Multiscale Representation of Radar Echo Data Retrieved through Deep Learning from Numerical Model Simulations and Satellite Images

Mingming Zhu, Qi Liao, Lin Wu, Si Zhang, Zifa Wang, Xiaole Pan, Qizhong Wu, Yangang Wang, Debin Su

Remote Sensing · 09 July 2023 · Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

In one sentence. U-Net reconstructs radar reflectivity from WRF simulations and Himawari-8 satellite data with 5.38 dBZ RMSE, revealing scale-separated atmospheric features.

Abstract

Radar reflectivity data snapshot fine-grained atmospheric variations that cannot be represented well by numerical weather prediction models or satellites, which poses a limit for nowcasts based on model–data fusion techniques. Here, we reveal a multiscale representation (MSR) of the atmosphere by reconstructing the radar echoes from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model simulations and the Himawari-8 satellite products using U-Net deep networks. Our reconstructions generated the echoes well in terms of patterns, locations, and intensities with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 5.38 dBZ. We find stratified features in this MSR, with small-scale patterns such as echo intensities sensitive to the WRF-simulated dynamic and thermodynamic variables and with larger-scale information about shapes and locations mainly captured from satellite images. Such MSRs with physical interpretations may inspire innovative model–data fusion methods that could overcome the conventional limits of nowcasting.

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