Radar Meteorology Glossary

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E

Echo base altitude

Description

The echo base product provides for each point on the surface, an estimate of the height of the lowest elevation of the first echo return that is above a reflectivity threshold.

Parameters

Product data quantity: altitude
Image size: number of pixels per row (# of columns) and per column (# of rows)
Pixel size: horizontal and vertical extension of the pixel in km
Reflectivity threshold: value in 0.1 dBZ
Level slicing method: list of values in 0.1 km a.s.l. or formula parameters (see section 7 in WD21_99)

Notes

• In areas where precipitation reaches ground or lowest measurement bin, this product shows undefined values.
• The quality of this product depends crucially on number of elevations in the polar volume.

Keyword(s):

Echo top altitude

Description

2D-map containing the highest altitude reaching a predefined reflectivity threshold inside the vertical column over each surface point.

Parameters

Example image

Keyword(s):

Elevation

The vertical pointing angle of the antenna; 0° is horizontal, 90° is vertical.

Equivalent Radar Reflectivity

AKA Z_e. The concentration of uniformly distributed small (diameter one sixteenth wavelength or less) water particles which would return the amount of power received. Typically expressed as: dBZ = 10 log Z_e.