Modeling polarimetric microwave propagation parameters from globally distributed raindrop size distribution measurements

Radio-propagation parameters are modeled by means of a fully-polarimetric model of hydrometeor backscattering. To this aim a large set of raindrop size distributions (RSDs), collected at various locations such as Japan, Greece, UK and USA has been used. Co-polar specific attenuation, differential specific attenuation, co-polar phase shift and differential phase shift at horizontal and vertical polarizations have been simulated at Ku (12.5 GHz), K (19.7 GHz), Ka (39.6 GHz), V (49.5 GHz) and W bands (92 GHz). A partition of rain rate as convective and stratiform regimes, based on a microphysical approach and applied to the time series of RSD parameters, has been introduced to better investigate and characterize the radio-propagation parameters relationships with respect to rain rate. A regression analysis is performed and coefficients to predict radio propagation parameters, at the above mentioned frequencies, as a function of rain rate, are provided.