Microwave links for rainfall estimation in an urban environment: Insights from an experimental setup in Luxembourg-City

Fenicia, Fabrizio; Pfister, Laurent; Kavetski, Dmitri; Matgen, Patrick; Iffly, Jean François; Hoffmann, Lucien; Uijlenhoet, R.

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.06.047

Cited by 43 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(75 reference statements)

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“…Attenuation along the link path is computed from the difference between the corrected signal level and the reference level (6,8,14), which is assumed representative of dry weather during the previous 24 h. Mean 15-min path-averaged rainfall intensities are computed from the minimum and maximum attenuation. Part of the decrease in microwave signal power is caused by water films on the antennas, which causes an overestimation of the attenuation, and hence an overestimation of the path-averaged rainfall intensity if not properly accounted for.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Country-wide rainfall maps from cellular communication networks

Overeem

Leijnse

Uijlenhoet

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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241

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Accurate and timely surface precipitation measurements are crucial for water resources management, agriculture, weather prediction, climate research, as well as ground validation of satellite-based precipitation estimates. However, the majority of the land surface of the earth lacks such data, and in many parts of the world the density of surface precipitation gauging networks is even rapidly declining. This development can potentially be counteracted by using received signal level data from the enormous number of microwave links used worldwide in commercial cellular communication networks. Along such links, radio signals propagate from a transmitting antenna at one base station to a receiving antenna at another base station. Rain-induced attenuation and, subsequently, path-averaged rainfall intensity can be retrieved from the signal's attenuation between transmitter and receiver. Here, we show how one such a network can be used to retrieve the space-time dynamics of rainfall for an entire country (The Netherlands, ∼35,500 km 2 ), based on an unprecedented number of links (∼2,400) and a rainfall retrieval algorithm that can be applied in real time. This demonstrates the potential of such networks for real-time rainfall monitoring, in particular in those parts of the world where networks of dedicated ground-based rainfall sensors are often virtually absent.hydrometeorology | remote sensing

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Country-wide rainfall maps from cellular communication networks

Overeem

Leijnse

Uijlenhoet

2013

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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241

274

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“…Fenicia et al [3] compared two different A clear estimation methods, the first assuming a constant A clear throughout the rainfall event and the second based on a one-parameter linear low-pass filter. The results indicate that the low-pass filter provides consistently better results than a constant A clear method.…”

Section: Classification Of Rain and Dry Spellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One such error is the conversion of rainfall particle reflectivity (Z) to an accurate rainfall rate using the Z-R relationship expressed as a series of power functions related to the ground rainfall rate (R). As a result, radar rainfall estimation over a volume may be prone to errors because of the averaging of nonlinear functions [3]. Uijlenhoet et al [4] confirmed that the parameters (a,b) of the Z-R relationship will provide different estimates within the same heavy rainfall system and suggested that applying a single Z-R relationship is a cause of error in quantitative rainfall estimation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, short-term weather forecasts and continuous and accurate observations of near-surface rainfall rates are important for flood forecasting, urban drainage management, and water management. Although the theoretical basis of this approach is outlined quite well by previous studies, there are few practical applications in operational settings, especially in Korea [3]. This study investigates the potential of eight microwave links operating at low frequencies ranging from 6 to 8 GHz in Seoul, Korea to detect rainfall and estimate the path-averaged rainfall.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Rainfall Detection and Rainfall Rate Estimation Using Microwave Attenuation

Kim

Kwon

2018

Atmosphere

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Eight microwave links operating at frequencies ranging from 6 to 8 GHz and with path lengths ranging from 5.7 to 37.4 km traversing the city of Seoul, Korea are used to detect rainfall and estimate path-averaged rainfall rates. Rainfall detection using rain-induced attenuation (dB) was validated by rain detectors installed at automatic weather stations, and the results confirmed that microwave links can be used to detect rainfall with an accuracy ≥80%. The power-law R-k relationships between rain-induced specific attenuation, k (dB km −1 ), and the rainfall rate, R (mm h −1 ), were established and cross-validated by estimating the path-averaged rainfall rate. The mean bias of the path-averaged rainfall rate, as compared to the rainfall rate from ground rain gauges, was between −3 and 1 mm h −1 . The improved accuracy of rainfall detection led to the improved accuracy of the path-averaged rainfall rate. Hence, it was confirmed that microwave links, used for broadcasting and media communications, can identify rainy or dry periods (rain spells or dry spells) in a way comparable to rain detectors and provide high time-resolution rainfall rates in real time.

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“…By working with operational point-to-point microwave telecommunication links, Upton et al (2005), Messer et al (2006), Leijnse et al (2007), Zinevich et al (2009), Schleiss and Berne (2010), Kaufmann and Rieckermann (2011), Wang et al (2012), Overeem et al (2013) and Fenicia et al (2012) have shown that the path-averaged rain rate can be estimated from attenuation measurements. However, ground-based microwave link attenuations are provided by local telecom operators, leading to many practical constraints (in particular, coarse precision due to quantization errors and low temporal resolution (typically 15 min)).…”

Section: Published By Copernicus Publications On Behalf Of the Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Rainfall measurement from the opportunistic use of an Earth–space link in the Ku band

Barthès

Mallet

2013

Atmos. Meas. Tech.

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The present study deals with the development of a low-cost microwave device devoted to the measurement of average rain rates observed along Earth–satellite links, the latter being characterized by a tropospheric path length of a few kilometres. The ground-based power measurements, which are made using the Ku-band television transmissions from several different geostationary satellites, are based on the principle that the atmospheric attenuation produced by rain encountered along each transmission path can be used to determine the path-averaged rain rate. This kind of device could be very useful in hilly areas where radar data are not available or in urban areas where such devices could be directly placed in homes by using residential TV antenna.

The major difficulty encountered with this technique is that of retrieving rainfall characteristics in the presence of many other causes of received signal fluctuation, produced by atmospheric scintillation, variations in atmospheric composition (water vapour concentration, cloud water content) or satellite transmission parameters (variations in emitted power, satellite pointing). In order to conduct a feasibility study with such a device, a measurement campaign was carried out over a period of five months close to Paris.

The present paper proposes an algorithm based on an artificial neural network, used to identify dry and rainy periods and to model received signal variability resulting from effects not related to rain. When the altitude of the rain layer is taken into account, the rain attenuation can be inverted to obtain the path-averaged rain rate. The rainfall rates obtained from this process are compared with co-located rain gauges and radar measurements taken throughout the full duration of the campaign, and the most significant rainfall events are analysed

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Microwave links for rainfall estimation in an urban environment: Insights from an experimental setup in Luxembourg-City

Cited by 43 publications

References 29 publications

Country-wide rainfall maps from cellular communication networks

Country-wide rainfall maps from cellular communication networks

Rainfall Detection and Rainfall Rate Estimation Using Microwave Attenuation

Rainfall measurement from the opportunistic use of an Earth–space link in the Ku band

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