S-Pol data are provided in CfRadial format (NetCDF). In addition to the standard radar moments, such as reflectivity, radial velocity, and spectrum width, S-Pol also provides the dual-pol variables differential reflectivity, differential phase, specific differential phase, and the cross correlation ratio. Several derived products, such as hydrometeor particle type, precipitation rate, and convectivity and convective/stratiform echo type, are also available. Low-level humidity can be calculated using changes in refractive index between fixed ground targets. The data undergoes a rigorous quality control process. Time series In-phase and Quadrature (I and Q) data can be made available. The following table lists the data variables most commonly provided.
|
Variable |
Dimension | Unit | |
| time | time | s | Seconds since volume start |
| range | range | m | Range from instrument to center of gate |
| azimuth | time | deg | Ray azimuth angle |
| elevation | time | deg | Ray elevation angle |
| Radar observations | |||
| DBZ | n_points | dBZ | Reflectivity |
| VEL | n_points | m/s | Doppler velocity |
| WIDTH | n_points | m/s | Spectrum width |
| ZDR | n_points | dB | Differential reflectivity |
| PHIDP | n_points | deg | Differential phase |
| KDP | n_points | deg/km | Specific differential phase |
| RHOHV | n_points | Cross correlation ratio | |
| Derived products | |||
| RATE | n_points | mm/h | Precipitation rate |
| PID | n_points | Hydrometeor particle ID | |
Data example from the PRECIP field campaign
