[wxqc] A better rain gauge?

[Gerry Creager N5JXS]

Actually, there are some good signal processing projects using cellular 
backscatter that have proven the detectability of 'stealth' aircraft. 
Off the top of my head, I cannot see a good reason why a decent 
processing algorithm couldn't be developed to use this process for 
precipitation.

NOW: Cellular sites are not near-ubiquitous in rural America, so it's 
less likely that watersheds would benefit o much as the urban regions, 
but that could still provide a real benefit.

And, lest you think radar can't be done on that scale, the CASA project 
proposes 10 GHz cellular radars with intelligent signal control to 
preovent interference, placed on cellular towers.  For urban coverage.

While we're at it, the current binning for reflectivity is 1x1 km.  We 
anticipate NWS will complete the change to 250x250 meter resolution... 
if my memory isn't fleeing! ... by the end of the current fiscal year.

gerry

Mark Wyman wrote:
> This will only gauge the rain between the two antennas (transmitter and 
> receiver), and wont give you near as fine a grid as radar does. However 
> it would be a nice supplement to radar estimates since these are closer 
> to the ground. Combine the two for fairly accurate rain fall data.
> 
>  
> 
> -Mark
> 
>  
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> *From:* wxqc-bounces at lists.gladstonefamily.net 
> [mailto:wxqc-bounces at lists.gladstonefamily.net] *On Behalf Of *[hris }{olmes
> *Sent:* Friday, May 05, 2006 7:49 PM
> *To:* wxqc at lists.gladstonefamily.net
> *Subject:* [wxqc] A better rain gauge?
> 
>  
> 
> http://www.theregister.com/2006/05/05/mobile_mast_meteorology/
> 
>      New research suggests mobile 3G masts offer a cheap and accurate
>    weather monitoring network.
> 
>    The data, published today in the journal Science, was collected by an
>    Israeli team headed by University of Tel-Aviv professor Hagit
>    Messer-Yaron.
> 
>    Rain, snow, humidity, and other atmospheric conditions affect the
>    strength of electromagnetic signals. Mobile phone operators already
>    collect such data and use the knowledge to boost the network when
>    things turn nasty.
> 
>    The team collated mast strength numbers with recorded precipitation
>    levels. They found that the variation in reception was a better
>    real-time indicator of conditions than current radar techniques.
> 
>    Thanks to the near-ubiquity of cellular networks, mobile mast
>    monitoring is also more widely available, and cheaper than expensive
>    surface rain gauges, they say.
> 
>    The plan now is to up the accuracy even further by taking the affect
>    of users' usage of the network on the signal into account.
> 
> 
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-- 
Gerry Creager -- gerry.creager at tamu.edu
Texas Mesonet -- AATLT, Texas A&M University	
Cell: 979.229.5301 Office: 979.458.4020 FAX: 979.862.3983
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