The Chilbolton advanced meteorological radar: a tool for multidisciplinary atmospheric research

Abstract

An ex-air-surveillance S-band radar was installed on the 25 m antenna at Chilbolton, near Winchester, over 20 years ago for studies of the effects of rain on communications systems. Since that time the functionality of the radar has been steadily developed to keep it at the forefront of meteorological research radars throughout the world. Recent developments have added phase and Doppler capabilities to the radar. The paper briefly discusses the use of differential reflectivity measurements in determining rainfall rates, microwave attenuation and the phase of hydrometeors. The new hardware and signal processing are described and examples of radar scans and applications of the radar are presented.