Polarization Mode Processing

Polarization processing uses a time domain autocorrelation approach to calculate the parameters of the polarization co-variance matrix, that is, ZDR,LDR, PhiDP, RhoHV, PhiDP (Kdp), and so on.

The standard moments T, V, Z, and W are also calculated.

The available parameters and the algorithms used to calculate them, depends on the type of polarization radar, for example, single channel switching, STAR, or dual channel switching. Vaisala is licensed by US National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) to use the STAR hardware and processing techniques and algorithms.

Polarization measurements require calibration of the ZDR and LDR offsets. The use of a clutter filter for the polarization variables can sometimes bias the derived parameters. Because of this, you must decide whether to use filtered or unfiltered time series.