MRI: Acquisition of a Multi-purpose Cloud Radar

该主要研究仪器奖是为了获得用于研究野火羽流、云和降水过程的雷达系统。这种小型雷达系统将部署在一辆拖车上，可以由一辆皮卡拖车牵引，从而可以近距离收集野火的数据。该系统还将以固定模式用于收集沿海和山区云和降水过程的数据。更好地预测火羽行为和火-大气相互作用的能力将有助于告知消防员和其他应急人员安全灭火并做出明智的决定。雷达系统也将被用作少数民族服务机构的教育工具，为学生提供实践经验。研究小组将获得一台ka波段双极化雷达，用于研究沿海和山区的野火烟羽动力学以及云和降水。该雷达将安装在拖车上，并整合到SJSU现有的移动大气剖面系统中。当雷达不是远程部署时，它将被放置在上海州立大学校园的屋顶天文台。对于野火，检索到的数据将包括平均和湍流羽流特性、灰颗粒大小和形状分布，以及与热对流云开始有关的细节，包括对流层上层冰的形成。这些数据将极大地推进新兴的野火羽流动力学科学。云的研究主题将包括地形和对流抬升机制，以及地形卷云的形成和演变。

This Major Research Instrumentation award is for the acquisition of a radar system for the study of wildfire plumes and cloud and precipitation processes. The small radar system will be deployable on a trailer that can be towed by a pickup truck, allowing for up-close data collection on wildfires. The system will also be used in a stationary mode to collect data on cloud and precipitation processes in coastal and mountainous environments. The ability to better predict fire plume behavior and fire-atmosphere interactions will help to inform fire fighters and other emergency personnel in their efforts to fight fire safely and make informed decisions. The radar system will also be used as an educational tool at a Minority Serving Institution, providing hands-on experience to students.The research team will acquire a Ka-band dual-polarization radar for studies of wildfire smoke plume dynamics and clouds and precipitation in coastal and mountainous regions. The radar will be trailer-mounted and incorporated into SJSU's existing mobile atmospheric profiling system. When the radar is not remotely deployed, it will be placed at a rooftop observatory on the SJSU campus. For wildfires, the retrieved data will include mean and turbulent plume properties, ash particle size and shape distributions, and details pertaining to the onset of pyro-convective clouds, including the formation of ice in the upper troposphere. These data will significantly advance the nascent science of wildfire plume dynamics. Cloud study topics will include orographic and convective lifting mechanism and the formation and evolution of orographic cirrus clouds.