Mapping of Airborne Doppler Radar Data

1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 572-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Chau Lee ◽  
Peter Dodge ◽  
Frank D. Marks ◽  
Peter H. Hildebrand
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Doppler Radar Data ◽  
Airborne Doppler Radar

scholarly journals Procedures to Improve the Accuracy of Airborne Doppler Radar Data

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 322-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian L. Bosart ◽  
Wen-Chau Lee ◽  
Roger M. Wakimoto
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Correction Method ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Earth Surface ◽  
Doppler Radar Data ◽  
Tilt Error ◽  
Corrected Data ◽  
Flight Level ◽  
Airborne Doppler Radar

Abstract The navigation correction method proposed in Testud et al. (referred to as the THL method) systematically identifies uncertainties in the aircraft Inertial Navigation System and errors in the radar-pointing angles by analyzing the radar returns from a flat and stationary earth surface. This paper extends the THL study to address 1) error characteristics on the radar display, 2) sensitivity of the dual-Doppler analyses to navigation errors, 3) fine-tuning the navigation corrections for individual flight legs, and 4) identifying navigation corrections over a flat and nonstationary earth surface (e.g., ocean). The results show that the errors in each of the parameters affect the dual-Doppler wind analyses and the first-order derivatives in different manners. The tilt error is the most difficult parameter to determine and has the greatest impact on the dual-Doppler analysis. The extended THL method can further reduce the drift, ground speed, and tilt errors in all flight legs over land by analyzing the residual velocities of the earth surface using the corrections obtained in the calibration legs. When reliable dual-Doppler winds can be deduced at flight level, the Bosart–Lee–Wakimoto method presented here can identify all eight errors by satisfying three criteria: 1) the flight-level dual-Doppler winds near the aircraft are statistically consistent with the in situ winds, 2) the flight-level dual-Doppler winds are continuous across the flight track, and 3) the surface velocities of the left (right) fore radar have the same magnitude but opposite sign as their counterparts of right (left) aft radar. This procedure is able to correct airborne Doppler radar data over the ocean and has been evaluated using datasets collected during past experiments. Consistent calibration factors are obtained in multiple legs. The dual-Doppler analyses using the corrected data are statistically superior to those using uncorrected data.

scholarly journals A Generalized Navigation Correction Method for Airborne Doppler Radar Data

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 1999-2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huaqing Cai ◽  
Wen-Chau Lee ◽  
Michael M. Bell ◽  
Cory A. Wolff ◽  
Xiaowen Tang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Correction Method ◽  
Ground Speed ◽  
Flat Surfaces ◽  
Doppler Radar Data ◽  
Flight Level ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Navigation Errors ◽  
Airborne Doppler Radar

AbstractUncertainties in aircraft inertial navigation system and radar-pointing angles can have a large impact on the accuracy of airborne dual-Doppler analyses. The Testud et al. (THL) method has been routinely applied to data collected by airborne tail Doppler radars over flat and nonmoving terrain. The navigation correction method proposed in Georgis et al. (GRH) extended the THL method over complex terrain and moving ocean surfaces by using a variational formulation but its capability over ocean has yet to be tested. Recognizing the limitations of the THL method, Bosart et al. (BLW) proposed to derive ground speed, tilt, and drift errors by statistically comparing aircraft in situ wind with dual-Doppler wind at the flight level. When combined with the THL method, the BLW method can retrieve all navigation errors accurately; however, it can be applied only to flat surfaces, and it is rather difficult to automate. This paper presents a generalized navigation correction method (GNCM) based on the GRH method that will serve as a single algorithm for airborne tail Doppler radar navigation correction for all possible surface conditions. The GNCM includes all possible corrections in the cost function and implements a new closure assumption by taking advantage of an accurate aircraft ground speed derived from GPS technology. The GNCM is tested extensively using synthetic airborne Doppler radar data with known navigation errors and published datasets from previous field campaigns. Both tests show the GNCM is able to correct the navigation errors associated with airborne tail Doppler radar data with adequate accuracy.

