Doppler Weather Radar Research and Development
NSSL Project 8 – Investigation into the use of Phased Array Radar Technology for Improving Hazardous Weather Detection and Warnings:
National Weather Radar Testbed Phased Array Radar
Funding Type: CIMMS Task II
Objectives
Prepare the National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT) Phased Array Radar (PAR)
for scientific and engineering evaluation; perform engineering analyses
of PAR data to identify and assess data quality issues associated with
the system; use these analyses to prioritize and resolve identified issues;
and begin meteorological analyses of PAR data to evaluate the utility
of using the PAR technology for meteorological purposes.
Accomplishments
Much progress has been made on research, development, and analysis of
the Phased Array Radar system over the past year: beginning with the
move of our main operations to the new National Weather Center (NWC)
building, continuing with numerous hardware and software upgrades,
and interlaced with the realization of several scientific projects
collecting and utilizing data from the PAR.
The move to the NWC was an extensive logistical exercise with the necessary communications, control, processing, and display systems moving to new locations. Key systems components are now distributed throughout the University of Oklahoma and the radar can be operated from anywhere in the world. Operating locations within the NWC have varied due to the scientific projects utilizing this asset. When the Phased Array Smart radar (mobile C-band Doppler radar) Spring Experiment (PASSE) and Data Assimilation Resolution Experiment (DARE) projects were in progress, the system was operated from the Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT). This allowed close coordination with the Norman WFO and optimized the scan timing with the SMART radar vehicles in the field. When the PAR Downburst Detection Experiment (PARDDE) was started, operations were moved to the Development Lab for closer collaboration between the operators and research meteorologist. Many other significant collections were conducted in this lab as weather opportunities developed and presented themselves within our radar coverage.
The Moment Data Processor (MDP) is again being upgraded to a new design and hardware implementation to accelerate the system’s ability to interrogate and process meteorological structures, thus highlighting speed as one of the systems greatest advantages over conventional radars. The new Digital Signal Processor (DSP) will be operated in a distributed fashion with several nodes (processors) ingesting and manipulating the data as it is collected.
Testing of all operational software, hardware components, and design implementations has continued to provide for a user friendly and robust system. The evolution and testing of this design has continued without any significant operational interruptions.
This project is ongoing.
Publications
Forsyth, D. E., J. F. Kimpel, D. S. Zrnic, R. Ferek, J. F. Heimmer, T.
McNellis, J. E. Crain, A. M. Shapiro, R. J. Vogt, and W. Benner, 2007:
Update on the National Weather Radar Testbed (Phased-Array). 23rd
Conf. on Interactive Information Processing Systems, for Meteorology,
Oceanography, and Hydrology, San Antonio, TX, Amer. Meteo. Soc., CD-ROM 7.4.
Heinselman, P., D. Priegnitz, K. Manross, and R. Adams, 2007: Comparison of storm evolution characteristics: The NWRT and WSR-88D. 23rd Conf. on Interactive Information Processing Systems, for Meteorology, Oceanography, and Hydrology, San Antonio, TX, Amer. Meteo. Soc., CD-ROM 7.5.