Study on the Algorithm to Retrieve Precipitation with X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar

In order to obtain the global precipitation distribution data, this paper investigates the precipitation distribution model, the normalized radar cross-section model, and the retrieval algorithm with X-band synthetic aperture radar (X-SAR). A new retrieval algorithm based on the surface-scattering reference attenuation is developed to retrieve the rain rate above the ground surface. This new algorithm needs no statistical work load and has more extensive applications. Calculations using the new algorithm for three cases verify that the rainfall is retrieved with high precision, which proves the capability of the algorithm.