Microwave Radiometer and Temperature/Humidity Calibration Chamber for Sampling Atmospheric Refractive Environment with Temporal Coverage and Accuracy

Abstract

We propose to acquire two instruments to enhance our measurement capability to sample theatmosphere in order to assess its impact on Electromagnetic (EM) and Electro-optical (EO) wavepropagation. The passive microwave radiometer (MWR) will extend our ship/land basedmeasurements to the upper atmospheric boundary layer and above to allow measurements ofelevated trapping layers concurrent with near surface measurements. The temperature/humiditycalibration chamber will provide a new capability to accurately calibrate sensors used in multiplelevel measurements of T/RH in the marine atmospheric surface layer and accurately depict thevertical gradients.The atmospheric effects on EM/EO wave propagation is one of the thrust areas following the USNavy~s strategy on Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare (EMW). To this end, effective samplingwith sufficient spatial/temporal coverage and accuracy are crucial first steps to quantify theatmospheric refractive environment. The proposing PIs are a collaborative team from MossLanding Marine Labs (MLML) and the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) involved in multipleONR-sponsored research projects. The proposed instruments add new capability to theMLML/NPS team~s existing measurement capability. The instruments will initially be used tosupport the ONR Multi-disciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) project, the CoupledAir-Sea Processes and EM ducting Research (CASPER), in its west coast field campaign inOctober 2017. They will be also be used to support studies on coastal land-air-sea interaction andfog studies including surf zone characteristics and Santa Ana wind events and their associatedimpact on EM/EO wave propagation. The measurements will also be used to evaluate the use ofthe MWR alone to support real time EM environment assessment as a decision aid for the fleet.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Feb 03, 2017
Source ID
N000141712188

Entities

People

  • Kenneth Coale

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • San José State University
  • United States Navy

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Remote Sensing.
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Research Science/Academic Research