Statistical behaviour of the effective rain height in the tropics

The rain height is an important parameter for the prediction of rain attenuation and hydrometeor scattering that occur in satellite radio links. For temperate climates, where rain is mostly stratiform and widespread, it is usually assumed that rain cells extend vertically up to the height of the 0⁰ isotherm. To take into account the variations of rain intensity in the cell, most methods for slant-path rain attenuation prediction assume a rain height that can be even lower than the 0⁰ isotherm height. In tropical and equatorial climates, on the other hand, rain events are usually associated with convective cells, which vertical dimension can reach altitudes much higher than the 0⁰ isotherm. The statistical behaviour of the effective rain height in such regions is investigated based on data obtained in concurrent measurements of point rainfall rate and radiometric attenuation at 12 GHz