Direct Comparisons of Polarimetric C-Band and S-Band Radar in Snow

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dc.contributor.advisorTaylor, Peter
dc.contributor.advisorIsaac, George
dc.creatorTaylor, Brandon Mason
dc.date.accessioned2018-08-27T16:44:12Z
dc.date.available2018-08-27T16:44:12Z
dc.date.copyright2018-05-11
dc.date.issued2018-08-27
dc.date.updated2018-08-27T16:44:12Z
dc.degree.disciplineEarth & Space Science
dc.degree.levelMaster's
dc.degree.nameMSc - Master of Science
dc.description.abstractThe Canadian Weather Radar Network is currently undergoing an upgrade to po- larimetric, S-Band radar systems. Forecasting experiences in Canada with the legacy C-Band radars lends to the idea that the narrow beamwidth of C-Band sys- tems is preferential for nowcasting the typical shallow lake-effect snow event. This idea is tested by comparing moments from King City radar, just north of Toronto, to the neighboring Buffalo, NY WSR-88D. By transforming the radar data from spherical coordinates to the Cartesian coordinate system, the two radars can be compared directly. Objective analysis indicates that the spatial patterns of reflec- tivity are very similiar, with King maintaining the obvious advantage in resolving fine scale features of lake-effect snow bands through a narrow physical beamwidth. Also, it is shown that comparatively, the mean reflectivity values obtained through this method are similiar, but King City maintains a slight advantage over Buffalo in detecting shallow snow-squalls. In regards to differential reflectivity, a case by case comparison is performed to determine any event biases from the King City radar. With biases removed, both radars indicate similiar mean values of differential re- flectivity, which agrees with theoretical expectations. Results also indicate that the bulk hydrometeor type in synoptic snowfalls tend towards pristine crystals, while lake-effect events tend towards aggregated snow.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10315/35034
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAuthor owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests.
dc.subjectMeteorology
dc.subject.keywordsWeather Radar
dc.subject.keywordsNEXRAD
dc.subject.keywordsCanadian Weather Radar Network
dc.subject.keywordsEnvironment and Climate Change Canada
dc.subject.keywordsSnow
dc.subject.keywordsLake-Effect Snow
dc.subject.keywordsSnow Squall
dc.subject.keywordsLake Ontario
dc.subject.keywordsObjective Analysis
dc.subject.keywordsOpen Source Software
dc.subject.keywordsS-Band
dc.subject.keywordsC-Band
dc.titleDirect Comparisons of Polarimetric C-Band and S-Band Radar in Snow
dc.typeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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