A quality assurance procedure and evaluation of rainfall estimates for C-band polarimetric radar

A mobile C-band dual polarimetric weather radar J type (PCDJ), which adopts simultaneous transmission and simultaneous reception (STSR) of horizontally and vertically polarized signals, was first developed in China in 2008. It was deployed in the radar observation plan in the South China Heavy Rainfall Experiment (SCHeREX) in the summer of 2008 and 2009, as well as in Tropical Western Pacific Ocean Observation Experiments and Research on the Predictability of High Impact Weather Events from 2008 to 2010 in China (TWPOR). Using the observation data collected in these experiments, the radar systematic error and its sources were analyzed in depth. Meanwhile an algorithm that can smooth differential propagation phase (I broken vertical bar (DP)) for estimating the high-resolution specific differential phase (K (DP)) was developed. After attenuation correction of reflectivity in horizontal polarization (Z (H)) and differential reflectivity (Z (DR)) of PCDJ radar by means of K (DP), the data quality was improved significantly. Using quality-controlled radar data, quantitative rainfall estimation was performed, and the resutls were compared with rain-gauge measurements. A synthetic Z (H) /K (DP)-based method was analyzed. The results suggest that the synthetic method has the advantage over the traditional Z (H)-based method when the rain rate is > 5 mm h(-1). The more intensive the rain rates, the higher accuracy of the estimation.