Abstract

In Chapter 6, we described the simple and common applications of PRD in weather observation and quantification, in which measurement errors and error structures, spatial and temporal information, and NWP model constraints were not optimally utilized. This chapter introduces advanced methods for optimally retrieving cloud and precipitation microphysics for weather quantification and forecasting. It describes simultaneous attenuation correction and DSD retrieval, the statistical retrieval of rain DSDs, variational analysis, and the challenges and potential of assimilating PRD into NWP models to improve weather forecasts.