Convective cell tracking using commercial microwave link rainfall observations with sub-minute temporal resolution

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F68407700%3A21110%2F19%3A00341035" target="_blank" >RIV/68407700:21110/19:00341035 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EMS2019/EMS2019-800.pdf" target="_blank" >https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EMS2019/EMS2019-800.pdf</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Convective cell tracking using commercial microwave link rainfall observations with sub-minute temporal resolution

Original language description

Rainfall retrieval from commercial microwave links (CMLs) have been tested extensively within various experiments and case studies during recent decade. CML rainfall retrieval is especially promising for ungauged regions, and cities, where the CML networks are densest; number of CMLs in cities often exceeds existing rainfall observations by two orders of magnitude. CMLs rainfall time series usually capture very well rainfall temporal dynamics, however, they are often biased. The bias can be especially high for shorter CMLs, which are sensitive to systematic errors due to wet antenna attenuation. However, even highly biased CMLs might still provide useful information on rainfall space-time patterns and rain cell motion, which could be used for quantifying displacement between rainfall observed by radar several hundred meters above ground and rainfall reaching ground. This contribution investigates capability of CMLs to track convective rain cells close to ground. The investigation uses virtual CML observations with real topology taken from mobile backhaul network of T-Mobile, CZ in Prague region. Virtual rainfall fields are used to simulate CML path-integrated rainfall observation. These virtual observations are then used to quantify speed and direction of rain cell motion. Finally, convective cell tracking is tested also on real-world CML data recorded with approx. 10 s temporal resolution and compared with C-band weather radar observations having 1 x 1 km2 spatial 5 min temporal resolution. Our initial results indicate that even biased CMLs could be useful for close-to-ground tracking of convective cells. This could enable in the future to better link radar and close-to-ground observations and provide basis for improved weather radar adjusting algorithms accounting e.g. for wind drift of raindrops.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10509 - Meteorology and atmospheric sciences

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA17-16389S" target="_blank" >GA17-16389S: Hydrological estimates from radiowave propagation in terrestial microwave network</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2019

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů