Abstract
[...]the cloud-base height and cloud layer information contained in the main ARSCL VAP product are extracted from it and placed into two separate data products that contain files with much smaller sizes. The ARSCL VAP also contains blended height versus-time fields of the first (Mean Doppler Velocity) and second (Spectral Width) radar Doppler moments, as well as a measure (Signal to Noise Ratio) of the strengths of the returns leading to all three Doppler moments. Because many analyses benefit from knowing whether or not precipitation is reaching the surface, time series of a surface precipitation flag (Cloud Base Precipitation) were created from optical rain gauge data or a sensor on the microwave radiometers that detects liquid water. Because interpolation of the operational mode datasets onto a single time grid is not optimal for all studies, the ARSCL VAP also contains a series of files that contain the original operational mode Doppler moments together with the Cloud Base Best Estimate field interpolated from the 10-s grid onto the operational mode time grid. [...]of these early successes, corner reflector raster scans are being implemented as part of normal SACR scanning operations on a time scale sufficiently fine to track changes in calibration during precipitation events. 11.Avoiding cloud radar reflectivity saturation from precipitation The amount of radar signal power backscattered from a single spherical liquid drop that is small compared to the radar wavelength is approximately proportional to the drop diameter to the sixth power.
