Acquisition of Equipment for Calibration and Engineering Tests for University of Iowa's XPOL Radars

1464613Kruger这笔赠款支持购买电子诊断设备，以提供一套四个X波段极化多普勒雷达的定期校准和测试，该套雷达以前是由美国国家科学基金会/主要研究仪器奖(EAR-0723145)资助的。雷达已经购置、调试和试行部署，研究人员计划进行近期科学部署，以便能够对降雨分布/速率、三维风场进行高空间(1.5度波束宽度或10公里范围内约250平方米像素)和时间(约1-2分钟扫描时间)遥感，并区分10-30平方公里地区的降雨、冰雹和降雪。四个完整的定制移动X波段(3厘米波长)雷达系统由ProSensing公司制造，并交付给爱荷华大学。X波段雷达的选择允许将小直径天线(直径6英尺)挂载在拖车上，以实现机动性。便携式120V发电机可满足电力需求。整个系统包括四个雷达天线，安装在卡车挂车上的仰角和方位可变基座，以及控制、数据采集和处理软件和硬件。流动雷达网可以支持气象和水文研究，需要对区域风暴单元内的降水和风场变异性进行高分辨率观测。对当前气象学和水文学的多个前沿领域的研究将受益于雷达网，这些方面包括：1)雷达测量有量测流域降雨参数的不确定性的基础研究；2)多雷达和激光雷达对降雨事件的成像，以研究国家下一代雷达S波段网络(平均像素分辨率为4平方公里，最大反射率范围约为230公里)与弹性扫描激光雷达(米级像素分辨率，范围=1-2公里)之间的非线性尺度效应；3)城市化对气象和水文过程的影响；4)非量测流域的洪水预报；5)土壤侵蚀过程。雷达设备将用于爱达荷州、爱荷华州和伊利诺伊州的几个实地实验，例如伊利诺伊州桑加蒙河流域的中西部集中管理景观临界区天文台(IML-CZO)和爱荷华州爱荷华市附近的Clear Creek盆地。调查人员打算通过CUAHSI(大学促进水文科学联合会)、UCAR(大学大气研究公司)和CZO网络的广告，向水科学界广泛提供雷达。调查人员还计划在爱荷华大学新开发的雷达工程课程中使用所要求的校准和测试设备。这一支持与NSFs促进科学进步和促进国家健康、繁荣和福利的使命是一致的，因为促进对风暴的动态行为及其洪水潜力的了解以及对学生进行雷达遥感和工程方面的培训以及下游劳动力在气象学、水资源管理和雷达系统应用方面的好处是非常重要的。

1464613KrugerThis grant supports acquisition of electronics diagnostic equipment to provide for regular calibration and testing of a set of four X-band polarimeteric Doppler Radars previously funded through an NSF/Major Research Instrumentation award (EAR- 0723145). The radars have been acquired, commissioned and test deployed and the investigators plan near-term scientific deployments to allow for high spatial (1.5 deg beamwidth or ca. 250 m2 pixels at 10 km range) and temporal (ca. 1-2 minute scan times) remote sensing of rainfall distribution/rate, the 3-D wind field and to discriminate between rainfall, hail and snow over regions of 10-30 km2. Four complete custom-built mobile X-band (3 cm wavelength) radar systems were built by ProSensing Inc. and delivered to the University of Iowa. The choice of X-band radar allowed for a small diameter antenna (6 ft diameter) to be trailer mounted for mobility. Power requirements are met by portable 120 V generators. The complete system includes the four radar antennae, elevation and azimuth variable pedestals mounted on truck trailers, and control, data acquisition and processing software and hardware. The mobile radar network can support meteorological and hydrologic research requiring high resolution observations of precipitation and wind field variability within regional storm cells. Research on multiple fronts of current interest in meteorology and hydrology will benefit from the radar network including: 1) fundamental studies of uncertainty in radar measurement of rainfall parameters in gauged basins; 2) multi-radar and LiDAR imaging of rainfall events to study non-linear scaling effects between the range of the national NEXRAD (Next Generation Radar) S-band network (avg 4 km2 pixel resolution, maximum range of reflectivity ~ 230 km) and elastic scanning LiDAR (meter scale pixel resolution; range = 1-2 km); 3) studies of the effects of urbanization on meteorological and hydrologic processes; 4) flood prediction in ungauged basins; and 5) soil erosion processes. The radar equipment will be used in several field experiments in Idaho, Iowa, and Illinois such as the Midwestern Intensively Managed Landscape Critical Zone Observatory (IML-CZO) in the Sangamon River basin in Illinois and the Clear Creek basin near Iowa City, Iowa. The investigators intend to make the radars broadly availability to the hydrosciences community through advertising via the CUAHSI (Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Sciences, Inc.), UCAR (Universities Corporation for Atmospheric Research) and the CZO Network. The investigators also plan to use the requested calibration and testing equipment in newly developed courses in radar engineering at the University of Iowa. This support is congruent with NSFs mission of promoting the progress of science and advancing the national health, prosperity and welfare given the importance of advancing understanding the dynamical behavior of storms and their flooding potential as well the training of students in radar remote sensing and engineering with downstream workforce benefits in meteorology, water resources management, and radar systems applications.