Improved Radar Composites and Enhanced Value of Meteorological Radar Data Using Different Quality Indices

Ladislav Méri, Ladislav Gaál, Juraj Bartok, Martin Gažák, Martin Gera, Marián Jurašek and Miroslav Kelemen
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Ladislav Méri: Remote Sensing Department, Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, 833 15 Bratislava, Slovakia
Ladislav Gaál: MicroStep-MIS, Čavojského 1, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia
Juraj Bartok: Department of Astronomy, Physics of the Earth, and Meteorology, Comenius University in Bratislava, 842 48 Bratislava, Slovakia
Martin Gažák: MicroStep-MIS, Čavojského 1, 841 04 Bratislava, Slovakia
Martin Gera: Department of Astronomy, Physics of the Earth, and Meteorology, Comenius University in Bratislava, 842 48 Bratislava, Slovakia
Marián Jurašek: Remote Sensing Department, Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute, 833 15 Bratislava, Slovakia
Miroslav Kelemen: Faculty of Aeronautics, Technical University of Košice, 041 21 Košice, Slovakia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 9, 1-24

Abstract: Radar measurements are inherently affected by various meteorological and non-meteorological factors that may lead to a degradation of their quality, and the unwanted effects are also transferred into composites, i.e., overlapping images from different radars. The paper was aimed at answering the research question whether we could create ‘cleaner’ radar composites without disturbing features, and if yes, how the operational practice could take advantage of the improved results. To achieve these goals, the qRad and qPrec software packages, based on the concept of quality indices, were used. The qRad package estimates the true quality of the C-band radar volume data using various quality indices and attempts to correct some of the adverse effects on the measurements. The qPrec package uses a probabilistic approach to estimate precipitation intensity, based on heterogeneous input data and quality-based outputs of the qRad software. The advantages of the qRad software are improved radar composites, which offer benefits, among others, for aviation meteorology. At the same time, the advantages of the qPrec software are manifested through improved quantitative precipitation estimation, which can be translated into hydrological modeling or climatological precipitation mapping. Beyond this, the developed software indirectly contributes to sustainability and environmental protection—for instance, by enabling fuel savings due to the more effective planning of flight routes or avoiding runway excursions due to information on the increased risk of aquaplaning.

Keywords: radar meteorology; radar composite; quality index; quantitative precipitation estimation; aviation safety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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