Engineering topics

Meneghini, R.

Publications and source records attributed to Meneghini, R..

At least 37 records · Page 2

NASA NTRS1997

Correction of Sampling Errors in Ocean Surface Cross-Sectional Estimates from Nadir-Looking Weather Radar

The return from the ocean surface has a number of uses for airborne meteorological radar. The normalized surface cross section has been used for radar system calibration, estimation of surface winds, and in algorithms for estimating the path-integrated attenuation in rain. However, meteorological radars are normally optimized for observation of distributed targets that fill the resolution volume, and so a point target such as the surface can be poorly sampled, particularly at near-nadir look angles. Sampling the nadir surface return at an insufficient rate results in a negative bias of the estimated cross section. This error is found to be as large as 4 dB using observations from a high-altitude airborne radar. An algorithm for mitigating the error is developed that is based upon the shape of the surface echo and uses the returned signal at the three range gates nearest the peak surface echo.

Caylor, I. Jeff↗

NASA NTRS1997

Rainfall Estimation Over Tropical Oceans: Area Average Rain Rate - 1

Multichannel dual polarization microwave radiometer SSM/I observations over oceans do not contain sufficient information to differentiate quantitatively the rain from other hydrometeors on a scale comparable to the radiometer field of view (approx. 30 km). For this reason we have developed a method to retrieve average rain rate over a mesoscale grid box of approx. 300 x 300 sq km area over the TOGA COARE region where simultaneous radiometer and radar observations are available for four months (Nov. 92 to Feb. 93). The rain area in the grid box, inferred from the scattering depression due to hydrometeors in the 85 Ghz brightness temperature, constitutes a key parameter in this method. Then the spectral and polarization information contained in all the channels of the SSM/I is utilized to deduce a second parameter. This is the ratio S/E of scattering index S, and emission index E calculated from the SSM/I data. The rain rate retrieved from this method over the mesoscale area can reproduce the radar observed rain rate with a correlation coefficient of about 0.85. Furthermore monthly total rainfall estimated from this method over that area has an average error of about 15%.

Cuddapah, Prabhakara↗

NASA NTRS1995

Cloud model-based simulation of spaceborne radar observations

Simulations of observations from potential spaceborne radars are made based on storm structure generated from the three-dimensional (3D) Goddard cumulus ensemble model simulation of an intense overland convective system. Five frequencies of 3, 10, 14, 35, and 95 GHz are discussed, but the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission precipitation radar sensor frequency (14 GHz) is the focus of this study. Radar reflectives and their attenuation in various atmospheric conditions are studied in this simulation. With the attenuation from cloud and precipitation in the estimation of reflectivity factor (dBZ), the reflectivities in the lower atmosphere in the convective cores are significantly reduced. With spatial resolution of 4 km X 4 km, attenuation at 14 GHz may cause as large as a 20-dBZ difference between the simulated measurements of the peak, Z(sub mp) and near-surface reflectivity, Z(sub ms) in the most intense convective region. The Z(sub mp) occurs at various altitudes depending on the hydrometeor concentrations and their vertical distribution. Despite the significant attenuation in the intense cores, the presence of the rain maximum is easily detected by using information of Z(sub mp). In the stratiform region, the attenuation is quite limited (usually less than 5 dBZ), and the reduction of reflectivity is mostly related to the actual vertical structure of cloud distribution. Since Z(sub ms) suffers severe attenuation and tends to underestimate surface rainfall intensity in convective regions. Z(sub mp) can be more representative for rainfall retrieval in the lower atmosphere in these regions. In the stratiform region where attenuation is negligible, however, Z(sub mp) tends to overestimate surface rainfall and Z(sub ms) is more appropriate for rainfall retrieval. A hybrid technique using a weight between the two rain intensities is tested and found potentially usefull for future applications. The estimated surface rain-rate map based on this hybrid approach captures many of the details of the cloud model rain field but still slightly underestimates the rain-rate maximum.

