# US 2010/0164786 A1 · Method of Characterizing the Convection Intensity of a Cloud, by a Meteorological Radar

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- Number: US 2010/0164786 A1
- Document ID: US20100164786A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 12/492,426
- Filed: 2009-06-26
- Published: 2010-07-01
- Earliest claimed: 2008-06-27
- Assignees: Thales
- Inventors: Clémentine Costes; Nicolas Bon; Jean-Paul Artis; Frédéric Mesnard; Olivier Pujol; Henri Sauvageot
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20100164786A1

## CPC

- G01S 13/953: {mounted on aircraft}
- Y02A 90/10: Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- Y02A: TECHNOLOGIES FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

## Abstract

The present invention relates to a method of characterizing the convection intensity of a cloud by a meteorological radar. The reflectivity of said cloud to an electromagnetic wave being distributed in space, the distribution of the reflectivity being discretized according to a network of points (i, j, k) of the space in three dimensions, at least one profile (22) is defined as a normalized function of a parameter (21), which is in turn a given numeric function in two dimensions (i, j) of the distribution of the reflectivity at each point of the network, said normalized function varying uniformly between a minimum constant value and a maximum constant value, the function being equal to the minimum value when the parameter is less than a low threshold (threshold min) and being equal to the maximum value when the parameter is greater than a high threshold (threshold max), the cloud being characterized as convective when the profile is equal to one of the constant values and as stratiform when it is equal to the other constant value. The invention applies notably to meteorological radars on board aeroplanes.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of characterizing the convection intensity of a cloud, the reflectivity of said cloud to an electromagnetic wave being distributed in space,
the distribution of the reflectivity being discretized according to a network of points (i, j, k) of the space in three dimensions, a profile (22) being defined as a function (1) of a parameter (21), which is itself a given numerical function in two dimensions (i, j) of the distribution of the reflectivity at each point of the network;
an overall profile (24) combining a number of profiles (22) being defined by a normalized function of a parameter combining the different numeric parameters associated with said profiles (22), said normalized function varying uniformly between a minimum constant value and a maximum constant value, the function being equal to the minimum value when the parameter is less than a low threshold (threshold min) and being equal to the maximum value when the parameter is greater than a high threshold (threshold max), the cloud being characterized as convective when the profile is equal to one of the constant values and as stratiform when it is equal to the other constant value.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the function (1) of a parameter (21) associated with a profile (22) is normalized.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the numerical function in two dimensions (i, j), defining a parameter, is calculated in the horizontal plane.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein a convective cloud corresponds to the high constant value.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the combination of the different parameters (21, 22) is a weighted average.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein a parameter (21) is the integral of the reflectivity in the vertical dimension (z, k).

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein a parameter (21) is a measurement of the column height, in the vertical dimension, for which the points taken into account are those whose reflectivity value is greater than a given threshold.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein a parameter (21) is the maximum altitude at which the reflectivities are greater than a given threshold.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein a parameter (21) is the maximum reflectivity calculated in a given vertical.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein a parameter (21) is the vertical reflectivity gradient between a maximum reflectivity area and the maximum altitude at which the reflectivities are greater than a given threshold.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein a parameter (21) is the horizontal gradient of the reflectivity at a given altitude.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the parameter (21) is calculated in a determined volume.