Dual-Polarization Radar Characteristics of an Apartment Fire

Abstract Dual-polarimetric microwave wavelength radar observations of an apartment fire in Huntsville, Alabama, on 3 March 2008 are examined to determine the radar-observable properties of ash and fire debris lofted into the atmosphere. Dual-polarimetric observations are collected at close range (<20 km) by the 5-cm (C band) Advanced Radar for Meteorological and Operational Research (ARMOR) radar operated by the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Precipitation radars, such as ARMOR, are not sensitive to aerosol-sized (D < 10 μm) smoke particles, but they are sensitive to the larger ash and burnt debris embedded within the smoke plume. The authors also assess if turbulent eddies caused by the heat of the fire cause Bragg scattering to occur at the 5-cm wavelength. In this example, the mean reflectivity within the debris plume from the 1.3° elevation scan was 9.0 dBZ, with a few values exceeding 20 dBZ. The plume is present more than 20 km downstream of the fire, with debris lofted at least 1 km above ground level into the atmosphere. Velocities up to 20 m s−1 are present within the plume, indicating that the travel time for the debris from its source to the maximum range of detection is less than 20 min. Dual-polarization observations show that backscattered radiation is dominated by nonspherical, large, oblate targets as indicated by nonzero differential reflectivity values (mean = 1.7 dB) and low correlation coefficients (0.49). Boundary layer convective rolls are also observed that have very low reflectivity values (−6.0 dBZ); however, differential reflectivity is much larger (3.2 dB). This is likely the result of noise, because ARMOR differential reflectivity is not reliable for reflectivity values <0 dBZ. Also, copolar correlation is even lower compared to the debris plume (0.42). The remainder of the data mainly consists of atmospheric and ground-clutter noise. The large differential phase values coupled with positive differential reflectivity strongly indicate that the source of much of the return from the debris plume is particle scattering. However, given the significant degree of noise present, a substantial contribution from Bragg scattering cannot be entirely ruled out.