Identification of the bright band through the analysis of volumetric radar data

Abstract

The identification of the bright band by volumetric scanning radars is analyzed. An average vertical profile of reflectivity (VPR) containing bright band enhancement is used as an input to simulate the VPR registered by the radar as a function of range. It is found that the bright band intensity enhancement detected by the radar decreases cyclically with range. The cycle depends on the relative positions of the antenna elevation angles and the bright band. The accuracy of the bright band identification is analyzed from different viewpoints: the radar scan strategy, the number of available elevation angles, the altitude of the bright band, and the effect of areal integration of radar measurement. An algorithm for detecting the bright band is devised, and its application to a case study exhibits features similar to those resulting from the simulation. The findings show that high‐resolution volume scans and an optimized radar scan strategy are necessary for an adequate bright band identification. Moreover, the identification is clearly limited in range. We found the detection limit to be 70 km with a beam width of the order of 1°, although the bright band contamination appreciably affects the reflectivity measurements beyond this range.