APPLICATION OF RADAR TO MEASUREMENT OF SURFACE PRECIPITATION.

Abstract

Investigation of the application of radar to the measurement of surface precipitation includes assessment of the accuracy of radar measurements, development of new instrumentation and techniques, observations of storms, and analysis and interpretation of the data. The program comprises four tasks, and work in each during the past six months is described. Instrumentation: A relatively new AN/CPS-9 radar, obtained through ECOM, and a new 10 cm radar, obtained under a grant from National Science Foundation, have been installed at the Center for Earth Sciences. The 10 cm radar is not yet in operation as cabling and connections are not complete. The timing system and a digital sweep integrator for the new radar have been built under this contract and are nearly ready to be incorporated into the system. Observations: Radar data were taken in 17 storms for approximately 100 hours. Raindrop samples were obtained on five days. Data Processing: No major data processing program is in progress at this time. Applications and Analysis: Four investigations currently in progress are described: (1) Computed particle-size distributions resulting from the aggregation of snow crystals; (2) Mesoscale precipitation patterns and their relation to macroscale parameters; (3) Water content and structure of thunderstorms; (4) Location of air mass thunderstorms in relation to local topographical features. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 1966
Accession Number
AD0634983

Entities

People

  • Pauline M. Austin

Organizations

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Air Masses
  • Atmospheric Sciences
  • Data Processing
  • Earth Sciences
  • Instrumentation
  • Measurement
  • Observation
  • Particle Size
  • Particles
  • Precipitation
  • Raindrops
  • Storms
  • Thunderstorms

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Computer Vision.
  • Theoretical Analysis.