◽  
A. R. Holt ◽  
G. J. G. Upton ◽  
S. Krämer ◽  
A. Redder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heavy Rainfall ◽  
Weather Radar ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Heavy Rain ◽  
Radar Signal ◽  
Convective Conditions ◽  
Correction Algorithm ◽  
Rain Gauges ◽  
X Band ◽  
Microwave Link

Abstract The attenuation of a radar signal is a serious problem facing meteorologists and hydrologists. In heavy rain, reflectivity information can be completely lost from large portions of a radar scan. The problem is particularly acute for X-band radars. Current methods of correcting for attenuation face many difficulties, mainly because the actual amount of attenuation at any given time is unknown. In this paper a backward-iterative attenuation-correction algorithm is presented that uses the attenuation measured by a microwave link with its receiver collocated with an X-band weather radar in Essen, Germany. Data are also available from a network of rain gauges located in the vicinity of the link path. This network provides a measure of “ground truth” rainfall against which radar estimates can be compared. The results show that the algorithm can recover much of the reflectivity information that is lost due to attenuation of the radar beam. The method is seen to be particularly effective in convective conditions where heavy rainfall can cause severe attenuation.

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