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- Author or Editor: Daniel Sempere Torres x
- Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology x
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Abstract
The optical spectropluviometer is a shadowgraph instrument able to measure independently the equivalent diameter and the fall speed of raindrops at ground level. Hardware and software modifications are proposed and tested. A modern digital signal processing system allows for the simultaneous sampling and analyzing of the signal delivered by the sensor. The IR light transmission is pulsed to avoid interference with natural radiation and the protection of the optics is improved. The validation procedure consists of comparing the rain rates derived from the measured drop size distributions with rain rates delivered by nearby rain gauges. The results obtained during 65 storm events show that the proposed improvements reduce the bias of the rain-rate estimation from 34% to 16%. Suggestions are given to further improve the performance of this instrument.
Abstract
The optical spectropluviometer is a shadowgraph instrument able to measure independently the equivalent diameter and the fall speed of raindrops at ground level. Hardware and software modifications are proposed and tested. A modern digital signal processing system allows for the simultaneous sampling and analyzing of the signal delivered by the sensor. The IR light transmission is pulsed to avoid interference with natural radiation and the protection of the optics is improved. The validation procedure consists of comparing the rain rates derived from the measured drop size distributions with rain rates delivered by nearby rain gauges. The results obtained during 65 storm events show that the proposed improvements reduce the bias of the rain-rate estimation from 34% to 16%. Suggestions are given to further improve the performance of this instrument.
Abstract
Because echoes caused by nonmeteorological targets significantly affect radar scans, contaminated bins must be identified and eliminated before precipitation can be quantitatively estimated from radar measurements.
Under mean propagation conditions, clutter echoes (mainly caused by targets such as mountains or large buildings) can be found in almost fixed locations. However, in anomalous propagation conditions, new clutter echoes may appear (sometimes over the sea), and they may be difficult to distinguish from precipitation returns. Therefore, an automatic algorithm is needed to identify clutter on radar scans, especially for operational uses of radar information (such as real-time hydrology).
In this study, a new algorithm is presented based on fuzzy logic, using volumetric data. It uses some statistics to highlight clutter characteristics (namely, shallow vertical extent, high spatial variability, and low radial velocities) to output a value that quantifies the possibility of each bin being affected by clutter (in order to remove those in which this factor exceeds a certain threshold).
The performance of this algorithm was compared against that of simply removing mean clutter echoes. Satisfactory results were obtained from an exhaustive evaluation of this algorithm, especially in those cases in which anomalous propagation played an important role.
Abstract
Because echoes caused by nonmeteorological targets significantly affect radar scans, contaminated bins must be identified and eliminated before precipitation can be quantitatively estimated from radar measurements.
Under mean propagation conditions, clutter echoes (mainly caused by targets such as mountains or large buildings) can be found in almost fixed locations. However, in anomalous propagation conditions, new clutter echoes may appear (sometimes over the sea), and they may be difficult to distinguish from precipitation returns. Therefore, an automatic algorithm is needed to identify clutter on radar scans, especially for operational uses of radar information (such as real-time hydrology).
In this study, a new algorithm is presented based on fuzzy logic, using volumetric data. It uses some statistics to highlight clutter characteristics (namely, shallow vertical extent, high spatial variability, and low radial velocities) to output a value that quantifies the possibility of each bin being affected by clutter (in order to remove those in which this factor exceeds a certain threshold).
The performance of this algorithm was compared against that of simply removing mean clutter echoes. Satisfactory results were obtained from an exhaustive evaluation of this algorithm, especially in those cases in which anomalous propagation played an important role.
