High-range resolution spectral analysis of precipitation through range imaging of the Chung-Li VHF radar

Multi-frequency range imaging (RIM) has been operated in the Chung-Li very high-frequency (VHF) radar, located on the campus of National Central University, Taiwan, since 2008. RIM processes the echo signals with a group of closely spaced transmitting frequencies through appropriate inversion methods to obtain high-resolution distribution of echo power in the range direction. This is beneficial to the investigation of the small-scale structure embedded in dynamic atmosphere. Five transmitting frequencies were employed in the radar experiment for observation of the precipitating atmosphere during the period between 21 and 23 August 2013. Using the Capon and Fourier methods, the radar echoes were synthesized to retrieve the temporal signals at a smaller range step than the original range resolution defined by the pulse width, and such retrieved temporal signals were then processed in the Doppler frequency domain to identify the atmosphere and precipitation echoes. An analysis called conditional averaging was further executed for echo power, Doppler velocity, and spectral width to verify the potential capabilities of the retrieval processing in resolving small-scale precipitation and atmosphere structures. Point-by-point correction of range delay combined with compensation of range-weighting function effect has been performed during the retrieval of temporal signals to improve the continuity of power spectra at gate boundaries, making the small-scale structures in the power spectra more natural and reasonable. We examined stratiform and convective precipitation and demonstrated their different structured characteristics by means of the Capon-processed results. The new element in this study is the implementation of RIM on spectral analysis, especially for precipitation echoes.