Radio Tomography for Atmospheric Science

最近发布的联合国政府间气候变化专门委员会（IPCC）2013年报告强调了全球气候的一些重大变化。特别是，有迹象表明，全球水文循环发生了重大变化，这决定了我们所获得的降雨量，并增加了发生某些类型极端天气状况的可能性。虽然没有令人信服的证据表明雷暴等恶劣天气现象的发生率增加，但这是由于相对缺乏小规模高分辨率观测造成的。暴雨和雷暴引发的洪水是与自然灾害相关的死亡的主要原因，在20世纪造成近700万人死亡。至关重要的是，虽然雷暴的一般生命周期非常清楚，但导致大雷暴发展的确切情况仍然是一个谜。世界气象机构运行的基于计算机的模型预测此类事件一直在不断改进，但其准确性正受到数量的限制，意见的质量和类型（测量）这项研究项目的目的是建立一个新的仪器，将能够作出有价值的新的测量，这将加强我们对发展的理解，强雷暴该项目将建立一个仪器，共同绘制水分通量和大气电活动图，以便使科学能够更好地了解导致雷暴形成的条件。具体而言，该项目将开发仪器网络，这些仪器将使用类似于MRI医学成像扫描仪中使用的技术生成图像。更好地了解雷暴的形成将大大有助于预测恶劣天气，并能够发布更好的警报，减少对人类生命和财产的风险。

The recently released United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report 2013, has highlighted a number of significant changes to our global climate. In particular there are indications that there are significant changes in the global hydrological cycle which governs the amount of rainfall we receive and an increased likelihood of the occurrence of certain types of extreme weather conditions. Although, there is no compelling evidence for increased occurrence of severe weather phenomena such as thunderstorms, this caused by the relative lack of small-scale high-resolution observations. Flooding from rain and thunderstorms is the leading cause of deaths associated with natural disasters, being responsible for almost 7 million deaths in the 20th century.Critically while the general lifecycle of thunderstorms is very well understood, the exact circumstances leading to the development of large thunderstorms are still something of a mystery. The computer based models run by the world's meteorological agencies to predict such events have been continuously improving but are reaching the point where their accuracy is being limited by the number, quality and type of observations (measurements) essential to their operation.The aim of this research project is to build a new instrument that will be able to make valuable new measurements which will strengthen our understanding of the development of severe thunderstorms. This project will build an instrument that jointly maps moisture fluxes and atmospheric electrical activity with a view to enabling science to better understand the conditions leading up to the formation of thunderstorms. Specifically, the project will develop network of instruments which will produce images using techniques similar to those used in MRI medical imaging scanners. The improved understanding of the formation of thunderstorms will greatly assist the prediction of severe weather and allow better warnings to be issued reducing the risk to human life and property.