Observations of the 10 May 2010 Tornado Outbreak Using OU-PRIME: Potential for New Science with High-Resolution Polarimetric Radar

2011 ◽  
Vol 92 (7) ◽  
pp. 871-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert D. Palmer ◽  
David Bodine ◽  
Matthew Kumjian ◽  
Boonleng Cheong ◽  
Guifu Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Polarimetric Radar ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
New Science ◽  
Engineering Studies ◽  
University Of Oklahoma ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
The University ◽  
Tornado Outbreak

A tornado outbreak occurred in central Oklahoma on 10 May 2010, including two tornadoes with enhanced Fujita scale ratings of 4 (EF-4). Tragically, three deaths were reported along with significant property damage. Several strong and violent tornadoes occurred near Norman, Oklahoma, which is a major hub for severe storms research and is arguably one of the best observed regions of the country with multiple Doppler radars operated by both the federal government and the University of Oklahoma (OU). One of the most recent additions to the radars in Norman is the high-resolution OU Polarimetric Radar for Innovations in Meteorology and Engineering (OU-PRIME). As the name implies, the radar is used as a platform for research and education in both science and engineering studies using polarimetric radar. To facilitate usage of the system by students and faculty, OU-PRIME was constructed adjacent to the National Weather Center building on the OU research campus. On 10 May 2010, several tornadoes formed near the campus while OU researchers were operating OU-PRIME in a sector scanning mode, providing polarimetric radar data with unprecedented resolution and quality. In this article, the environmental conditions leading to the 10 May 2010 outbreak will be described, an overview of OU-PRIME will be provided, and several examples of the data and possible applications will be summarized. These examples will highlight supercell polarimetric signatures during and after tornadogenesis, and they will describe how the polarimetric signatures are related to observations of reflectivity and velocity.

scholarly journals A Variational Approach for Retrieving Raindrop Size Distribution from Polarimetric Radar Measurements in the Presence of Attenuation

2013 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 169-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Cao ◽  
Guifu Zhang ◽  
Ming Xue
Keyword(s):  
Variational Approach ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Real Data ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Polarimetric Radar ◽  
University Of Oklahoma ◽  
Raindrop Size Distribution ◽  
Radar Measurements ◽  
Raindrop Size ◽  
Differential Reflectivity

AbstractThis study presents a two-dimensional variational approach to retrieving raindrop size distributions (DSDs) from polarimetric radar data in the presence of attenuation. A two-parameter DSD model, the constrained-gamma model, is used to represent rain DSDs. Three polarimetric radar measurements—reflectivity ZH, differential reflectivity ZDR, and specific differential phase KDP—are optimally used to correct for the attenuation and retrieve DSDs by taking into account measurement error effects. Retrieval results with simulated data demonstrate that the proposed algorithm performs well. Applications to real data collected by the X-band Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) radars and the C-band University of Oklahoma–Polarimetric Radar for Innovations in Meteorology and Engineering (OU-PRIME) also demonstrate the efficacy of this approach.

The New Science and Engineering Library at the University of Rochester

1987 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-93
Author(s):  
Arleen N. Somerville ◽  
Loretta Caren ◽  
Isabel Kaplan ◽  
Diane J. Reiman
Keyword(s):  
Science And Engineering ◽  
New Science ◽  
The University

scholarly journals High-Resolution Polarimetric Radar Observations of Snow-Generating Cells

2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 1636-1658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew R. Kumjian ◽  
Steven A. Rutledge ◽  
Roy M. Rasmussen ◽  
Patrick C. Kennedy ◽  
Mike Dixon
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Radiosonde Data ◽  
Polarimetric Radar ◽  
Front Range ◽  
Ice Crystal ◽  
Horizontal Polarization ◽  
X Band ◽  
Northern Colorado ◽  
Differential Reflectivity