The Influence of Airborne Doppler Radar Data Quality on Numerical Simulations of a Tropical Cyclone

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 231-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Zhaoxia Pu ◽  
Wen-Chau Lee ◽  
Qingyun Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Simulation ◽  
Data Quality ◽  
Numerical Simulations ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Doppler Radar Data ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Airborne Doppler Radar

Abstract The impact of airborne Doppler radar data assimilation on improving numerical simulations of tropical cyclones (TCs) has been well recognized. However, the influence of radar data quality on the numerical simulation of tropical cyclones has not been given much attention. It is commonly assumed that higher quality radar data would be more beneficial to numerical simulations of TCs. This study examines the impact of the radar data quality control on assimilation of the airborne Doppler radar reflectivity and radial velocity observations in a numerical simulation of Typhoon Jangmi (2008). It is found that the quality of radar data has a strong influence on the numerical simulation of Typhoon Jangmi in terms of its track, intensity, and precipitation structures. Specifically, results suggest that a trade-off between the data quality and data coverage is necessary for different purposes in practical applications, as the higher quality data contribute to intensity forecast improvements, whereas data of lower quality but having better coverage are more beneficial to accurate track forecasting.

Airborne Doppler Radar Data Analysis Workshop

2003 ◽  
Vol 84 (8) ◽  
pp. 1063-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Chau Lee ◽  
Frank D. Marks ◽  
Craig Walther
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Doppler Radar Data ◽  
Airborne Doppler Radar

scholarly journals An Expanded Dataset of Hurricane Eyewall Sizes and Slopes

2014 ◽  
Vol 71 (7) ◽  
pp. 2747-2762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Stern ◽  
James R. Brisbois ◽  
David S. Nolan
Keyword(s):  
Angular Momentum ◽  
Decay Rate ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Moderate Correlation ◽  
Doppler Radar Data ◽  
The Absolute ◽  
Airborne Doppler Radar

Abstract Using airborne Doppler radar data from 39 flights into hurricanes from 2004 to 2010, the authors examine the outward slope of the eyewall, revisiting the recent studies of Stern and Nolan. The slope of the radius of maximum winds (RMW) is found to increase nearly linearly with size and is uncorrelated with intensity. The slope of the eyewall absolute angular momentum surface M increases with increasing size (strong correlation) and decreases with increasing intensity (weak to moderate correlation). Two other measures of eyewall slope are also investigated: the 20-dBZ reflectivity isosurface (dBZ20) and the radius of maximum azimuthal-mean updraft (RWMAX). The slopes of both dBZ20 and RWMAX increase with their size. The slope of dBZ20 decreases with intensity, though the correlation is weak, while the slope of RWMAX is uncorrelated with intensity. The absolute angular momentum decreases on average along the RMW by 9% from 2- to 8-km heights. With this larger dataset, the previous results are generally confirmed: the slope of the eyewall is mostly a function of the size of the RMW. The vertical decay rate of the maximum tangential winds (Vmax) is also reexamined. On average, Vmax decreases by 20% from 2- to 8-km heights, but this varies from 8% to as large as 42%. This percentage decay rate increases with increasing size and decreases with increasing intensity. Three cases are found where Vmax increases with height from 2 to 4 km, which is likely a consequence of unbalanced flow.

scholarly journals Assimilation of High-Resolution Tropical Cyclone Observations with an Ensemble Kalman Filter Using HEDAS: Evaluation of 2008–11 HWRF Forecasts

2015 ◽  
Vol 143 (2) ◽  
pp. 511-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sim D. Aberson ◽  
Altuğ Aksoy ◽  
Kathryn J. Sellwood ◽  
Tomislava Vukicevic ◽  
Xuejin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Kalman Filter ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Ensemble Kalman Filter ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Doppler Radar Data ◽  
Flight Level ◽  
Airborne Doppler Radar ◽  
Aircraft Data

Abstract NOAA has been gathering high-resolution, flight-level dropwindsonde and airborne Doppler radar data in tropical cyclones for almost three decades; the U.S. Air Force routinely obtained the same type and quality of data, excepting Doppler radar, for most of that time. The data have been used for operational diagnosis and for research, and, starting in 2013, have been assimilated into operational regional tropical cyclone models. This study is an effort to quantify the impact of assimilating these data into a version of the operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting model using an ensemble Kalman filter. A total of 83 cases during 2008–11 were investigated. The aircraft whose data were used in the study all provide high-density flight-level wind and thermodynamic observations as well as surface wind speed data. Forecasts initialized with these data assimilated are compared to those using the model standard initialization. Since only NOAA aircraft provide airborne Doppler radar data, these data are also tested to see their impact above the standard aircraft data. The aircraft data alone are shown to provide some statistically significant improvement to track and intensity forecasts during the critical watch and warning period before projected landfall (through 60 h), with the Doppler radar data providing some further improvement. This study shows the potential for improved forecasts with regular tropical cyclone aircraft reconnaissance and the assimilation of data obtained from them, especially airborne Doppler radar data, into the numerical guidance.

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