Recent results of rainfall mapping from cellular network measurements

Electromagnetic waves are known to be influenced by atmospheric conditions. Therefore, wireless communications, in which electromagnetic signals carry the information, can be used in environmental studies. In a recently published paper, it has been demonstrated that received signal level (RSL) measurements from fixed terrestrial line-of-sight microwave links, deployed by cellular operators, can be used to estimate space-time rainfall intensities [1]. In this follow-up paper we present recent real data results based on a rigorous algorithm which converts received signal level measurements from a set microwave links in an arbitrary geometry, lengths and frequencies into a two dimensional rain map. As such, the great potential of using globally spread wireless communication systems for accurate two dimensional rainfall monitoring has is exploited.