AbstractHigh-resolution X-band polarimetric radar data were collected in 19 snowstorms over northern Colorado in early 2013 as part of the Front Range Orographic Storms (FROST) project. In each case, small, vertically erect convective turrets were observed near the echo top. These “generating cells” are similar to those reported in the literature and are characterized by ~1-km horizontal and vertical dimensions, vertical velocities of 1–2 m s−1, and lifetimes of at least 10 min. In some cases, these generating cells are enshrouded by enhanced differential reflectivity ZDR, indicating a “shroud” of pristine crystals enveloping the larger, more isotropic particles. The anticorrelation of radar reflectivity factor at horizontal polarization ZH and ZDR suggests ongoing aggregation or riming of particles in the core of generating cells. For cases in which radiosonde data were collected, potential instability was found within the layer in which generating cells were observed. The persistence of these layers suggests that radiative effects are important, perhaps by some combination of cloud-top cooling and release of latent enthalpy through depositional and riming growth of particles within the cloud. The implications for the ubiquity of generating cells and their role as a mechanism for ice crystal initiation and growth are discussed.

scholarly journals A Dual-Wavelength Polarimetric Analysis of the 16 May 2010 Oklahoma City Extreme Hailstorm

2012 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 1385-1403 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Picca ◽  
A. Ryzhkov
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Ground Truth ◽  
Oklahoma City ◽  
Dual Wavelength ◽  
Polarimetric Radar ◽  
University Of Oklahoma ◽  
Metro Area ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Three Body

A comparative analysis of a supercell hailstorm using simultaneous observations with S-band and C-band polarimetric radars supported by abundant ground-truth reports is presented in this study. The storm occurred on 16 May 2010 and produced a swath of extremely damaging hail across a large portion of the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, metro area. Hail sizes over 10 cm in diameter and hail drifts upward of 1.5 m in height were reported. Both S-band (KOUN) and C-band [University of Oklahoma Polarimetric Radar for Innovations in Meteorology and Engineering (OU-PRIME)] polarimetric radars in Norman, Oklahoma, sampled the storm at ranges less than 60 km, so that high-resolution dual-wavelength polarimetric data were obtained. At C band, this analysis mostly presents raw Z and ZDR (due to problems with differential phase resulting from an incorrect censoring threshold in the examined case) while taking into account the possibility of attenuation in the interpretation of these data. Among the issues investigated in the study are the relation of hail size measured at the surface to the polarimetric signatures at both wavelengths, the difference between polarimetric signatures at the two wavelengths of hail aloft and near the surface (where melting hail is mixed with rain), and the three-body scatter spike (TBSS) signature associated with large hail.

Ground-Based Velocity Track Display (GBVTD) Analysis of W-Band Doppler Radar Data in a Tornado near Stockton, Kansas, on 15 May 1999

2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
pp. 783-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin L. Tanamachi ◽  
Howard B. Bluestein ◽  
Wen-Chau Lee ◽  
Michael Bell ◽  
Andrew Pazmany
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Wind Profile ◽  
Doppler Radar ◽  
Radar Data ◽  
Vortex Center ◽  
Doppler Radar Data ◽  
University Of Oklahoma ◽  
W Band ◽  
The University

Abstract On 15 May 1999, a storm intercept team from the University of Oklahoma collected high-resolution, W-band Doppler radar data in a tornado near Stockton, Kansas. Thirty-five sector scans were obtained over a period of approximately 10 min, capturing the tornado life cycle from just after tornadogenesis to the decay stage. A low-reflectivity “eye”—whose diameter fluctuated during the period of observation—was present in the reflectivity scans. A ground-based velocity track display (GBVTD) analysis of the W-band Doppler radar data of the Stockton tornado was conducted; results and interpretations are presented and discussed. It was found from the analysis that the axisymmetric component of the azimuthal wind profile of the tornado was suggestive of a Burgers–Rott vortex during the most intense phase of the life cycle of the tornado. The temporal evolution of the axisymmetric components of azimuthal and radial wind, as well as the wavenumber-1, -2, and -3 angular harmonics of the azimuthal wind, are also presented. A quasi-stationary wavenumber-2 feature of the azimuthal wind was analyzed from 25 of the 35 scans. It is shown, via simulated radar data collection in an idealized Burgers–Rott vortex, that this wavenumber-2 feature may be caused by the translational distortion of the vortex during the radar scans. From the GBVTD analysis, it can be seen that the maximum azimuthally averaged azimuthal wind speed increased while the radius of maximum wind (RMW) decreased slightly during the intensification phase of the Stockton tornado. In addition, the maximum azimuthally averaged azimuthal wind speed, the RMW, and the circulation about the vortex center all decreased simultaneously as the tornado decayed.

