Abstract
Precipitation or weather radar is an essential tool for research, diagnosis, and nowcasting of precipitation events like fronts or thunderstorms. Only with weather radar is it possible to gain insights into the three-dimensional structure of thunderstorms and to investigate processes like hail formation or tornado genesis. A number of different radar products are available to analyze the structure, dynamics and microphysics of precipitation systems. Cloud radars use short wavelengths to enable detection of small ice particles or cloud droplets. Their applications differ from weather radar as they are mostly orientated vertically, where different retrieval techniques can be applied.
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- 1.
Informally, but also in a large number of publications, the term “reflectivity” is used instead of “reflectivity factor.”
- 2.
Both terms are equivalent and describe Doppler velocity. In radar meteorology the term “radial” component or velocity is preferred; scientists working with lidar prefer the term “line-of-sight” component or velocity.
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© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Hagen, M., Höller, H., Schmidt, K. (2012). Cloud and Precipitation Radar. In: Schumann, U. (eds) Atmospheric Physics. Research Topics in Aerospace. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30183-4_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-30183-4_21
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