A Real-Time, Three-Dimensional, Rapidly Updating, Heterogeneous Radar Merger Technique for Reflectivity, Velocity, and Derived Products

Abstract With the advent of real-time streaming data from various radar networks, including most Weather Surveillance Radars-1988 Doppler and several Terminal Doppler Weather Radars, it is now possible to combine data in real time to form 3D multiple-radar grids. Herein, a technique for taking the base radar data (reflectivity and radial velocity) and derived products from multiple radars and combining them in real time into a rapidly updating 3D merged grid is described. An estimate of that radar product combined from all the different radars can be extracted from the 3D grid at any time. This is accomplished through a formulation that accounts for the varying radar beam geometry with range, vertical gaps between radar scans, the lack of time synchronization between radars, storm movement, varying beam resolutions between different types of radars, beam blockage due to terrain, differing radar calibration, and inaccurate time stamps on radar data. Techniques for merging scalar products like reflectivity, and innovative, real-time techniques for combining velocity and velocity-derived products are demonstrated. Precomputation techniques that can be utilized to perform the merger in real time and derived products that can be computed from these three-dimensional merger grids are described.