• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.47 no.10
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• pp.867-878
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• 2014

Due to the nature of weather radar, blank areas occur due to impediments to observation, such as the ground clutter. Radar beam blockages have resulted in the underestimation rainfall amounts. To overcome these limitations, this study developed the Hybrid Scan Reflectivity (HSR) technique and compared the HSR results with existing methods. As a result, the HSR technique was able to estimate rainfalls in areas from which no reflectivity information was observable using existing methods. In case of estimating rainfalls depending on reflectivity scan techniques and beam-blockage/non beam-blockage, the HSR accuracy is superior. Furthermore, rainfall amounts derived from each method was inputted to the HEC-HMS to examine the accuracy of the flood simulations. The accuracy of the results using the HSR technique in contrast to the RAR calculation system and M-P relation was improved by 7% and 10%(based on correlation coefficients), and 18% and 34%(based on Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency), on average, respectively. Therefore, it is advised that the HSR technique be utilized in the hydrology field to estimate flood discharge more accurately.

• Atmosphere
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.243-256
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• 2011

This paper presents the development of new algorithm for identifying and tracking the convective cells in three dimensional reflectivity fields in Cartesian coordinates. First, the radar volume data in spherical coordinate system has been converted into Cartesian coordinate system by the bilinear interpolation. The three-dimensional convective cell has then been identified as a group of spatially consecutive grid points using reflectivity and volume thresholds. The tracking algorithm utilizes a fuzzy logic with four membership functions and their weights. The four fuzzy parameters of speed, area change ratio, reflectivity change ratio, and axis transformation ratio have been newly defined. In order to make their membership functions, the normalized frequency distributions are calculated using the pairs of manually matched cells in the consecutive radar reflectivity fields. The algorithms have been verified for two convective events in summer season. Results show that the algorithms have properly identified storm cells and tracked the same cells successively. The developed algorithms may provide useful short-term forecasting or nowcasting capability of convective storm cells and provide the statistical characteristics of severe weather.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.63 no.5
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• pp.676-682
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• 2014

In this paper, precipitation echo(PRE) and non-precipitaion echo(N-PRE)(including ground echo and clear echo) through weather radar data are identified with the aid of neuro-fuzzy algorithm. The accuracy of the radar information is lowered because meteorological radar data is mixed with the PRE and N-PRE. So this problem is resolved by using RBFNN and judgement module. Structure expression of weather radar data are analyzed in order to classify PRE and N-PRE. Input variables such as Standard deviation of reflectivity(SDZ), Vertical gradient of reflectivity(VGZ), Spin change(SPN), Frequency(FR), cumulation reflectivity during 1 hour(1hDZ), and cumulation reflectivity during 2 hour(2hDZ) are made by using weather radar data and then each characteristic of input variable is analyzed. Input data is built up from the selected input variables among these input variables, which have a critical effect on the classification between PRE and N-PRE. Echo judgment module is developed to do echo classification between PRE and N-PRE by using testing dataset. Polynomial-based radial basis function neural networks(RBFNNs) are used as neuro-fuzzy algorithm, and the proposed neuro-fuzzy echo pattern classifier is designed by combining RBFNN with echo judgement module. Finally, the results of the proposed classifier are compared with both CZ and DZ, as well as QC data, and analyzed from the view point of output performance.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.373-385
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• 2010

A new method to mosaic reflectivity over the overlapped coverage of two radars was developed. The method mosaics the radar reflectivity with weights after adjustment of reflectivity differences on overlapped coverage of neighboring two radars. Their weights are inverse proportion to the difference between the height of an interpolated reflectivity and the level of CAPPI (Constant Altitude PPI). The performance of this method was compared to different mosaic methods (Mosaics by maximum value, averaged value, nearest value and distance weighted value) using the reflectivity fields of a typhoon event observed by two radar. New method was better than any other methods either as a continuity and as a bias analysis of reflectivity at the boundaries in overlapped coverage by two radars.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.229-237
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• 2011

Today they use a weather radar with spatially high resolution in predicting rainfall intensity and utilizing the information for super short-range forecast in order to make predictions of such severe meteorological phenomena as heavy rainfall and snow. For a weather radar, they use the Z-R relation between the reflectivity factor(Z) and rainfall intensity(R) by rainfall particles in the atmosphere in order to estimate intensity. Most used among the various Z-R relation is $Z=200R^{1.6}$ applied to stratiform rain. It's also used to estimate basic rainfall intensity of a weather radar run by the weather center. This study set out to compare rainfall intensity between the reflectivity of a weather radar and the ground rainfall of ASOS(Automatic Surface Observation System) by analyzing many different cases of heavy rain, analyze the errors of different weather radars and identify their problems, and investigate their applicability to nowcasting in case of severe weather.

