What physical processes allow brightness temperature observations at different microwave frequencies to be converted into quantitative products such as TPW, rain rate, and CLW? (Check the boxes for all answers that apply, and leave those that do not apply unchecked. Then
click DONE.)
Discussion
The retrieval of rain rate and cloud liquid water products depends upon the absorption and scattering characteristics of water drops and ice particles. Ice strongly scatters microwave radiation enabling the detection of precipitation processes involving ice. The detection of cloud liquid water is made possible by the strong absorption characteristics of water droplets. Water vapor detection is made possible by the absorption of microwave radiation with the 22-GHz water vapor absorption band. Answer a) by itself is incorrect since scattering by precipitation-sized particles applies primarily to rain-rate retrieval. Answer d) is incorrect since the reflection of microwave radiation by ocean and land is relatively small and therefore plays only a very small role in the overall absorption and scattering by precipitation, clouds, and water vapor.