ATOC 4880/5880
Mesoscale Meteorology
Radar Fundamentals
Spring 2023
SEEC Bldg., Room N129
Tuesdays and Thursdays 11:30 am –12:45 pm
Dr. David Kingsmill
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Varieties
• Ground-based, airborne, satellite
• Scanning, profiling
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Basic Radar Concepts
RADAR: RAdio Detection And Ranging
Radar Transmits Pulse Radar Receives
of Radiation Backscattered Radiation
Radiation is actually scattered in all directions;
the radar just receives the backscattered component
Graphics from University of Illinois
[Link]
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Basic Radar Concepts
Range is determined by the time it
takes a pulse to travel from the radar
to a target and then back to the radar
𝑅 In general, a radar receives
backscattered radiation from
a field of distributed targets
𝑐𝑡
𝑅=
2
where 𝑡 is the round trip time and
𝑐 is the speed of light
Graphics from University of Illinois
[Link]
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Basic Radar Concepts
– l typically 3 mm – 10 cm
– Basic operation:
• Transmitter
• Switch
• Antenna
• Receiver (range, power)
• Phase detector (velocity)
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Basic Radar Concepts
– Shape and width of a radar beam
– In addition to clouds and precipitation, radar can detect dust,
bugs, birds, and aircraft
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Scanning
Common Scan Modes
Plan Position Indicator (PPI):
Radar holds its elevation constant and
varies its azimuth.
Range Height Indicator (RHI):
Radar holds its azimuth constant and
varies its elevation.
Graphics from University of Illinois
[Link]
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Scanning
Examples of Specialized Scanning
Radars on the NOAA-P3’s
Radar on the Wyoming King Air
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Reflectivity
𝜋5 𝐾 2 6
• Rayleigh scattering (𝐷 <<l) 𝜎= 4
𝐷
𝜆
where 𝜎 is the scattering cross section, 𝐷 is the particle
diameter and 𝐾 2 is the dielectric constant:
𝐾𝑤 2 = 0.93 𝐿𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝐾𝑖 2 = 0.197 (𝐼𝑐𝑒)
• Radar Reflectivity Factor (𝑍)
𝑃𝑟 𝑅 2
mm6 𝐾 2𝑍
𝑍 = 𝑛𝐷 6 = 𝐶𝑅 → 𝑃𝑟 =
𝐾2 m3 𝐶𝑅 𝑅2
where the summation is over all scatterers of diameter 𝐷 and
number concentration 𝑛 in the sampling volume, 𝑃𝑟 is the
returned power from the radar, 𝑅 is the range from the radar
and 𝐶𝑅 is a radar-specific constant.
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Reflectivity
• Equivalent radar reflectivity factor (𝑍𝑒 )
– Radar processors assume scatterers are liquid water
𝑅 2 𝑃𝑟 𝐶𝑅 𝑍 0.93 𝑍 2
𝑍𝑒 = = 2
→ ≅ 4.7 if 𝐾 = 0.197
0.93 𝑍𝑒 𝐾 𝑍𝑒
• Logarithmic units are typically employed
𝑑𝐵𝑍𝑒 ≡ 10 log10 𝑍𝑒
• Typical values
– drizzle, light snow (0 to 10 dBZe)
– light to moderate rain, heavy snow (10 to 30 dBZe)
– melting snow (30 to 45 dBZe)
– moderate to heavy rain (30 to 60 dBZe)
– hail (60 to 70 dBZe)
– clear air (-5 to 30 dBZe)
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Reflectivity
Thunderstorm over Alabama
RHI
PPI
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Reflectivity
Snowstorm over Northeast Colorado
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Reflectivity
Thunderstorms and
clear-air echoes
over central Florida
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
• Doppler Effect:
The distance to a moving target changes between
successive pulses, resulting in a phase shift of the
radiation received by the radar. This movement and
corresponding phase shift is associated with the Doppler
effect and allows measurement of radial velocity.
Graphics from University of Illinois
[Link]
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
• Doppler radial velocity
– Consider a single target at distance 𝑅 from the radar.
– The total distance traveled by a radar pulse is 2𝑅.
2𝑅
– The number of wavelengths traveled is , where 𝜆 is
𝜆
the wavelength of the radar signal.
4𝜋𝑅
– In terms of radians, this distance is , since one
𝜆
wavelength equals 2𝜋 radians.
– If a radar signal is transmitted with an initial phase of
𝜙𝑜 , then the phase of the returned signal is
4𝜋𝑅
𝜙 = 𝜙𝑜 + .
