Comparison of Cloud Structures of Storms Producing Lightning at Different Distance Based on Five Years Measurements of a Doppler Polarimetric Vertical Cloud Profiler
We processed five years of measurements (2018–2022) of a vertically pointing radar MIRA 35c at the Milešovka meteorological observatory with the aim of analyzing the cloud structure of thunderstorms and comparing differences in measured data for cases when lightning discharges were observed very clo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/11/2874 |
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| author | Zbyněk Sokol Jana Popová Kateřina Skripniková Rosa Claudia Torcasio Stefano Federico Ondřej Fišer |
| author_facet | Zbyněk Sokol Jana Popová Kateřina Skripniková Rosa Claudia Torcasio Stefano Federico Ondřej Fišer |
| author_sort | Zbyněk Sokol |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We processed five years of measurements (2018–2022) of a vertically pointing radar MIRA 35c at the Milešovka meteorological observatory with the aim of analyzing the cloud structure of thunderstorms and comparing differences in measured data for cases when lightning discharges were observed very close to the radar position, and for cases when lightning discharges were observed at a greater distance from the radar position. The MIRA 35c radar is a Doppler polarimetric radar working at 35 GHz (Ka-band) with a vertical resolution of 28.9 m and a time resolution of approximately 2 s. For the analysis, we considered radar data whose radar reflectivity was at least 10 dBZ at 5 km or higher above the radar to ensure that there was a cloud above the radar. We divided the radar data into “near” data (a lightning discharge was registered up to 1 km from the radar position) and “far” data (a lightning discharge was registered from 7.5 to 10 km from the radar position). We compared the following quantities: (i) Power in co-channel (pow), (ii) power in cross-channel (pow-cx), (iii) phase in co-channel (pha), (iv) phase in cross-channel (pha-cx), (v) equivalent radar reflectivity (Ze), (vi) Linear Depolarization Ratio (LDR), (vii) co-polar correlation coefficient (RHO), (viii) Doppler radial velocity (V), (ix) Doppler spectrum width (RMS), and (x) Differential phase (Phi). Pow, pow-cx, pha, pha-cx, and V are basic data measured by the radar, while Ze, LDR, RHO, RMS, and Phi are derived quantities. Our results showed that the characteristics of the compared radar quantities are clearly distinct for “near” dataset from “far” dataset. Furthermore, we found out that there is a clear evolution close to the time of discharges of the observed radar quantities in the “near” dataset, which is not that obvious in the “far” dataset. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:57:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1063589134624ea19f539ad026d83ea1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:57:18Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-1063589134624ea19f539ad026d83ea12023-11-18T08:29:54ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922023-05-011511287410.3390/rs15112874Comparison of Cloud Structures of Storms Producing Lightning at Different Distance Based on Five Years Measurements of a Doppler Polarimetric Vertical Cloud ProfilerZbyněk Sokol0Jana Popová1Kateřina Skripniková2Rosa Claudia Torcasio3Stefano Federico4Ondřej Fišer5Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401, 141 00 Prague, Czech RepublicInstitute of Atmospheric Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401, 141 00 Prague, Czech RepublicInstitute of Atmospheric Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401, 141 00 Prague, Czech RepublicNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC), Via del Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Rome, ItalyInstitute of Atmospheric Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Boční II 1401, 141 00 Prague, Czech RepublicWe processed five years of measurements (2018–2022) of a vertically pointing radar MIRA 35c at the Milešovka meteorological observatory with the aim of analyzing the cloud structure of thunderstorms and comparing differences in measured data for cases when lightning discharges were observed very close to the radar position, and for cases when lightning discharges were observed at a greater distance from the radar position. The MIRA 35c radar is a Doppler polarimetric radar working at 35 GHz (Ka-band) with a vertical resolution of 28.9 m and a time resolution of approximately 2 s. For the analysis, we considered radar data whose radar reflectivity was at least 10 dBZ at 5 km or higher above the radar to ensure that there was a cloud above the radar. We divided the radar data into “near” data (a lightning discharge was registered up to 1 km from the radar position) and “far” data (a lightning discharge was registered from 7.5 to 10 km from the radar position). We compared the following quantities: (i) Power in co-channel (pow), (ii) power in cross-channel (pow-cx), (iii) phase in co-channel (pha), (iv) phase in cross-channel (pha-cx), (v) equivalent radar reflectivity (Ze), (vi) Linear Depolarization Ratio (LDR), (vii) co-polar correlation coefficient (RHO), (viii) Doppler radial velocity (V), (ix) Doppler spectrum width (RMS), and (x) Differential phase (Phi). Pow, pow-cx, pha, pha-cx, and V are basic data measured by the radar, while Ze, LDR, RHO, RMS, and Phi are derived quantities. Our results showed that the characteristics of the compared radar quantities are clearly distinct for “near” dataset from “far” dataset. Furthermore, we found out that there is a clear evolution close to the time of discharges of the observed radar quantities in the “near” dataset, which is not that obvious in the “far” dataset.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/11/2874lightningradarcloud profilerKa-bandradar reflectivity |
| spellingShingle | Zbyněk Sokol Jana Popová Kateřina Skripniková Rosa Claudia Torcasio Stefano Federico Ondřej Fišer Comparison of Cloud Structures of Storms Producing Lightning at Different Distance Based on Five Years Measurements of a Doppler Polarimetric Vertical Cloud Profiler Remote Sensing lightning radar cloud profiler Ka-band radar reflectivity |
| title | Comparison of Cloud Structures of Storms Producing Lightning at Different Distance Based on Five Years Measurements of a Doppler Polarimetric Vertical Cloud Profiler |
| title_full | Comparison of Cloud Structures of Storms Producing Lightning at Different Distance Based on Five Years Measurements of a Doppler Polarimetric Vertical Cloud Profiler |
| title_fullStr | Comparison of Cloud Structures of Storms Producing Lightning at Different Distance Based on Five Years Measurements of a Doppler Polarimetric Vertical Cloud Profiler |
| title_full_unstemmed | Comparison of Cloud Structures of Storms Producing Lightning at Different Distance Based on Five Years Measurements of a Doppler Polarimetric Vertical Cloud Profiler |
| title_short | Comparison of Cloud Structures of Storms Producing Lightning at Different Distance Based on Five Years Measurements of a Doppler Polarimetric Vertical Cloud Profiler |
| title_sort | comparison of cloud structures of storms producing lightning at different distance based on five years measurements of a doppler polarimetric vertical cloud profiler |
| topic | lightning radar cloud profiler Ka-band radar reflectivity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/11/2874 |
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