Ring-Wave Measurements from Natural Rain

Abstract

The authors present preliminary results of their efforts to measure ring-waves generated by natural rain. Winds at sea are monitored by remote sensing of radars observing sea surface roughness. Yet rain also roughens the sea surface. Improved understanding of sea-surface roughness during rain contributes to better measurements of winds and rain at sea. The data presented in this paper demonstrate that the authors have successfully adopted laboratory equipment and developed techniques to measure ring-waves outside in natural rain. Recent laboratory results by LeMaire show that ring-wave spectral features are sensitive to the drop size distribution as well as the rain rate, so they were also motivated to develop the Rain Imaging System that allows them to characterize rain in terms of both drop size distribution and rain rate.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA499775

Entities

People

  • L. F. Bliven

Organizations

  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Analog Signals
  • Bragg Scattering
  • Capillary Waves
  • Data Sets
  • Drops
  • Frequency
  • Fresh Water
  • Grazing Angles
  • Information Operations
  • Laboratory Equipment
  • Measurement
  • Rain
  • Rain Gages
  • Scattering
  • Space Flight
  • Spectra
  • Water

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Remote Sensing.