Prediction of slant path rain propagation statistics using dual-polarized radar

The authors conducted a year-long experiment in which a dual-polarized S-band radar probed the volume surrounding two 11.45-GHz satellite downlink paths during rain. Accuracy was assessed by comparison to directly measured link attenuation with two 11-GHz beacon receivers 7.3-km apart at an 18.5 degrees elevation angle, one colocated with the radar. Drop size distributions calculated from the radar horizontal reflectivity (Z/sub H/) and differential reflectivity (ZDR) measurements were used to predict 11.45-GHz satellite beacon attenuations. The radar-predicted attenuations and those measured on the radio links agree, both on an event basis and in terms of annual cumulative distributions.<
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