SIR-C/X-SAR Observations of Rain Storms

Teh SIR-C/X-sar radar observations of rain storms are the first multi-polarization and multi-frequency observations of percipitation from space. In addition to numerous, often dramatic images of severe weather systems obtained by forming a synthetic aperture in the usual side-looking attitude, several data takes were performed while the radar antennas were parallel to the ground and the radar beams were pointing at nadir. These oppoprtunities coincided with the passage of the Shuttle over Tropical Cyclone Odille in the southern Indian Ocean during the first flight, and over Typhoon Seth in the Western Pacific during the second flight. The resulting observations, or more apropriately, the resulting measurements, demonstrate for the first time the capability of a spaceborne multi-frequency multi-polarization microwave radar system to quantify precipitation rates, to detect hydrometer phase, and to classify rain type.