Journal
JOURNAL OF ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC TECHNOLOGY
Volume 39, Issue 11, Pages 1685-1704Publisher
AMER METEOROLOGICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1175/JTECH-D-22-0018.1
Keywords
Convective clouds; Precipitation; Stratiform clouds; Convective storms; Algorithms; Radars/Radar observations
Funding
- National Center for Atmospheric Research
- National Science Foundation
- [1852977]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
The ECCO algorithm identifies convective and stratiform types of radar echo using reflectivity texture, and provides both quantitative and qualitative classifications. It can subclassify echo types and is adaptable to different radar grid characteristics and climatic regions.
The Echo Classification from COnvectivity (ECCO) algorithm identifies convective and stratiform types of radar echo in three dimensions. It is based on the calculation of reflectivity texture -a combination of the intensity and the heterogeneity of the radar echoes on each horizontal plane in a 3D Cartesian volume. Reflectivity texture is translated into convectivity, which is designed to be a quantitative measure of the convective nature of each 3D radar grid point. It ranges from 0 (100% stratiform) to 1 (100% convective). By thresholding convectivity, a more traditional qualitative categorization is obtained, which classifies radar echoes as convective, mixed, or stratiform. In contrast to previous algorithms, these echo-type classifications are provided on the full 3D grid of the reflectivity field. The vertically resolved classifications, in combination with temperature data, allow for subclassifications into shallow, mid-, deep, and elevated convective features, and low, mid-, and high stratiform regions-again in three dimensions. The algorithm was validated using datasets collected over the U.S. Great Plains during the PECAN field campaign. An analysis of lightning counts shows similar to 90% of lightning occurring in regions classified as convective by ECCO. A statistical comparison of ECCO echo types with the well-established GPM radar precipitation-type categories show 84% (88%) of GPM stratiform (convective) echo being classified as stratiform (convective) or mixed by ECCO. ECCO was applied to radar grids for the continental United States, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and Europe, illustrating its robustness and adaptability to different radar grid characteristics and climatic regions.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available