Doppler Weather Radar Research and Development
NSSL Project 5 – Investigation of the Use of Dual-Polarization Radar to Improve Quantitative Precipitation Estimation for Improving Flash Flood and Flood Detection, Warnings, and Forecasts:
Sensitivity Enhancement in the Dual-Polarization WSR-88D
Funding Type: CIMMS Task II
Objectives
Provide an alternative signal detection scheme that yields improved detection
over the current approach and compensates for the effects of signal-to-noise
ratio decrease.
Accomplishments
Currently the WSR-88D network uses only power estimates for signal censoring.
The planned network upgrade to dual polarization will result in 3dB
signal-to-noise ratio reduction because transmitter output will be
split between H and V channels. As a result, this will diminish radar
sensitivity if the current power based censoring scheme is retained.
The scheme that utilizes the weather signal coherency in sampletime
and across H and V channels has been identified. Considerable improvement
in signal detection compared to the currently utilized detection approach
was demonstrated, both in simulations and on real data. Potential for
even further enhancements to this novel approach was established.
This project is ongoing.
Publications
Ivic, I. R., and D. S. Zrnic, 2007: Use of coherency to improve signal
detection in dual-polarization weather radars. 33rd
International Conf. on Radar Meteorology, Cairns, Australia, Amer.
Meteor. Soc..