Polarimetric Radar Observations of Simultaneous Tornadoes on 10 May 2010 near Norman, Oklahoma

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 (2) ◽  
pp. 477-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Casey B. Griffin ◽  
David J. Bodine ◽  
Robert Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Land Cover ◽  
Dual Wavelength ◽  
Polarimetric Radar ◽  
Radar Observations ◽  
University Of Oklahoma ◽  
The University

Abstract This study utilizes data collected by the University of Oklahoma Advanced Radar Research Center’s Polarimetric Radar for Innovations in Meteorology and Engineering (OU-PRIME) C-band radar as well as the federal KTLX and KOUN WSR-88D S-band radars to study a supercell that simultaneously produced a long-track EF-4 tornado and an EF-2 landspout tornado (EF indicates the enhanced Fujita scale) near Norman, Oklahoma, on 10 May 2010. Contrasting polarimetric characteristics of two tornadoes over similar land cover but with different intensities are documented. Also, the storm-scale sedimentation of debris within the supercell is investigated, which includes observations of rotation and elongation of a tornadic debris signature with height. A dual-wavelength comparison of debris at S and C bands is performed. These analyses indicate that lofted debris within the tornado was larger than debris located outside the damage path of the tornado and that debris size outside the tornado increased with height, likely as the result of centrifuging. Profiles of polarimetric variables were observed to become more vertically homogeneous with time.

Graduate Teaching Fellows in the Classroom: Connecting University Research and Resources to the K-12 Community

2004 ◽  
Vol 827 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Hammer ◽  
Deepa Srikantaiah
Keyword(s):  
Materials Science ◽  
Science And Engineering ◽  
University Of Maryland ◽  
Teaching Fellows ◽  
New Science ◽  
Graduate Teaching ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
Materials Research ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The University

AbstractUniversity-based education outreach efforts in the areas of science and engineering are continuing to grow and be refined as their success stories rapidly increase. As we have learned, effective outreach to K-12 schools and the broader community requires an understanding of the K-12 educational system, making a long-term commitment to support and enhance the existing curriculum, training researchers, and meeting our own goals of integrating the excitement of new science and technology into the classroom.The University of Maryland (UMD) Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) Graduate Teaching Fellows Program (GK-12) is making strides to accomplish these objectives. This paper will be a descriptive overview of the of the UMD GK-12 Program. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of developing viable partnerships, integrating research-based concepts into the curriculum (emphasizing materials science related topics), and training research Fellows to develop the necessary skills to take advantage of their research background and to refine their teaching and communication skills within the scope of informal science and engineering education.

FloRunTM ‘331’ Peanut Variety

EDIS ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barry L. Tillman
Keyword(s):  
Seed Size ◽  
Growth Habit ◽  
Yield Potential ◽  
High Yield ◽  
University Of Florida ◽  
High Oleic ◽  
Central Stem ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
The University ◽  
High Yield Potential

FloRunTM ‘331’ peanut variety was developed by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, North Florida Research and Education Center near Marianna, Florida.  It was released in 2016 because it combines high yield potential with excellent disease tolerance. FloRunTM ‘331’ has a typical runner growth habit with a semi-prominent central stem and medium green foliage.  It has medium runner seed size with high oleic oil chemistry.

Sustainable Energies as an Educational Challenge: Regarding Engineering Studies at the University of Girona

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 56-61
Author(s):  
J.R. González ◽  
◽  
L. Pacheco ◽  
N. Luo ◽  
T. Pujol ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Engineering Studies ◽  
Educational Challenge ◽  
The University
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