A generalized analysis of attenuation-precipitation time lapse events on earth-satellite microwave links

摘要

Rain attenuation occurring over a satellite link several minutes before the actual precipitation responsible for it is an anomaly that is often ignored. An analysis of this phenomenon with respect to the physical coordinates of the satellite, the receiver and the migrating rain cell is presented. By measuring the time between both events and adopting a fitting rain cell advection velocity model, a mathematical model for estimating the rain height during each individual event is proposed. The result from this model compares well with standard rain height data. The effect of using event-specific rain height values rather than an annual average in rain attenuation estimation is briefly discussed.