The UMass Simultaneous Frequency Microwave Radiometer (USFMR): Improvements for Retrieval of Winds and Precipitation in Non-tropical Cyclone Environments

飓风和其他海洋风暴具有难以测量的极端风。这一研究项目将提高机载遥感仪器在飓风中进行高分辨率地面风测量的能力，并提高对其他大型温带风暴的测量精度。海风测量对沿海社区、海上商业和国防都很重要。该项目还将为研究生提供多学科培训。本项目计划改进c波段微波辐射测量对极端风和降水的检索。阶跃频率微波辐射计（SFMR）测量来自风驱动海面和降雨的上升流c波段辐射。利用离散c波段频率范围内的亮度温度测量，SFMR检索算法解决了风速和雨率的问题。然而，目前部署的SFMR存在分辨率不足和针对飓风环境的检索算法调整的问题。该项目将评估马萨诸塞大学同步频率微波辐射计（USFMR）的性能，USFMR是SFMR的一个版本，能够在频率范围内并行测量，从而实现更快速的更新。通过与NOAA卫星应用和研究中心的合作，USFMR将在高纬度温带风暴中由NOAA的飞机飞行。调整高纬度地区的检索算法也将是这个项目的重要组成部分。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Hurricanes and other oceanic storms have extreme winds that are difficult to measure. This research project will enhance the ability of an airborne remote sensing instrument to make high-resolution surface wind measurements in hurricanes and to increase the accuracy of measurements in other large extratropical storms. Ocean wind measurements are important for coastal communities, maritime commerce, and national defense. The project will also provide multi-disciplinary training to a graduate student.This project plans to improve the retrieval of extreme winds and precipitation via microwave radiometry at C-band. The Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR) measures upwelling C-band emission from the wind-driven sea surface and from rainfall. Using brightness temperature measurements over a range of discrete C-band frequencies, the SFMR retrieval algorithm solves for both wind-speed and rain-rate. However, the currently deployed SFMR suffers from inadequate resolution and a tuning of the retrieval algorithms to hurricane environments. This project will assess the performance of the University of Massachusetts Simultaneous Frequency Microwave Radiometer (USFMR) which is a version of the SFMR that is able to make measurements in parallel over the frequency range, enabling more rapid updates. The USFMR would be flown on a NOAA aircraft in high-latitude extratropical storms through a collaboration with the NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research. Adjustments to the retrieval algorithms for high-latitude locations would also be a significant part of this project.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.