Yeh, H.-Y. M.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Characteristics of the vertical profiles of dual-frequency, dual-polarization radar data in stratiform rain

Airborne dual-wavelength and dual-polarization radar data are analyzed for measurements taken in stratiform rain in the western Pacific during September 1990. The focus of the paper is on the vertical profiles of the linear depolarization ratio, LDR (10 GHz); the reflectivity factor, dBZ (10 GHz); and the dual-frequency ratio, DFR (10, 34.45 GHz). Statistical characterizations of the maxima of these quantities and the relative locations at which they occur suggest that the eccentricity of the melting particles is fairly large and that the shape and size of the particles are correlated. To try to explain these features, two types of simulation are presented. In the first, a set of measured drop size distributions is used in the context of a standard model of the melting layer. Variations in snow density, as well as shape, size, and orientation distributions are used to study the relationship between these parameters and the radar measurements. To reduce the amount of ambiguity in the estimation, a second type of simulation is described in which the size distribution of the snow is estimated. Comparisons between the simulated and measured profiles indicate that radar measurements can be used to derive certain characteristics of the particle size and shape distributions in the melting layer.

Meneghini, R.↗

NASA NTRS1993

An approach to estimate the areal rain-rate distribution from spaceborne radar by the use of multiple thresholds

Estimates of rain rate derived from a spaceborne weather radar will be most reliable over an intermediate range of values. In forming an area average of the rain rate, an alternative to the averaging of the high-resolution estimates, irrespective of their individual accuracies, is a multiple threshold approach. The method is based on the fact that the fractional area above a particular rain-rate threshold R(j) is related to the cumulative distribution of rain rates evaluated at R(j). Varying the threshold over the effective dynamic range of the radar yields the cumulative distribution function over this range. To obtain the distribution at all rain rates, a lognormal or gamma test function is selected such that the mean-square error between the test function and the measured values is minimized. Once the unknown parameters are determined, the first-order statistics of the areawide rain-rate distribution can be found. Tests of the method with data from the SPANDAR radar provide comparisons between it and the single threshold and the direct averaging approaches.

Meneghini, R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

A study of rain estimation methods from space using dual-wavelength radar measurements at near-nadir incidence over ocean

A question arising from the recent interest in spaceborne weather radar is what methods can be used to estimate precipitation parameters from space. In this paper, dual-wavelength airborne radar data obtained from flights conducted during 1988 and 1989 are used to compare rain rates derived from backscattering and attenuation methods. To help interpret the results the surface reference methods are studied by means of scatterplots of the surface cross sections at the two frequencies under rain and no-rain conditions. Approximate criteria are given on combining attenuation and backscattering methods to increase the effective dynamic range of the radar. The dual-wavelength capability of the radar is also used to examine the vertical structure of the precipitation. Another factor affecting the accuracy of the methods is the drop-size distribution. In the final section of the paper a procedure to estimate the profiled drop-size distribution is applied to the measured radar data.

Meneghini, R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Infrared, microwave, and spaceborne radar simulations of a deep convective system using a 3-D cloud ensemble method

A 3D cloud model is used to simulate the storm structure, and the results are linked to microwave and infrared radiative transfer models for simulation of aircraft observations. Spaceborne radar data are also simulated along the aircraft flight track. The cloud and radiative model simulations are studied and compared with aircraft observations. The initial results indicate that the 3D cloud model is capable of simulating the major features of observed storm systems when given a representative atmospheric sounding to initialize the convective systems. The simulations of infrared and microwave radiances provide reasonably good comparisons with the observations.

