Studies of Severe Convective Storms and Tornadoes Using Mobile Doppler Radar Data

严重的雷暴及其引发的龙卷风在美国各地造成了重大的生命和财产损失。这项研究将支持首席研究员和他的学生参与VORTEX2(龙卷风实验第二阶段)，以及对之前和尚未收集的数据的后续分析，将使用独特的移动X和W波段多普勒雷达测量来描述龙卷风和非龙卷风雷暴。特别令人感兴趣的是在超级单体中进行的极化测量与龙卷风超级单体的快速扫描(即快速重复)体积雷达描述相结合。前者将提供这些风暴中水流星分布的三维描述，这对于全面了解风暴热力学和动力学是必要的，而后者将阐明快速演变和反复出现的风暴特征。串列数值试验将把这些测量值纳入最新的云模型中，以改进对雷达没有直接测量的大气变量(如风暴上升/下降气流中的气温、湿度和垂直速度)的估计。这个项目还将支持收集和分析第一个用于研究强雷暴的快速扫描极化X波段移动多普勒雷达的数据，该雷达的开发以前是由国家自然科学基金会支持的。这项工作的智力价值来自于对强雷暴及其产生的龙卷风以及两者之间详细的动力学关系有了更全面的了解。广泛的影响将立即通过参与数据收集和分析的研究生培训以及PI参与本科生教育和通过正式出版物和各种媒体传播结果来实现。最终，这项工作可能会通过改进数字预报和更及时的公开警告而产生社会效益。还将通过对尖端移动雷达技术的关键评估和由此产生的改进而产生效益。

Severe thunderstorms and the tornadoes they spawn produce significant loss of life and property across the U.S. This research, which will support involvement of the lead investigator and his students in VORTEX2 (the Verification of the Rotation in Tornadoes Experiment, Phase 2) and follow-on analysis of data both previously and yet to be collected, will employ unique mobile X- and W-band Doppler radar measurements describing both tornadic and non-tornadic thunderstorms. Of special interest are polarimetric measurements made in supercells combined with rapid-scan (i.e., rapidly repeated) volumetric radar descriptions of tornadic supercells. The former will provide 3-D descriptions of hydrometeor distributions in these storms, which are necessary for a full understanding of storm thermodynamics and dynamics while the latter will illuminate rapidly evolving and recurrent storm features. Tandem numerical experiments will ingest these measurements into a state-of-the-art cloud model in order to obtain improved estimates of atmospheric variables not directly measured by radar (such as air temperature, moisture content and vertical velocity within storm updrafts/downdrafts). This project will also support collection and analysis of data from the first rapid-scan polarimetric X-band mobile Doppler radar utilized in the study of severe thunderstorms, whose development was previously supported by NSF.The Intellectual Merit of this work derives from obtaining a more complete understanding of severe thunderstorms, the tornadoes they produce, and detailed dynamical relationships between the two.Broader Impacts will be immediately realized through training of graduate students involved in data collection and analysis, and through the PI's involvement in undergraduate education and dissemination of result both through formal publications and various media outlets. Ultimately, this work may have societal benefits through improved numerical forecasts and more timely public warnings. Benefits will also accrue through critical evaluation and resulting improvement of cutting-edge mobile radar technologies.