Evaluating and correcting rain effects on dual-frequency altimeter Jason-1 wind measurements

Rain is one of the main sources of error in dual-frequency altimeter Jason-1 wind measurement. In this study, a new radar altimeter backscatter model is proposed and validated to eliminate rain effects. The model takes into account attenuation, volume backscattering, and sea surface perturbation by raindrops under rain conditions. A match-up dataset is built to evaluate rain effects, in combination with the Jason-1 normalized radar cross section, precipitation radar data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission, and sea surface wind reanalysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The results show that rain-induced surface perturbation backscatter increases with rain rate at Ku-band, but their correlation at C-band is poor. In addition, rain surface perturbation and attenuation have major effects onradar altimeter wind measurements. Finally, a rain correction model for Jason-1 winds is developed and validation results prove its ability to reduce rain-induced inaccuracies in wind retrievals.