ODM2 Controlled Vocabularies Login

ReflectivityVariable Name

dBZ stands for decibel relative to Z. It is a logarithmic dimensionless technical unit used in radar, mostly in weather radar, to compare the equivalent reflectivity factor (Z) of a radar signal reflected off a remote object (in mm6 per m3) to the return of a droplet of rain with a diameter of 1 mm (1 mm6 per m3). It is proportional to the number of drops per unit volume and the sixth power of drops' diameter and is thus used to estimate the rain or snow intensity.

Term

reflectivity

Category

-

Provenance

Wikipedia

Provenance Uri

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DBZ_(meteorology)

Note

Added to support Critical Zone Observatory (CZO) data use cases.