A SIMULATION APPROACH FOR VALIDATION OF A BRIGHTBAND CORRECTION METHOD

Brightband effects are one of the more important causes of vertical va riability of reflectivity and severely affect the accuracy of rainfall estimates from ground-based radar. Monte Carlo simulation experiments are performed to investigate the efficiency of a procedure for the co rrection of errors related to the vertical variability of reflectivity . The simulation model generates three-dimensional radar reflectivity fields. Brightband effects are simulated through a physically based mo del of melting-layer reflectivity observations. Sensitivity of the cor rection procedure for a number of different precipitation scenarios an d radar systems is analyzed. Overall, the identification method is fou nd to be a robust procedure for correction of brightband effects. Resu lts indicate a dependence of the effectiveness of the correction proce dure on mean altitude and spatial variability of the melting layer.