SUPERVISOR: Harald RIEDER 

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: Vinzent KLAUS 

Heavy thunderstorms and associated weather phenomena like large hail and heavy precipitation pose a substantial threat to public safety and infrastructure. This holds true for densely populated, urban areas like the metropolitan region of Vienna, and for mountainous areas as well, where dangers include landslides and flash floods. Severe storms are monitored and analysed using weather radars, offering three-dimensional observations on high spatial and temporal scales. Apart from radar reflectivity, which can be used as a proxy for precipitation intensity, state-of-the-art polarimetric radars also provide information about microphysical properties of the storm and allow wind field observations as well as hydrometeor classification.

Since early 2020, a X-band weather radar with high spatiotemporal resolution (hereinafter referred to as BOKURAD) is installed on the roof-deck of the “Schwackhöferhaus” facility of the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. After a prolonged observation period at the current location, it is planned to deploy the radar on a mobile platform to conduct measurements in mountainous areas in Austria. The PhD project focuses on analyses of heavy precipitation and hail events using high-resolution BOKURAD data in conjunction with C-band radar data of Austro Control, the operator of the operational Austrian weather radar network. The following research topics are addressed:

  • Mesoscale analysis of thunderstorm initiation and intensification at the eastern fringe of the Alps: Which flow conditions favour and contribute to the initiation of heavy thunderstorm events in the greater Vienna area? Does the comparison of X- and C-band data provide insights into the microphysical processes of hail growth? Is it possible to detect thunderstorm rotation with the aid of BOKURAD?
  • Quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE) for multiple case studies and comparison with in-situ rain gauge observations: Is BOKURAD suitable for estimating precipitation intensity in a larger area at different meteorological situations?
  • Application of BOKURAD as gap filler for C-band weather radar networks in mountainous areas: Is the X-band radar suitable for filling gaps in the coverage of the nationwide radar network, thereby potentially increasing the quality of radar-based warning systems in remote areas?
  • Interdisciplinary application of high-resolution spatial rainfall data obtained by BOKURAD: Use as driver for hydrological run-off simulations in Alpine catchments, comparison of different input data with run-off observations. 

Fig. 1: The X-band weather radar at its first location in Vienna.

Fig. 2: High-resolution reflectivity measurement of BOKURAD