Rain attenuation can drastically impact the service availability of satellite communication, especially in the higher frequency bands above 20 GHz, such as the Ka-band. Several countermeasures, including site and time diversity, have been proposed to maintain satellite link service. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of a power boost beam method, which is an adaptive satellite power control technology based on using rain radar data obtained throughout Japan to forecast the power margin. Boost beam analysis is considered for different beam sizes (50, 100, 150, and 200km) and beam numbers (1-4 beams) for a total of 16 cases. Moreover, we used a constant boost power corresponding to the rainfall rate of 20mm/h. The obtained results show that in comparison to the case with no boost, the effective rain intensity in each boost case was reduced.

This study demonstrates the ability of a portable X-band Doppler weather radar (XDR) to measure Doppler velocity (Vd). Existing portable X-band weather radars are housed in a container and hence have to be carried by a truck. Therefore they have limitations in their installation places. For installations at small areas where the existing X-band weather radars cannot be installed (e.g., rooftop area of small building), XDR is designed to be carried by a cart. Components of the outdoor unit (a parabolic antenna with a diameter of 1.2 m, magnetron transmitter, and radio frequency (RF) and intermediate frequency (IF) analog components) are housed in a compact body with a weight less than 300 kg. The radar operation, IF digital processing, and data storage are carried out by a desktop computer having a commercial IF digital receiver. In order to attain the required portability and reduced purchase and running costs, XDR uses a magnetron transmitter. Because XDR is the first that utilizes an IF digital receiver for the signal processing specific to magnetron transmitters (i.e., the phase correction of received signals due to the randomness of the transmitted pulse phase), Vd measured by XDR (hereafter VdXDR) was assessed. Using the dataset collected from 25 to 26 October 2009 at the Shigaraki MU Observatory (3451'N, 13606'E), the equivalent radar reflectivity factor (Ze) and VdXDR were assessed using Ze and Vd measured by a Micro Rain Radar and a L-band Doppler radar named LQ-7. The results using correlation coefficients and regression lines demonstrate that XDR measured Ze and Vd accurately. The results also show that IF digital receivers are useful for providing magnetron weather radars with the function of Vd measurement, and further suggest that a combination of IF digital receiver and magnetron transmitter contributes to future development of Doppler weather radars, because high cost performance is strongly required for a precipitation monitoring radar network.

Wide-band noise modulation is added to the adaptive scan technique for spaceborne rain radar. The performance of this technique is studied by simulation using one month of TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) Precipitation Radar (PR) data from the viewpoints of improving the sensitivity and reducing power consumption. The results show that the adaptive scan technique with wide-band noise modulation uses about 25% less energy than the conventional scanning technique. The adaptive scan using wide-band noise modulation is more effective than that using a normal pulse for localized rainy areas. Surface data as well as rainfall data can be obtained by using the adaptive scan using wide-band noise modulation.

The performance of the adaptive scan for spaceborne rain radar, which uses a quick scan for rain search followed by a normal or concentrated scan only for rainy areas, are studied through a simulation using TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) Precipitation Radar (PR) data. Trade-off studies are performed to find an optimum quick-scan and rain search method to minimize rain missing and false alarm of rain area. Using the optimum method thus determined, consecutive 8-day TRMM PR data are used to statistically evaluate the performance of the adaptive scan in terms of sensitivity improvement and power consumption saving. It is shown that more than 3-dB improvement in effective signal-to-noise ratio (SNe) can be achieved for 40% of the total observations. Alternatively, about 26% power saving can be achieved if the SNe is kept the same.

An algorithm that detects the surface echo peak position in a radar echo range profile has been developed for the TRMM Precipitation Radar (PR). The purpose of the surface echo peak detection is to determine the range window in which "over-sample" data are collected. The surface echo position in the range profile is variable due to the systematic change of satellite geodetic altitude and surface topography. The dynamic control of the over-sample range window using the surface detection algorithm contributes significantly to the reduction of PR data rate that should be sent to the ground station. The algorithm employs an α-β tracking filter and has three functions; surface tracking, lock-off detection and tracking loop initialization. After the launch of the TRMM satellite, a series of initial check-out of the PR was conducted. The performance of the algorithm was evaluated through the initial check-out and two-years operation of the PR. The results indicate that the algorithm is working as expected and basically meets the specification; however, it is found that some functions such as the tracking loop initialization algorithm need to be improved.

A method to correct the path-integrated attenuation derived from spaceborne radar measurement for the non-uniform beam filling (NUBF) effect is studied . A preliminary test using the data obtained from shipborne and ground-based radars is performed. It is found that the relation between the coarse-scale variability (radar-measurable quantity, σL) and the fine-scale variability (a quantity necessary for the NUBF correction, σH) of rain depends somewhat upon the rain cases studied and there still remains some underestimation in the corrected results. Nevertheless, the test result demonstrates the potential of utilizing the "local" statistical properties of rain in order to decrease the bias error in rain rate estimation caused by the NUBF.

A new airborne rain radar named CAMPR (CRL Airborne Multiparameter precipitation Radar) has been developed for the major purpose of calibrating PR (Precipitation Radar) onboard TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission; scheduled to be launched in 1997) in orbit by observing the same rain with both CAMPR and TRMM satellite. CAMPR operates as a coherent radar at 13.8 GHz, the same frequency as TRMM-PR, and has polarimetric and Doppler capabilities. It is installed on a relatively small aircraft and can scan the antenna over a wide angle range, from the nadir to the near-horizon. These functions have been verified to work well and it is shown that the radar system is accurately calibrated. Examples of measurement data show CAMPR's high capability to extract various quantities relating to precipitation and cloud physics. Before the TRMM launch, CAMPR is being used to obtain TRMM-PR simulation data to help its algorithm development as well as to obtain data concerning precipitation and cloud physics.

A maximum diameter (Dmax) of raindrop should be assumed when rainfall rate (R) is estimates from the differential reflectivity (ZDR) and the horizontal reflectivity (ZH) measured with dual-polarization radar. If the assumed Dmax is different from actual Dmax, the estimated R contains errors. Using distrometer data, it was found that ZDR correlates with Dmax, and it was verified that when Dmax is adaptively determined by an empirical relationship between ZDR and Dmax, errors in estimated R can be reduced.

Radar signals fluctuate because of the incoherent scattering of raindrops. Dual-polarization radar estimates rainfall rates from differential reflectivity (ZDR) and horizontal reflectivity (ZH). Here, ZDR and ZH are extracted from fluctuating radar signals by averaging. Therefore, instrumentally measured ZDR and ZH always have errors, so that estimated rainfall rates also have errors. This paper evaluates rainfall rate errors caused by signal fluctuation. Computer simulation based on a physical raindrop model is used to investigate the standard deviation of rainfall rate. The simulation considers acquisition time, and uses both simultaneous and alternate sampling of horizontal and vertical polarizations for square law and logarithmic estimators at various rainfall rates and elevation angles. When measuring rainfall rates that range from 1.0 to 10.0mm/h with the alternate sampling method, using a logarithmic estimator at a relatively large elevation angle, the estimated rainfall rates have significant errors. The simultaneous sampling method is effective in reducing these errors.