Abstract:The electromagnetic power that arrives from the Sun in the C-band has been used to check the quality of the polarimetric, Doppler weather radar network that has recently been installed in Switzerland. The operational monitoring of this network is based on the analysis of Sun signals in the polar volume data produced during the MeteoSwiss scan program. It relies on a method that has been developed to: (1) determine electromagnetic antenna pointing; (2) monitor receiver stability; and (3) assess the differential reflectivity offset. Most of the results from such a method had been derived using data acquired in 2008, which was a period of quiet solar flux activity. Here, it has been applied, in simplified form, to the currently active Sun period. This note describes the results that have been obtained recently thanks to an inter-comparison of three polarimetric operational radars and the Sun's reference signal observed in Canada in the S-band by the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO). The focus is on relative calibration: horizontal and vertical polarization are evaluated versus the DRAO reference and mutually compared. All six radar receivers (three systems, two polarizations) are able to capture and describe the monthly variability of the microwave signal emitted by the Sun. It can be concluded that even this simplified form of the method has the potential to routinely monitor dual-polarization weather radar networks during periods of intense Sun activity.

Applications of weather radar data to complex orography are manifold, as are the problems. The difficulties start with the choice of suitable locations for the radar sites and their construction, which often involves long transport routes and harsh weather conditions. The next challenge is the 24/7 operation and maintenance of the remote, unmanned mountain stations, with high demands on the availability and stability of the hardware. The data processing and product generation also require solutions that have been specifically designed and optimised in a mountainous region. The reflection and shielding of the beam by the mountains, in particular, pose great challenges. This review article discusses the main problems and sources of error and presents solutions for the application of weather radar technology in complex orography. The review is focused on operational radars and practical applications, such as nowcasting and the automatic warning of thunderstorms, heavy rainfall, hail, flash floods and debris flows. The presented material is based, to a great extent, on experience collected by the authors in the Swiss Alps. The results show that, in spite of the major difficulties that emerge in mountainous regions, weather radar data have an important value for many practical quantitative applications.

Abstract:The electromagnetic power that comes from the Sun has been proved to be an effective reference for checking the quality of dual-polarization weather radar receiver. Operational monitoring methods have been developed and implemented for determining the electromagnetic antenna pointing, assessing the receiver stability, and the differential reflectivity offset. So far, the focus has been on relative calibration: horizontal and vertical polarization have been mutually compared and evaluated versus the reference mainly in terms of standard deviation of the error. Radar receivers have been able to capture and describe the monthly variability (slowly varying component) of the microwave signal emitted by the Sun. In this paper, we present results from a novel Sun-based method aiming at the absolute calibration of dual-polarization weather radar receivers. To obtain best results, the radar receiver has to be off-line for a few minutes during the tracking of the Sun in order to have the antenna beam axis pointing at the center of the Sun. Among the five polarimetric weather radar receivers of the Swiss network, radar "WEI" located at an altitude of 2850 m next to Davos shows the best absolute agreement with the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) reference for both horizontal (H) and vertical (V) polarization. Albis radar, which is located at an altitude of 938 m near Zurich, shows the largest difference: the radar receiver is too low compared to the Sun reference by´1.62 (´1.25) dB for the H (V) channel. Interestingly, the standard deviation of the error is smaller than˘0.17 dB for all Swiss radar receivers. With a standard deviation of˘0.04 dB Albis radar shows the best relative agreement between H and V. These results are encouraging and MeteoSwiss is planning to repeat off-line Sun-tracking measurements in the future on a regular basis.

MeteoSwiss has recently renewed its weather radar network with an innovative state-of-the-art solution. The main reason for such renewal was the end-of-life of the existing radar systems. During both the acceptance tests and the current operational working time, carefully planned, innovative measurements have being performed on site using both a passive and an active calibrators.

Six C-band weather radars located in Europe (Finland, Netherlands, and Switzerland) have been used to monitor the slowly varying solar emission, which is an oscillation with an amplitude of several decibels and a period of approximately 27 days. It is caused by the fact that the number of active regions that enhance the solar radio emission with respect to the quiet component, as seen from Earth, varies because of the Sun's rotation about its axis. The analysis is based on solar signals contained in the polar volume data produced during the operational weather scan strategy. This paper presents hundreds of daily comparisons between radar estimates and the Sun's reference signal, during the current active Sun period (year 2014). The Sun's reference values are accurately measured by the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) at S-band and converted to C-band using a standard DRAO formula. Vertical and horizontal polarization receivers are able to capture the monthly oscillation of the solar microwave signal: the standard deviation of the log-transformed ratio between radars and the DRAO reference ranges from 0.26 to 0.4 dB. A larger coefficient (and a different value for the quiet Sun component) in the standard formula improves the agreement.