Maximum-likelihood estimation of specific differential phase and attenuation in rain

Precise estimation of propagation parameters in precipitation media is of interest to improve the performance of communications systems and in remote sensing applications. In this paper, we present maximum-likelihood estimators of specific attenuation and specific differential phase in rain. The model used for obtaining the cited estimators assumes coherent propagation, reflection symmetry of the medium, and Gaussian statistics of the scattering matrix measurements. No assumptions about the microphysical properties of the medium are needed. The performance of the estimators is evaluated through simulated data. Results show negligible estimators bias and variances close to Cramer-Rao bounds.