{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T02:43:38Z","timestamp":1760150618012,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"24","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,5]],"date-time":"2023-12-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1701734400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000270","name":"National Environment Research Council (NERC)","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["NE\/S017380\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NE\/S017380\/1"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000270","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Environment-Agency","award":["NE\/S017380\/1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NE\/S017380\/1"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Precise knowledge of the antenna pointing direction is a key facet to ensure the accuracy of observations from scanning weather radars. The sun is an often-used reference point to aid accurate alignment of weather radar systems and is particularly useful when observed as interference during normal scanning operations. In this study, we combine two online solar interference approaches to determine the pointing accuracy of an X-band mobile weather radar system deployed for 26 months in northern England (54.517\u00b0N, 3.615\u00b0W). During the deployment, several shifts in the tilt of the radar system are diagnosed between site visits. One extended period of time (&gt;11 months) is shown to have a changing tilt that is independent of human intervention. To verify the corrections derived from this combined approach, quantitative precipitation estimates (QPEs) from the radar system are compared to surface observations: an approach that takes advantage of the variations in the magnitude of partial beam blockage corrections required due to tilting of the radar system close to mountainous terrain. The observed improvements in QPE performance after correction support the use of the derived tilt corrections for further applications using the corrected dataset. Finally, recommendations for future deployments are made, with particular focus on higher latitudes where solar interference spikes show more seasonality than those at mid-latitudes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs15245637","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,5]],"date-time":"2023-12-05T11:27:06Z","timestamp":1701775626000},"page":"5637","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Correcting for Mobile X-Band Weather Radar Tilt Using Solar Interference"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8722-8320","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"David","family":"Dufton","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"National Centre for Atmospheric Science, Leeds LS2 9PH, UK"},{"name":"School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2451-1185","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lindsay","family":"Bennett","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Centre for Atmospheric Science, Leeds LS2 9PH, UK"},{"name":"School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6313-0836","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"John R.","family":"Wallbank","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4560-4812","authenticated-orcid":false,"suffix":"III","given":"Ryan R.","family":"Neely","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"National Centre for Atmospheric Science, Leeds LS2 9PH, UK"},{"name":"School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sokol, Z., Szturc, J., Orellana-Alvear, J., Popov\u00e1, J., Jurczyk, A., and C\u00e9lleri, R. (2021). The Role of Weather Radar in Rainfall Estimation and Its Application in Meteorological and Hydrological Modelling\u2014A Review. Remote Sens., 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs13030351"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ryzhkov, A.V., Snyder, J., Carlin, J.T., Khain, A., and Pinsky, M. (2020). What Polarimetric Weather Radars Offer to Cloud Modelers: Forward Radar Operators and Microphysical\/Thermodynamic Retrievals. Atmosphere, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/atmos11040362"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"(2019). Meteorology\u2014Weather Radar\u2014Part 1: System Performance and Operation; Technical Report (Standard No. ISO 19926-1:2019)."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1277","DOI":"10.1080\/02626667.2013.841316","article-title":"Long-term diagnostics of precipitation estimates and the development of radar hardware monitoring within a radar product data quality management system","volume":"59","author":"Harrison","year":"2014","journal-title":"Hydrol. Sci. J."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1191","DOI":"10.1002\/qj.98","article-title":"Modelling weather radar beam propagation and topographical blockage at northern high latitudes","volume":"133","author":"Bech","year":"2007","journal-title":"Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Germann, U., Boscacci, M., Clementi, L., Gabella, M., Hering, A., Sartori, M., Sideris, I.V., and Calpini, B. (2022). Weather Radar in Complex Orography. Remote Sens., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14030503"},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Frech, M., Mathijssen, T., Mammen, T., Gabella, M., and Boscacci, M. (2022, March 03). Monitoring of Weather Radars: Lessons Learned from WXRCalMon17 & WXRCalMon19, and Recommendations. Work Package OA1, EUMETNET OPERA 5. Available online: https:\/\/www.eumetnet.eu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/opera_monitoring_recommendations_1_21.pdf."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"226","DOI":"10.1002\/rds.20030","article-title":"Analytical formulas for refraction of radiowaves from exoatmospheric sources","volume":"48","author":"Holleman","year":"2013","journal-title":"Radio Sci."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"Darlington, T., Kitchen, M., Sugier, J., and de Rohan-Truba, J. (2003, January 6). Automated real-time monitoring of radar sensitivity and antenna pointing accuracy. Proceedings of the 31st Conference on Radar Meteorology, Seattle, WA, USA."