The use of measured scattering data in modelling and predicting the attenuation characteristics of hail and graupel at 10 GHz 34 GHz and 70 GHz

One approach to providing information on the interaction of electromagnetic waves with such particles is to fabricate individual particles in the laboratory and to measure the interactions while observing closely the particle´s shape and physical condition. The authors describe an extensive study of simulated single hailstones and graupel which has recently been completed where scattering measurements (of extinction or total loss cross-sections) were made in open resonators at 10 GHz, 34 GHz and 70 GHz. The principal aims of this work are firstly, to measure the extinction cross-sections of the range of particle types and conditions and to relate these results to modelled results for single particles, and secondly, to investigate the possibilities and shortcomings of using the results in combination with known distributions of size of naturally occurring hail to estimate the attenuations (dB/km) likely to be encountered by propagating waves.