GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 27, NO. 12, PAGES 1699-1702, JUNE 15, 2000

Tropospheric wind and humidity derived from spaceborne radar intensity and phase observations

Ramon Hanssen
Delft Institute for Earth-Oriented Space Research, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands

Ilona Weinreich and Susanne Lehner
German Aerospace Research Establishment (DLR), Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

Ad Stoffelen
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, De Bilt, The Netherlands

Received August 17, 1999, revised February 27, 2000, accepted March 7, 2000

Abstract:

Causal connections between mesoscale wind patterns and moisture distribution in the lower boundary layer can be studied using satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations. Wind information is retrieved from radar backscatter intensity over water areas, whereas the moisture distribution is reflected in the radar signal delay. The latter can only be observed over land areas, using the interferometric combination of two radar images. This paper reports on the relation between wind and moisture associated with boundary layer rolls and with a cold-frontal rain band. The combination of both signals, originating from one sensor, is used to infer a quantitative description of the underlying dynamical processes.

© 2000 by the American Geophysical Union.
Paper number 1999GL011012.

 

• Introduction
• Methodology and data analysis
• Results
  • Case study 1: Precipitation and convection
  • Case study 2: Boundary layer rolls
• Discussion
• Acknowledgments
• Bibliography
• List of Figures