Articles | Volume 19, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-6327-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-6327-2026
Research article
 | 
06 Oct 2026
Research article |  | 06 Oct 2026

Estimating beam pointing of vertically pointing cloud radars using radiosonde measurements

Min Deng, Scott E. Giangrande, Adam K. Theisen, Karen L. Johnson, Iosif A. Lindenmaier, Timothy G. Wendler, Jennifer Comstock, Marquette Rocque, Zeen Zhu, and Alyssa Matthews

Data sets

Ka ARM Zenith Radar (KAZR) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility https://doi.org/10.5439/1984770

Balloon-Borne Sounding System (SONDEWNPN) E. Keeler et al. https://doi.org/10.5439/1595321

Marine W-Band (95 GHz) ARM Cloud Radar (MWACR) I. Lindenmaier et al. https://doi.org/10.5439/1973911

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Short summary
Cloud radars are used to measure air motion, clouds, and precipitation, but small pointing errors can reduce their accuracy. We developed a method to detect these errors using routine weather balloon observations. Tests with several radar systems in different environments showed that the method can identify small but important pointing biases, helping improve the accuracy and long-term consistency of weather and climate observations.
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