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Frech, M., Mammen, T., and Lange, B. (2019). Pointing Accuracy of an Operational Polarimetric Weather Radar. Remote Sens., 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs11091115"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"547","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-5-547-2012","article-title":"A sun-tracking method to improve the pointing accuracy of weather radar","volume":"5","author":"Muth","year":"2012","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"476","DOI":"10.1175\/JTECH1978.1","article-title":"Determining Weather Radar Antenna Pointing Using Signals Detected from the Sun at Low Antenna Elevations","volume":"24","author":"Huuskonen","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.1175\/JTECH-D-15-0075.1","article-title":"Intercomparison and Potential Synergies of Three Methods for Weather Radar Antenna Pointing Assessment","volume":"33","author":"Altube","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"897","DOI":"10.1175\/BAMS-D-12-00216.1","article-title":"The Operational Weather Radar Network in Europe","volume":"95","author":"Huuskonen","year":"2013","journal-title":"Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"881","DOI":"10.1175\/2010JTECHA1381.1","article-title":"Operational Monitoring of Radar Differential Reflectivity Using the Sun","volume":"27","author":"Holleman","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"1613","article-title":"Diagnosis of Tilted Weather Radars Using Solar Interference","volume":"38","author":"Curtis","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6481","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-11-6481-2018","article-title":"The NCAS mobile dual-polarisation Doppler X-band weather radar (NXPol)","volume":"11","author":"Neely","year":"2018","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"Bennett, L. (2021). RAIN-E: NCAS Mobile X-Band Radar Scan Data from SANDWITH, Near Whitehaven in Cumbria, UK, Version 1, Centre for Environmental Data Analysis."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Bennett, L. (2020). NCAS Mobile X-Band Radar Scan Data from 1st November 2016 to 4th June 2018 Deployed on Long-Term Observations at the Chilbolton Facility for Atmospheric and Radio Research (CFARR), Hampshire, UK, Centre for Environmental Data Analysis."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12","DOI":"10.5334\/jors.193","article-title":"BALTRAD Advanced Weather Radar Networking","volume":"6","author":"Michelson","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Open Res. Softw."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e25","DOI":"10.5334\/jors.119","article-title":"The Python ARM Radar Toolkit (Py-ART), a Library for Working with Weather Radar Data in the Python Programming Language","volume":"4","author":"Helmus","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Open Res. Softw."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1175\/BAMS-D-13-00240.1","article-title":"The Emergence of Open-Source Software for the Weather Radar Community","volume":"96","author":"Heistermann","year":"2015","journal-title":"Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"884","DOI":"10.21105\/joss.00884","article-title":"pvlib python: A python package for modeling solar energy systems","volume":"3","author":"Holmgren","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Open Source Softw."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Altube, P. (2016). Procedures for Improved Weather Radar Data Quality Control. [Ph.D. Thesis, Universitat de Barcelona]. Available online: http:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10803\/400398."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gabella, M., and Leuenberger, A. (2017). Dual-Polarization Observations of Slowly Varying Solar Emissions from a Mobile X-Band Radar. Sensors, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/s17051185"},{"key":"ref_26","unstructured":"Tapping, K. (2001). Workshop on Radar Calibration, American Meteor Society."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ryzhkov, A., Zhang, P., Bukov\u010di\u0107, P., Zhang, J., and Cocks, S. (2022). Polarimetric Radar Quantitative Precipitation Estimation. Remote Sens., 14.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14071695"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"128311","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jhydrol.2022.128311","article-title":"Assessing precipitation from a dual-polarisation X-band radar campaign using the Grid-to-Grid hydrological model","volume":"613","author":"Wallbank","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Hydrol."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"483","DOI":"10.1175\/JHM-D-19-0184.1","article-title":"Radar Applications in Northern Scotland (RAiNS)","volume":"22","author":"Neely","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Hydrometeorol."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3985","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-8-3985-2015","article-title":"Fuzzy logic filtering of radar reflectivity to remove non-meteorological echoes using dual polarization radar moments","volume":"8","author":"Dufton","year":"2015","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_31","unstructured":"NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) (2013). Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Global. Distributed by OpenTopography. Dataset."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"863","DOI":"10.5194\/hess-17-863-2013","article-title":"Technical Note: An open source library for processing weather radar data (wradlib)","volume":"17","author":"Heistermann","year":"2013","journal-title":"Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0065-2687(08)60310-6","article-title":"Advances in Radar Weather","volume":"Volume 2","author":"Landsberg","year":"1955","journal-title":"Advances in Geophysics"},{"key":"ref_34","unstructured":"Chandrasekar, V., Baldini, L., Bharadwaj, N., and Smith, P.L. (2023, May 01). Recommended Calibration Procedures for GPM Ground Validation Radars; Technical Report, GPM Tier1 Documentation Draft, 9, Available online: https:\/\/gpm-gv.gsfc.nasa.gov\/Tier1\/Docs\/NASA_GPM_GV-cal_9.pdf."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2037","DOI":"10.1175\/2008JTECHA1063.1","article-title":"Ground Clutter as a Monitor of Radar Stability at Kwajalein, RMI","volume":"25","author":"Silberstein","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol."},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gabella, M. (2021). On the Spectral and Polarimetric Signatures of a Bright Scatterer before and after Hardware Replacement. Remote Sens., 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs13050919"}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/24\/5637\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T21:33:42Z","timestamp":1760132022000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/24\/5637"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,5]]},"references-count":36,"journal-issue":{"issue":"24","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,12]]}},"alternative-id":["rs15245637"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs15245637","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"type":"electronic","value":"2072-4292"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,12,5]]}}}