Dynamic Differential Reflectivity Calibration Using Vertical Profiles in Rain and Snow
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
See the attached file.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.docx
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Review comments
[Manuscript title]
Dynamic differential reflectivity calibration using vertical profiles in rain and snow
[Summary]
The authors propose a ZDR correcting method for ZDR with spatial and temporal bias. The method was applied to five campaigns with various season and climate. Also, the bias-corrected ZDR values of two radars with overlapping observation ranges were compared and the difference was acceptable for polarimetric observation.
[Broad comments]
I think this work is very important for the basis of ZDR observations with long terms under various environment. The contents of it cover wide range investigating possible cause of ZDR bias, but I feel the way of presentation is not so sophisticated and a little complex. So, I recommend reediting of the chaptering of the manuscript. Here, I raise some suggestion.
I think the contents of section 3.1 are key of this manuscript. But the section is so long and the points are a little unclear. So, I suggest dividing section 3.1 into some subsections.
(e.g., 3.1.1. Outline 3.1.2. Spatial variation 3.1.3. Temporal variation, and so on)
Next, I think the contents of section 5 (Discussion) and 6 (conclusion) are like summaries of the contents of the manuscript and not enough as “discussion”. So, why don’t you merge these two sections as “summary and conclusions”?
[Specific comments]
Line 6: … chosen radar volume This …
Add “.” (period) between “volume” and “This”.
Line 23-24: … values and variations of the latter can help …
The word “the latter” is confusing. I guess you mean ZDR, but the word may indicate “shape of ice particles” in Line 23. So, rewrite the sentence carefully.
Line 92-93: MXPol
Please add the specifications of the X-pol. The component of TR (magnetron, klystron, or solid state component) is an important factor of this study because of the difference of temporal stability in transmitted power.
Line 111: … the period between between May 1st …
The “between” is duplicated.
Line 511: … values obtained 1 second before and after …
Is it 1 “scan”?
Line 670: citation 10
The format of the citation is insufficient. Add authors’ names and publish year, and so on.
Line 673: citation 12
The format of the citation is insufficient. Add authors’ names and publish year, and so on.
Line 679: citation 15
The format of the citation is insufficient. Add authors’ names and publish year, and so on.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
See attached file
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
The authors have addressed the main points raised in my review. I have read the changes they made and do not have major concerns. Couple of minor points:
1) They should spell out abbreviations the first time they use these. For example IQR (Interquartile range) appears in a figure with no explanation. They do have a list of acronyms at the end of the paper. Who would know to look that far down. I did not check if the same issue repeats for other abbreviations.
2) Page 17 - the added paragraph in blue states ..... it may be due to variations of antenna temperature or wet radome attenuation.
I have attached an E mail from John Hubbert to ROC in which he states his findings about the temperature effects. These are latest - Oct 2020. And you can see that NCAR is downplaying the effects of temperature on the antenna. Therefore I would replace "antenna" with "the radar system". I would also replace "wet radome attenuation" but "wet radome effects". Because it can be shown that wet radome causes attenuation and beam diffraction (distortion). Both are important and the distortion may be even more significant.
Comments for author File: Comments.docx
Author Response
Thank you for your additional comments and for the useful information regarding temperature effects.
1) The problem with the abbreviations has been addressed.
At line 530, the first occurrence of the acronym IQR in the text is now preceded by “interquartile range”.
The same acronym also appears in Table 2, before its definition in the text. Therefore, this occurrence is now accompanied by the full spelling, too.
We also noticed that “PPI” appeared in the abstract without its full spelling. This has been corrected: line 5, by adding “Plan Position Indicator”.
2) Thank you for this clarification. Indeed your formulation is more precise, so we modified the lines 485-486 accordingly.
Reviewer 2 Report
I'm satisfied with the contents of the revised manuscript.
Author Response
Thank you for the examination of the revised manuscript.
