Research on the method and experiment of path rainfall intensity inversion using a microwave link

Abstract

Accurate measurement of rainfall with high spatial and temporal resolution have important significance in meteorology, hydrology, agriculture, environment, flood warning and weather forecasting, etc. Based on the rain-induced power-law attenuation, an inversion method of the path rainfall intensity is proposed by using a microwave link. Starting from the atmospheric gas absorption attenuation model, a correction model of rainfall effective attenuation and a rainfall inversion model for line-of-sight microwave links are proposed, based on the microwave rain attenuation characteristics and raindrop size distribution statistics. A line-of-sight microwave link is designed and used to measure the rainfall, and the path average rain rate is inversed by means of rainfall inversion model, which is compared with a disdrometer. Results show that the correlation coefficient of rain rate inversed by microwave link with that of disdrometer is higher than 0.6 mostly, and the maximum value is 0.9647; the error of the accumulated rain amount is less than 0.5 mm, and the minimum value is 0.0827 mm; the relative error of the accumulated rain amount is less than 15%, the minimum value is 3.3415%. Experiments confirm the feasibility and accuracy of rainfall inversion obtained using a microwave link.