A Doppler-polarimetric backscatter model of the melting layer

Describes physical phenomena in the melting layer and a Doppler-polarimetric model with which one is able to calculate the profiles of the horizontal reflectivity, the differential reflectivity, the linear depolarization ratio, and the mean Doppler velocity in the melting layer. The model has two input parameters: the rain intensity and the mass density of the snowflakes above the melting layer. The melting layer model introduced is based on the following assumptions: the shape of melting snowflakes can be modeled as a spheroid for which the Rayleigh approximation is valid; each snowflake melts into one raindrop: no break-up or coalescence occurs; the mass flow is constant in the melting layer; and all raindrops have the same size. The complete model is described by Russchenberg (1992). In the paper some relevant, new aspects of the model are discussed