A scattering model for rain depolarization

Abstract

A method is presented for calculating the amount of depolarization caused by precipitation for a propagation path. In the model the effects of each scatterer and their interactions are accounted for by using a series of simplifying steps. It is necessary only to know the forward scattering properties of a single scatterer. For the case of rain the results of this model for attenuation, differential phase shift, and cross polarization agree very well with the results of the only other model available, that of differential attenuation and differential phase shift. Calculations presented here show that horizontal polarization is more sensitive to depolarization than is vertical polarization for small rain drop canting angle changes. This effect increases with increasing path length.