Effects of three-body scattering on reflectivity signatures at S and C bands can be seen on the back side of large reflectivity storm cores that contain hail. The fingerlike protrusions of elevated reflectivity have been termed flare echoes or ‘‘hail spikes.’’ Three-body scattering occurs when radiation from the radar scattered toward the ground is scattered back to hydrometeors, which then sca...

A technique for detecting large hydrometeors at high altitudes is described here and applied to the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite/Microwave Limb Sounder (UARS/MLS) 203-GHz radiance measurements at tangent pressures between 200 and 46 hPa. At these tangent pressures the radiances remain optically thin and cloudy-sky radiances are brighter than normal clear-sky cases. Unlike infrared/visibl...

At microwave frequencies of tens of GHz, various hydrometeors cause attenuations to the electromagnetic signals. Here, we focus on the effect of liquid water films accumulating on the outer coverage of the microwave units during times of high Relative Humidity (RH). We propose a novel technique to detect moist antenna losses using standard Received Signal Level (RSL) measurements acquired simul...

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Aircraft Sounder Testbed Microwave, or NAST-M, has added two spectrometers to its original suite operating near the oxygen lines at 50-57 GHz and the oxygen line at 118.75 GHz. These new spectrometers are centered on the water vapor absorption line at 183.31 GHz and the oxygen absorption line at 424.76 GHz. This add...

We investigate the use of water vapour radiometers as a tool for estimating phase due to atmospheric water, focusing on the impact of differing atmospheric conditions on the relationship between path length and brightness temperature. We provide a formula for converting between the two for a variety of atmospheric conditions, and outline how the radiometer channel temperatures may be combined t...

We investigate the use of water vapour radiometers as a tool for estimating phase due to atmospheric water, focusing on the impact of differing atmospheric conditions on the relationship between path length and brightness temperature. We provide a formula for converting between the two for a variety of atmospheric conditions, and outline how the radiometer channel temperatures may be combined t...