Evaluation of the Simultaneous Multiple Pulse Repetition Frequency Algorithm for Weather Radar

Abstract

Performance of the simultaneous multiple pulse repetition frequency algorithm (SMPRF) for recovery of mean power and mean Doppler velocity is investigated using simulated weather radar data. Operation and functionality of the algorithm is described; methods to estimate mean power values using statistical inversion and to estimate mean velocity from unevenly spaced autocorrelation function samples are presented and analyzed. A simulation technique for constructing multiple pulse repetition interval data is described and the algorithm performance results are presented for an example SMPRF code using three weather profiles. This leads to the development of an error structure related to factors influencing moment recovery, including finite-length time series effects, the effects of overlaid echoes that create an effective signal-to-noise ratio that limits moment recovery performance, and the effects of spectrum width and radar frequency related to coherence time.