• Environmental Sciences Bulletin of The Korean Environmental Sciences Society
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.263-271
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• 2000

To investigate the distribution of air pollutants dispersion in the horizontal wind fields, a chaff release experiment was carried out by an airplane. The temporal and spatial variations of a chaff plume from an elevated point source using the WSR-88D(NEXRAD) radar. The observed profiles of radar reflectivity were compared with the Gaussian diffusion model at slightly unstable atmospheric condition. The present study shows that the distributions of radar reflectivity from chaffs and their concentration by the model are in general agreement with time variation. The dispersion coefficients in downwind($\sigma$(sub)x) and crosswind($\sigma$(sub)y) spread data exceeded what has generally been found at Pasquill and Brigg\`s estimates. As a result, it was clearly shown that horizontal and vertical diffusion coefficients are more accurately determined as compared with theoretical coefficients. At longer diffusion distances(than 10km), a radar observation provided the determination of maximum range and diffusion height more qualitatively, too.

• Atmosphere
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.285-300
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• 2011

To discriminate and eliminate chaff echoes in radar measurements, a new removal algorithm in two-dimensional reflectivity composite at the height of 1.5 km has been developed by using the brightness temperature($T_B$) obtained from MTSAT-1R. This algorithm utilizes the fact that chaffs are not appeared in infrared satellite data of MTSAT-1R, but detected in radar measurements due to their significant backscattering in the given radar wavelength. The algorithm is evaluated for three different situations: chaff only, chaff mixed with convective storms, and chaff covered with clouds. The algorithm shows excellent performance for the cases of chaff only and chaff mixed with convective storms. However, the performance of the algorithm significantly depends on the presence of clouds. Thus, the statistical analysis of $T_B$ is performed in order to optimize the monthly threshold.

• Atmosphere
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.309-319
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• 2012

It is important to characterize and quantify the inherent error in the radar rainfall to make full use of the radar rainfall. This study verified the error structure of the reflectivity and corrected the range dependent error in the CAPPI using a VPR (vertical profile of reflectivity) model. The error of the CAPPI to display the reflectivity data becomes bigger for the range longer than 100 km. This range dependent error, however, is significantly improved by corrected the CAPPI data using the VPR model.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.39 no.4 s.165
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• pp.321-334
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• 2006

The need for economical and accurate presentations of equivalent radar reflectivity( $Z_e$) data in an orthogonal coordinate system has existed for some time. So, in this study, a fast and efficient procedure has been developed which allows the systematic interpolation of digital reflectivity data from radar space into Cartesian space. At first, QC(Quality Control) of radar data has been executed for extracting uncontaminated Constant Altitude Plan Position Indicator(CAPPI) data. The algorithm is designed so that only one ordered pass through the original Plan Position Indicator(PPI) scan data is necessary to complete the interpolation process. The model can calculate various resolution and altitude reflectivity data for many kinds of hydrological usage.

• Atmosphere
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.509-522
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• 2016

Heavy snowfall events have occurred frequently in the Yeongdong region but understanding of these events have trouble in lack of snowfall observation in this region because it is composed of complex topography like the "Taebaek mountains" and the "East sea". These problems can be solved by quantitative precipitation estimation technique using remote sensing such as radar, satellite, etc. Two radars which are able to cover over Yeondong region were installed at Gangneung (GNG) and Gwangdeoksan (GDK). This study uses radar and water equivalent of snow cover to investigate the characteristics of radar echoes and the $Z_e-R$ relations associated with the 10 Yeongdong heavy snowfall events during the last 5 years (2010~2014). It was found that the heights which the probability of detection (POD) of snow detection by GNG radar is more than 80% are 3,000 m and 1,500 m in convective cloud and stratiform cloud, respectively. The vertical gradient of radar reflectivity is less decreased in convective cloud than stratiform cloud. However, POD by GDK radar are lower than 80% at all layers because the majority of Yeondong observational stations are more than 100 km away from GDK radar site. Furthermore, we examined $Z_e-R$ relation from the 10 events using GNG radar and compared the "a" and "b" obtained from these examinations at Sokcho (SC) and Daegwallyeong (DG). These "a" and "b" are estimated from radar echo at 500 m (SC) and 1,500 m (DG). The values of "a" differ in their stations such as SC and DG are 30~116 and 6~39, respectively. But "b" is 0.4~1.7 irrespective of stations. Moreover, the value of "a" increased with surface air temperature. Therefore, quantitative precipitation estimation in heavy snowfall events by radar echo using fixed "a" and "b" is difficult because these values changed according to those precipitation characteristics.