Observation of bright-band height data from TRMM-PR for satellite communication in South Africa

The deleterious effects of rain on a satellite link operating at a frequency above 10 GHz can be estimated using various parameters such as rain rate, drop size distribution, and rain height. In order to accurately account for rain fade along satellite link, real-time measurement of rain height data are needed. In this paper, Bright-Band Height (BBH) and 0 °C isotherm height (ZDIH) over some selected stations in South Africa were processed and used to determine rain height based on the precipitation data of 5-year (2011-2015) collected by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission-Precipitation Radar (TRMM-PR) satellite. These results are then compared with the previous ITU-R P.839-2 and the recent ITU-R P.839-4. The results show that the BBH vary over the years and locations, and will mostly lie between 3.4557 and 4.2244 km. The average rain height observed also lies between 4.085 and 4.457 km across the studied locations. Comparison between the two versions of Recommendation P.839 showed that the ITU-R P.839-2 performs better with respect to three chosen locations such as Durban, Johannesburg, and Kimberley. However, the most recent version (ITU-R P.839-4) appears to be better in the case of a location like Cape Town. The overall results suggest the use of locally derived rain height values for rain attenuation prediction.