A variational approach to retrieve 3D radar reflectivity composites

Abstract

This study proposes an alternative methodology to obtain high-resolution radar reflectivity composites based on a variational approach considering different error sources in an explicit manner. The methodology retrieves the 3-dimensional precipitation field most compatible with the observations from the different radars of the network. With this aim, the methodology uses a model that simulates the radar sampling of the atmosphere. The model settings are different for each radar and include features such as the radar location, hardware parameters (beam width, pulse length…) and the scan strategy. The methodology follows the concept of an inverse method based on the minimization of a cost function that penalizes discrepancies between the simulated and actual observations for each radar. The simulation model is able to reproduce the effect of beam broadening with the distance and attenuation by intense precipitation. The methodology has been applied on two radars close to Barcelona (Spain).