Improvement to radar reflectivity factor algorithm for spaceborne precipitation radar

Study of spaceborne precipitation radar retrieval algorithms is important in both algorithm development and data application. This paper presents improvement to radar reflectivity factor retrieval algorithm, which introduces equivalent raindrop diameter in each resolution cell and judges whether the scattering obeys Rayleigh condition. If not, a correction is made to the reflectivity factor before other procedures are carried on. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons are made between improved results and ground observation data on the basis of 2 km*2 km* 1.5 km grid, which show that the improved algorithm is efficient.