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Quantitative Analysis of Lightning Rod Impacts on the Radiation Pattern and Polarimetric Characteristics of S-Band Weather Radar.

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Title: Quantitative Analysis of Lightning Rod Impacts on the Radiation Pattern and Polarimetric Characteristics of S-Band Weather Radar.
Authors: Wang, Xiaopeng1,2 (AUTHOR), Yin, Jiazhi2,3 (AUTHOR) yinjiazhi@cmacrcc.com, Ye, Fei3 (AUTHOR), Yang, Ting3,4 (AUTHOR), Xie, Yi4,5 (AUTHOR), Yu, Haifeng5,6 (AUTHOR), Hu, Dongming1,6 (AUTHOR)
Source: Remote Sensing. Feb2026, Vol. 18 Issue 3, p392. 18p.
Subjects: Antenna radiation patterns, Polarimetry, Radar meteorology, Lightning protection, Radar antennas
Abstract: Highlights: What are the main findings? Lightning rods significantly increase the sidelobe levels of an S-band dual-polarization weather radar by up to 4.55 dB, while leaving the main-beam pointing and beamwidth essentially unchanged. Lightning rods introduce localized, azimuth-dependent polarimetric disturbances, producing a roughly 0.24–0.25 dB positive Z DR bias in snowfall and mixed-phase precipitation, whereas freezing-rain cases show no persistent azimuthal anomaly. What are the implications of the main findings? The clear directionality and posture-dependent behavior of the interference indicates that lightning rod geometry and placement should be explicitly considered in radar-antenna structural design, installation, and site planning. The quantified Z DR biases provide a practical reference for developing polarimetric quality-control schemes and bias-correction approaches for lightning-rod–induced disturbances in dual-polarization radar products. Lightning rods, while essential for protecting weather radars from direct lightning strikes, act as persistent non-meteorological scatterers that can interfere with signal transmission and reception and thereby degrade detection accuracy and product quality. Existing studies have mainly focused on X-band and C-band systems, and robust, measurement-based quantitative assessments for S-band dual-polarization radars remain scarce. In this study, a controllable tilting lightning rod, a high-precision Far-field Antenna Measurement System (FAMS), and an S-band dual-polarization weather radar (SAD radar) are jointly employed to systematically quantify lightning-rod impacts on antenna electromagnetic parameters under different rod elevation angles and azimuth configurations. Typical precipitation events were analyzed to evaluate the influence of the lightning rods on dual-polarization parameters. The results show that the lightning rod substantially elevates sidelobe levels, with a maximum enhancement of 4.55 dB, while producing only limited changes in the antenna main-beam azimuth and beamwidth. Differential reflectivity ( Z D R ) is the most sensitive polarimetric parameter, exhibiting a persistent positive bias of about 0.24–0.25 dB in snowfall and mixed-phase precipitation, while no persistent azimuthal anomaly is evident during freezing rain; the co-polar correlation coefficient ( ρ h v ) is only marginally affected. Collectively, these results provide quantitative, far-field evidence of lightning-rod interference in S-band dual-polarization radars and provide practical guidance for more reasonable lightning-rod placement and configuration, as well as useful references for Z D R -oriented polarimetric quality-control and correction strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Quantitative Analysis of Lightning Rod Impacts on the Radiation Pattern and Polarimetric Characteristics of S-Band Weather Radar.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wang%2C+Xiaopeng%22">Wang, Xiaopeng</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yin%2C+Jiazhi%22">Yin, Jiazhi</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> yinjiazhi@cmacrcc.com</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ye%2C+Fei%22">Ye, Fei</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yang%2C+Ting%22">Yang, Ting</searchLink><relatesTo>3,4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Xie%2C+Yi%22">Xie, Yi</searchLink><relatesTo>4,5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Yu%2C+Haifeng%22">Yu, Haifeng</searchLink><relatesTo>5,6</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Hu%2C+Dongming%22">Hu, Dongming</searchLink><relatesTo>1,6</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Remote+Sensing%22">Remote Sensing</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 18 Issue 3, p392. 18p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Antenna+radiation+patterns%22">Antenna radiation patterns</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Polarimetry%22">Polarimetry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Radar+meteorology%22">Radar meteorology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Lightning+protection%22">Lightning protection</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Radar+antennas%22">Radar antennas</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Highlights: What are the main findings? Lightning rods significantly increase the sidelobe levels of an S-band dual-polarization weather radar by up to 4.55 dB, while leaving the main-beam pointing and beamwidth essentially unchanged. Lightning rods introduce localized, azimuth-dependent polarimetric disturbances, producing a roughly 0.24–0.25 dB positive Z DR bias in snowfall and mixed-phase precipitation, whereas freezing-rain cases show no persistent azimuthal anomaly. What are the implications of the main findings? The clear directionality and posture-dependent behavior of the interference indicates that lightning rod geometry and placement should be explicitly considered in radar-antenna structural design, installation, and site planning. The quantified Z DR biases provide a practical reference for developing polarimetric quality-control schemes and bias-correction approaches for lightning-rod–induced disturbances in dual-polarization radar products. Lightning rods, while essential for protecting weather radars from direct lightning strikes, act as persistent non-meteorological scatterers that can interfere with signal transmission and reception and thereby degrade detection accuracy and product quality. Existing studies have mainly focused on X-band and C-band systems, and robust, measurement-based quantitative assessments for S-band dual-polarization radars remain scarce. In this study, a controllable tilting lightning rod, a high-precision Far-field Antenna Measurement System (FAMS), and an S-band dual-polarization weather radar (SAD radar) are jointly employed to systematically quantify lightning-rod impacts on antenna electromagnetic parameters under different rod elevation angles and azimuth configurations. Typical precipitation events were analyzed to evaluate the influence of the lightning rods on dual-polarization parameters. The results show that the lightning rod substantially elevates sidelobe levels, with a maximum enhancement of 4.55 dB, while producing only limited changes in the antenna main-beam azimuth and beamwidth. Differential reflectivity ( Z D R ) is the most sensitive polarimetric parameter, exhibiting a persistent positive bias of about 0.24–0.25 dB in snowfall and mixed-phase precipitation, while no persistent azimuthal anomaly is evident during freezing rain; the co-polar correlation coefficient ( ρ h v ) is only marginally affected. Collectively, these results provide quantitative, far-field evidence of lightning-rod interference in S-band dual-polarization radars and provide practical guidance for more reasonable lightning-rod placement and configuration, as well as useful references for Z D R -oriented polarimetric quality-control and correction strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Remote Sensing is the property of MDPI and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.3390/rs18030392
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 18
        StartPage: 392
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Antenna radiation patterns
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Polarimetry
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Radar meteorology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Lightning protection
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Radar antennas
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Quantitative Analysis of Lightning Rod Impacts on the Radiation Pattern and Polarimetric Characteristics of S-Band Weather Radar.
        Type: main
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            NameFull: Wang, Xiaopeng
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              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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