Radar Beam Tracing Methods Based on Atmospheric Refractive Index

AbstractSimulation of radar beam propagation is an important component of numerous radar applications in meteorology, including height assignment, quality control, and especially the so-called radar forward operator. Although beam propagation in the atmosphere depends on the refractive index and its vertical variation, which themselves depend on the actual state of the atmosphere, the most common method is to apply the 4/3 earth radius model, based on climatological standard conditions. Serious deviations from the climatological value can occur under so-called ducting conditions, where radar beams at low elevations can be trapped or propagate in a waveguide-like fashion, such that this model is unsuitable in this case. To account for the actual atmospheric conditions, sophisticated methods have been developed in literature. However, concerning the practical implementation of these methods, it was determined that the description in the literature is not always complete with respect to possible pitfalls for...