Dufton, D. orcid.org/0000-0001-8722-8320, Bennett, L. orcid.org/0000-0002-2451-1185, Wallbank, J.R. et al. (1 more author) (2023) Correcting for Mobile X-Band Weather Radar Tilt Using Solar Interference. Remote Sensing, 15 (24). 5637. ISSN 2072-4292
Abstract
Precise knowledge of the antenna pointing direction is a key facet to ensure the accuracy of observations from scanning weather radars. The sun is an often-used reference point to aid accurate alignment of weather radar systems and is particularly useful when observed as interference during normal scanning operations. In this study, we combine two online solar interference approaches to determine the pointing accuracy of an X-band mobile weather radar system deployed for 26 months in northern England (54.517°N, 3.615°W). During the deployment, several shifts in the tilt of the radar system are diagnosed between site visits. One extended period of time (>11 months) is shown to have a changing tilt that is independent of human intervention. To verify the corrections derived from this combined approach, quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) from the radar system are compared to surface observations: an approach that takes advantage of the variations in the magnitude of partial beam blockage corrections required due to tilting of the radar system close to mountainous terrain. The observed improvements in QPE performance after correction support the use of the derived tilt corrections for further applications using the corrected dataset. Finally, recommendations for future deployments are made, with particular focus on higher latitudes where solar interference spikes show more seasonality than those at mid-latitudes.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | antenna pointing; solar monitoring; pedestal tilt; weather radar; X-band |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > National Centre for Atmos Science (NCAS) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 18 Jan 2024 13:52 |
Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2024 13:52 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs15245637 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/rs15245637 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:207491 |