Dual-frequency radar ratio of nonspherical atmospheric hydrometeors

Dual-frequency cloud and precipitation radar systems are being actively developed and installed on different platforms. The use of two radar frequencies ( with at least one frequency outside the Rayleigh type of scattering for hydrometeors of interest) allows independent estimates of hydrometeor effective size. With these estimates, radar-based retrievals of such important parameters as cloud mass content or precipitation rate can be potentially performed with better accuracy compared to single-frequency radar measurements. This study presents quantitative assessments of the effects of nonsphericity of ice cloud particles which influence the dual-frequency ratio used for characteristic size estimates.