A vertically-pointing Doppler radar to measure precipitation characteristics in the tropics

Describes the design and preliminary results from a vertically-pointing pulsed S-band Doppler radar, capable of measuring reflectivity (dBZ), linear depolarization ratio (LDR), and the Doppler spectrum. The data reported were acquired during a short experimental campaign while the radar was sited in Southern UK. The system has now been sent to Papua New Guinea for a 12 month programme of statistical measurements on the nature of tropical rainfall. The results from this study will be applicable to communications system engineering in the tropics, and in providing ground truth for satellite-based rainfall measurements for global climatic modeling.