Yeh, H.-Y. M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Dual-polarization characteristics of the radar ocean return in the presence of rain

Experimental data are presented on the polarimetric and dual-wavelength characteristics of the ocean surface in the presence of rain. To explain a portion of the variability observed in scatter plots under rain conditions, a storm model is used that incorporates measured drop size distributions. The fairly large variability indicates that effects of drop size distribution and the presence of partially melted particles can introduce a significant error in the estimate of attenuation. This effect is especially significant in the case of a 10-GHz radar under high rain rates. A surface reference method at this frequency will tend to overestimate the rain attenuation unless melting layer attenuation is properly taken into account. Observations of the cross-polarization return in stratiform rain over an ocean surface show three distinct components. Two of these correspond to aspherical, nonaligned particles in the melting layer seen in the direct and mirror-image returns. The remaining part depends both on the off-nadir depolarization by the surface and on the rain medium. A possible mechanism for this latter effect is the bistatic scattering from the rain to the surface.

Meneghini, R.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Insights into microwave radiative transfer in rain from TRMM-1 observations

The interpretation of microwave radiometer data in terms of rainfall intensity over the ocean is based on radiative transfer (RT) models. The nadir-viewing brightness temperature expected at 18 GHz is calculated as a function of rainfall intensity for two assumed freezing levels, 4 and 5 km. The tropical rainfall measurement mission (TRMM-1) observations provide an opportunity to examine the assumptions of the RT model. Often in convective rainfall, scattering of microwave radiation by the ice aloft causes extremely low microwave brightness temperatures. The TRMM-1 observations support the assumption that scattering by ice is only a minor factor at frequencies below about 20 GHz over an ocean background.

Wilheit, T. T.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Hydrometeor discrimination in melting layer using multiparameter airborne radar measurement

Results from a multiparameter airborne radar/radiometer experiment (the Typhoon experiment) are presented. The experiment was conducted in the western Pacific with the NASA DC-8 aircraft, in which a dual-wavelength at X-band and Ka-band and dual-polarization at X-band radar was installed. The signatures of dBZ(X), dBZ(Ka), LDR (linear depolarization ratio) at X-band and DZ=dBZ(X)-dBZ(Ka) are discussed for the data obtained in the penetration of the typhoon Flo. With emphasis on discrimination of hydrometeor particles, some statistical features of the brightband in stratiform rain are discussed.

Kumagai, H.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Airborne radar radiometer measurements of tropical storms

The results from an airborne radar radiometer experiment of rainfall measurement in tropical storms are presented. The experiment was conducted in the Western Pacific in September 1990 with the NASA/DC-8 aircraft which was equipped with a nadir-loking dual-frequency rain radar operating at X band and Ka band, and several channels of microwave radiometers. The X-band radar has a capability of dual-polarization reception which enables the measurements of Linear Depolarization Ratio (LDR). The data of the microwave radiometers are compared with the radar data.

Kumagai, H.↗

NASA NTRS1991

A potential method for the estimation of drop size distribution from a dual-wavelength airborne radar

In order to investigate the role of the drop size distribution (DSD) from a dual-wavelength airborne radar and to recover profiled rain rates, a procedure is described for the purpose of estimating the DSD. The method differs from previous approaches in that it provides 2n + 1 parameters of the profiled DSD (where n is the number of range gates) and it uses a recursive procedure beginning at the range gate near the surface progressing backwards toward the storm top. The method is argued to be useful both as a diagnostic tool and as a means by which more detailed information on the vertical structure of the precipitation can be obtained.

Meneghini, R.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Retrieval of precipitation profiles from airborne radar and passive radiometer measurements - Comparison with dual-frequency radar measurements

Precipitation-rate profiles derived from a single-frequency radar and a radiometer are compared with profiles derived from a dual-frequency radar, using data obtained during the 1985-1986 Communication Research Laboratory/NASA rain measuring experiment over the Atlantic Ocean from a dual-frequency X- and Ka-band radars and an X-band passive radiometer. Profiles were retrieved using a modification of the Hitschfeld-Bordan (1954) algorithm constrained by a measurement of the path integrated extinction derived from passive radiometry. It was found that the two techniques under comparison yielded average rainfall rates that agreed within about 25 percent. It is suggested that, while a single-frequency radar operating in conjunction with multifrequency passive radiometers might provide cost-effective spaceborne measurements of tropical rainfall distributions, a dual-frequency radar might be able to remove some ambiguities that were encountered in this study.

