Radar polarimetry provides a great variety of quantitative information, more than expected when the systems were conceived. Its implementation in operational applications is, however, still in its initial stage, and addresses mainly improved quantitative precipitation estimation, mixed-phase winter precipitation, hydrometeor identification, and nowcasting algorithms including high-impact weather warnings. Radar polarimetry offers yet-unexploited deeper insight into cloud and precipitation microphysics, providing new pathways towards a better understanding of microphysical processes and high impact weather systems, and thus enables new approaches for process-oriented validation and improvement of numerical weather prediction models and data assimilation techniques. Additional benefits arising from polarimetric radars are expected from multi-sensor (eg., radar, lidar, radiometer, satellite) and multi-frequency approaches.
This session welcomes contributions aiming at new ideas on the use of radar polarimetric observations, the exploitation of synergies with other sensors and systems, including satellites, aircraft, other ground-based, as well as nowcasting approaches, and weather and climate models.