ThreeBody Scatterig Signatures in Polarimetric Radar Data三体散射的极化雷达数据.docVIP

Three-Body Scattering Signatures in Polarimetric Radar Data MATTHEW KUMJIAN, JOSEPH PICCA, SCOTT GANSON, ALEXANDER RYZHKOV, AND DUSAN ZRNI? National Severe Storms Laboratory and Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma 1. Introduction The term “three-body scatter signature” (TBSS) was coined by Zrni? (1987), who first quantified and explained these radial protrusions of ZH behind the cores of strong hail-bearing storms. Recently, Zrni? et al. (2010) have explored the possibility of determining hail size from single-polarization TBSS observations. Their analysis concluded that single-polarization observations of the TBSS are limited due to fundamental ambiguities in size retrieval resulting from resonant scattering effects. To date, the only paper investigating the dual-polarization TBSS is Hubbert and Bringi (2000), who quantified ZDR signatures behind the hail cores using model calculations. However, much of their study focuses on modeling contributions from the ground and on the negative ZDR sometimes observed at low levels in hail cores. Here, we present theory, observations, and modeling in an analysis that focuses on the polarimetric TBSS aloft, which is characterized by extremely high ZDR and very low (HV located just behind high-ZH cores in hail-bearing storms. We provide suggestions regarding the applicability of the polarimetric TBSS in detecting moderate- to large-sized hail aloft as well as explore the possibility of hail size discrimination. 2. Polarimetric TBSS – Description and Explanation The polarimetric TBSS is herein defined as the beginning portion of the TBSS marked by high ZDR and very low (HV located (radially) behind high-ZH hail cores. Figure 1 provides an example of the polarimetric TBSS, marked by ZDR in excess of 5 dB and (HV less than 0.5. Note that the traditional radial “spike” in ZH is obfuscated by the presence of another storm. This highlights the utility of the p