Weinman, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Experimental tests of methods for the measurement of rainfall rate using an airborne dual-wavelength radar

Several attenuation-based methods for estimating the rainfall rate were applied to measurements made by an airborne dual-wavelength radar operating at 0.87 cm, the K(a)-band, and at 3 cm, the X-band. These methods included the traditional Z-R methods, designated Z(X)-R and Z(K)-R for the X- and K(a) band wavelengths, respectively; single- and dual-wavelength surface reference techniques (SRT and DSRT, respectively); and standard dual-wavelength methods with and without range-averaging. As the primary sources of error for these methods are nearly independent, agreement among the rain rates obtained with these methods would lend confidence in the results. Correlation coefficients obtained between the rainfall rates with the Z(X)-R and DSRT methods were generally between 0.7 and 0.9. Good agreement among the methods occurred most often in stratiform rain for rain rates betwen a few mm/hr to about 15 mm/hr, i.e., where attenuation at the shorter wavelength is significant but not so severe as to result in a loss of signal.

Meneghini, R.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Experimental tests of range-profiling algorithms

The natural tendency in the design of a spaceborne weather radar is to select frequencies at 10 GHz or higher. A major disadvantage of this approach is that increased attenuation limits the maximum rain rate that can be accurately estimated. Here, a way to lessen this problem is suggested which uses estimates of path attenuation to reconstruct a profile of the rain rate.

Meneghini, R.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Comparison of rainfall profiles retrieved from dual-frequency radar and from combined radar and passive microwave radiometric measurements

Precipitation profiles retrieved from a dual frequency X- and Ka-band radar and from an X-band radiometer are analyzed. Profiles from combined radar and microwave radiometer measurements are compared to those from dual frequency radar measurements to study the performance of the combined radar-radiometer retrievals. A method for the retrieval of rainfall rate profiles from attenuated radar returns and passive radiometric data is presented. The results suggest that the operation of a single frequency radar with multifrequency passive radiometers may provide cost-effective spaceborne measurements of global tropical rainfall distributions. The possible use of this methodology for the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission is considered.

Weinman, J. A.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Spaceborne meteorological radar studies

Various radar designs and methods are studied for the estimation of rainfall parameters from space. An immediate goal is to support the development of the spaceborne radar that has been proposed for the Tropical Rain Measuring Mission (TRMM). The effort is divided into two activities: a cooperative airborne rain measuring experiment with the Radio Research Laboratory of Japan (RRL), and the modelling of spaceborne weather radars. An airborne rain measuring experiment was conducted at Wallops Flight Facility in 1985 to 1986 using the dual-wavelength radar/radiometer developed by RRL. The data are presently being used to test a number of methods that are relevant to spaceborne weather radars. An example is shown of path-averaged rain rates as estimated from three methods: the standard reflectivity rain rate method (Z-R), a dual-wavelength method, and a surface reference method. The results from the experiment shows for the first time the feasibility of using attenuation methods from space. The purposes of the modelling are twofold: to understand in a quantitative manner the relationships between a particular radar design and its capability for estimating precipitation parameters and to help devise and test new methods. The models are being used to study the impact of various TRMM radar designs on the accuracy of rain rate estimation as well as to test the performance of range-profiling algorithms, the mirror-image method, and some recently devised graphical methods for the estimation of the drop size distribution.

Meneghini, R.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Application of the Lienard-Wiechert solution to a lightning return stroke model

The electric and magnetic fields associated with the lightning return stroke are expressed as a convolution of the current waveform shape and the fields generated by a moving charge of amplitude one (i.e., the Lienard-Wiechert solution for a unit charge). The representation can be used to compute the fields produced by a current waveform of non-uniform velocity that propagates along a filament of arbitrary, but finite, curvature. To study numerically the effects of linear charge acceleration and channel curvature two simple channel models are used: the linear and the hyperbolic.

Meneghini, R.↗