𝜆
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
• Doppler radial velocity
The change of phase with time from one pulse to the next is
given by:
𝑑𝜙 4𝜋 𝑑𝑅 4𝜋
= = 𝑉
𝑑𝑡 𝜆 𝑑𝑡 𝜆 𝑅
where 𝑉𝑅 is the component of target velocity parallel to the
radar beam.
By usual convention, this radial velocity is negative for targets
moving toward the radar and positive for targets moving
away from the radar
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
• Interpretation of radial velocity
– Uniform west wind Idealized low-elevation angle
PPI scan of radial velocity
Brown and Wood (1986) ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
• Interpretation of radial velocity
– West wind with midlevel jet Idealized low-elevation angle
PPI scan of radial velocity
Brown and Wood (1986) ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
• Interpretation of radial velocity
Veering wind profile Backing wind profile
Brown and Wood (1986) ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
• Interpretation of radial velocity
Pure divergence Pure rotation
Brown and Wood (1986) ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
• Interpretation of radial velocity
Frontal passage
Brown and Wood (1986) ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
Ordinary Thunderstorm
over Alabama
Radial Velocity
Reflectivity
Mid-Level Convergence
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
Ordinary Thunderstorm
over Alabama
Radial Velocity
PPI
Reflectivity
Low-Level Divergence
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
Supercell Thunderstorm over Oklahoma
PPI
Low-Level Rotation
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
Interpretation of Doppler Velocity
from RHI Scans
Atmospheric River making
landfall in northern California
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Doppler Velocity
Interpretation of Doppler Velocity
from RHI Scans
Atmospheric River making
landfall in northern California
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Dual-Doppler Analysis
• One of the key limitations of Doppler radar data is that it only measures
one component of the three-dimensional (3-D) wind field
• However, if a second unique component of the same wind field can be
measured, then the the third component can be derived (computed) using
“boundary conditions”
•The second component should be observed at an angle 30°-90° different
• Requires the two radars to be “carefully spaced relative to one another”
Atmospheric
Instrumentation
M. D. Eastin
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Dual-Doppler Analysis
Orographic Precipitation
over Utah
Cox et al. (2005), MWR
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Dual-Doppler Analysis
Cox et al. (2005), MWR ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Bright Band
• Maximum in reflectivity
near the melting level
• Chain of events from
top to bottom
– Diffusional growth
– Aggregation effect
– Dielectric effect
– Fall speed effect
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Bright Band
Vertically Profiling Radar
e
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Bright Band
PPI
RHI
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Polarimetry
• Radars can transmit and receive
radiation at horizontal and
vertical polarization
• Differential Reflectivity
Z HH
Z DR = 10 log10
ZVV
Z HH horiz. transmitted
horiz. received
ZVV vert. transmitted
vert. received
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Polarimetry
Thunderstorm over Alabama
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar in Complex Terrain
Radar Siting Challenges in the US
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Artifacts
Clutter and Blockage by Terrain
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Artifacts
Clutter and Blockage by Terrain
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Artifacts
Attenuation of Reflectivity
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Artifacts
Sidelobe echoes
Sidelobe Echo
Sidelobe
Echo
Sidelobe
Echo
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Artifacts
Range Folding (second-trip echoes)
One of many
examples
One of many
examples
𝑐𝜏
𝑅𝑚𝑎𝑥 =
2
where 𝑅𝑚𝑎𝑥 is the maximum unambiguous range, 𝜏 is the inter-pulse
period and 1Τ𝜏 is the pulse repetition frequency (PRF)
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Radar Artifacts
Doppler Velocity Folding
Folded
Velocities
𝑑𝜙𝑚𝑎𝑥 ±𝜋 4𝜋 PRF ∗ 𝜆
= = ±𝜋 ∗ PRF = 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 ⟹ 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 = ±
𝑑𝑡 𝜏 𝜆 4
Doppler radar can unambiguously detect ±𝜋 radians of phase shift
between successive pulses. 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 is called the Nyquist velocity.
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Airborne Radar Data over Complex Terrain
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
Airborne Radar Data over Complex Terrain
UWKA flight on 22 March 2019
Wyoming Cloud Radar (WCR):
W-band (94 GHz)
KMTX
KSLC
Up/Down Mode
Down/Down-Fore Mode
KSLC
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
WCR Reflectivity WCR Horizontal Velocity WCR Vertical Air Velocity
WCR Reflectivity WCR
WCR Vertical Air Velocity
Horizontal Velocity WCR Vertical Air Velocity
ATOC Mesoscale Meteorology: Radar Fundamentals
