Sakkas Alexandros, Christofilakis Vasilis, Lolis Christos J, Chronopoulos Spyridon K, Peppas Kostas P
Electronics-Telecommunications and Applications Laboratory, Physics Department, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.
Laboratory of Meteorology, Physics Department, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece.
Sensors (Basel). 2024 Dec 17;24(24):8056. doi: 10.3390/s24248056.
The urgent need for timely and accurate precipitation estimations in the face of ongoing climate change and the increasing frequency and/or intensity of extreme weather events underscores the necessity for innovative approaches. Recently, several studies have focused on estimating the precipitation rate through induced attenuation of radio frequency (RF) signals, which are abundant in modern communication systems. Most research has concentrated on frequencies exceeding 10 GHz, as attenuation at lower frequencies is minimal, posing measurement challenges. This study aims to confront this limitation by introducing a high-precision experimental setup capable of detecting this subtle attenuation at frequencies under 10 GHz. The setup includes a transmitter and receiver optimized for operation at 2.07, 4.63, and 6.22 GHz, where minimal worldwide research exists. A power resolution below 10 dB in preliminary measurements demonstrated its effectiveness in quantifying signal attenuation due to precipitation across the specified frequencies. Moreover, a strong power law relationship was observed between signal attenuation and precipitation rate for all three frequencies, while, as expected, the higher the frequency, the more pronounced the signal attenuation was.
面对持续的气候变化以及极端天气事件频率和/或强度的不断增加，对及时、准确的降水估计的迫切需求凸显了创新方法的必要性。最近，几项研究聚焦于通过现代通信系统中丰富的射频（RF）信号的感应衰减来估计降水率。大多数研究集中在超过10 GHz的频率上，因为较低频率下的衰减最小，这带来了测量挑战。本研究旨在通过引入一种高精度实验装置来克服这一限制，该装置能够在10 GHz以下的频率检测到这种细微的衰减。该装置包括针对2.07、4.63和6.22 GHz运行进行优化的发射器和接收器，而全球范围内针对这些频率的研究极少。初步测量中低于10 dB的功率分辨率证明了其在量化特定频率上降水引起的信号衰减方面的有效性。此外，在所有三个频率上都观察到信号衰减与降水率之间存在很强的幂律关系，并且正如预期的那样，频率越高，信号衰减越明显。
