A New Slant on the Distribution and Measurement of Hydrometeor Canting Angles

Abstract

Several models have been developed in the past to describe the distribution of hydrometeor canting angles and the resulting effects on polarimetric radar measurements. These models are reviewed to compare their characteristics and to assess their validity under specified conditions. Of particular interest is the comparison of the traditional two-component model and a two-dimensional Gaussian distribution. Calculations based on the Gaussian distribution are presented and used to deduce shape distribution parameters from radar measurements.