Dual Polarization Radar Observations, Analysis and Retrievals of Convective Lifecycle during RELAMPAGO

传统上，气象雷达使用单极化来观测风暴，以测量风暴中的强度和速度。过去的研究表明，在雷达中使用两个正交极化可以提供更多关于风暴、其粒子类型和演化阶段的信息。本研究以阿根廷中西部雷安帕戈实验期间的双极化雷达观测为重点。就大冰雹的频率、非常高的风暴顶和极端闪电活动而言，该地区拥有世界上最强烈的对流系统之一，但关于该地区的强烈对流仍有许多未知之处。由于该地区风暴的重复性，本实验将对这些风暴进行观测，以解决与风暴发展的初始、初始组织/恶劣天气产生和发展阶段相关的科学问题，这些问题目前还知之甚少。这项研究将提高对世界范围内强对流风暴的理解和预测能力。类似的环境存在于世界许多地区，包括美国落基山脉和亚洲(如中国的成都盆地和印度次大陆的喜马拉雅平原)。该项目开发的雷达技术有可能惠及美国全国范围内部署的双极化雷达。该项目将专门针对一些最强烈的对流风暴中的双极化雷达观测进行分析和反演，开发先进的反演技术。建立的兰帕戈野外观测将阐明复杂的地形与恶劣天气的产生之间的紧密联系，地形在启动和发展有组织的对流风暴中的作用以及产生的强度。开发和应用先进的雷达技术，特别是使用频域程序来识别风暴中的降水粒子类型，是这一项目的重要组成部分。

Traditionally meteorological radars have observed storms using single polarization to measure the intensity and velocity within storms. Past research has shown that significantly more information about the storms, their particle types, and stage of evolution can be gleamed from using two orthogonal polarizations in radars. This research focuses on the dual-polarization radar observations during the RELAMPAGO experiment in west Central Argentina. This region has among the most intense convective systems in the world in terms of frequency of large hail, very high storm tops, and extreme lightning activity, yet much remains unknown about the intense convection in this region. Because of the repeatability of storms in the region, this experiment will observe these storms to address science questions related to the initiation, initial organization/severe-weather generation, and growth stages of storm development, which are poorly understood. This research will improve the understanding of, and the ability to predict, severe convective storms worldwide. Similar environments exist in many parts of the world including the US Rocky Mountains and Asia (such as Chengdu basin in China and Himalayan plains on the Indian subcontinent). The radar techniques developed from this project has the potential to benefit all the nationwide deployment of dual-polarization radars in the US.This project will specifically address the analysis and retrieval of dual-polarization radar observations in some of the most intense convective storms, developing advanced retrieval techniques. The RELAMPAGO field observation set up will elucidate the tight connections between the, complex terrain, and the production of severe weather, role of terrain in initiating and developing organized convective storms and resultant intensity. Development and application of advanced radar techniques, specially using frequency domain procedures, to identify the type of precipitation particles in the storm is an important part of this project.