TCSP NOAA WP-3D RADAR

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes (TCSP) mission was a field research investigation sponsored by the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). TCSP was focused on the study of the dynamics and thermodynamics of precipitating cloud systems, including tropical cyclones using NASA-funded aircraft and surface remote sensing instrumentation. This field experiment was conducted throughout the month of July, 2005, flying missions out of Juan Santa Maria Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica. An important addition to TCSP project was the participation of the NOAA weather reconnaissance WP-3D aircraft. These airborne experiments collected temperature, humidity, precipitation, and wind information related to tropical cyclones and other phenomena that often lead to development of more powerful storms at sea.

Each WP-3D Orion aircraft has three radars: nose, lower fuselage and tail. The nose radar is used strictly for flight safety and is not recorded for research purposes. The lower fuselage and tail radars are used for research purposes and the data are recorded on magnetic tape.

For information about the NOAA WP-3D Orion reasearch aircraft used during the TCSP field experiment, check out the following web links:

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/hrd_sub/wp-3d.html

http://www.aoc.noaa.gov/aircraft_lockheed.htm

Radar Characteristics

The WD-P3 lower fuselage and tail radar characteristics are listed below:

Additional information about these radars is available at: http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/HRD-P3_radar.html

The NOAA WP-3D flight schedules and mission reports can be found at the following sites, along with links to some of the quicklook data.

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Storm_pages/ifex2005/ifex_cal.html

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/Storm_pages/ifex2005/mission.html

Data Distribution

The NOAA WP-3D radar data are not available from the GHRC, but can be obtained directly from the data producer:

Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory
4301 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, FL 33149

http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/data2.html

Kollias, P., B.A. Albrecht, and F.D. Marks. 2003 "Cloud radar observations of vertical drafts and microphysics in convective rain." Journal of Geophysical Research, 108(D2) pp.4053

Black, M.L., J.F. Gamache, F.D. Marks, C.E. Samsury, and H.E. Willoughby. 2002 "Eastern Pacific Hurricanes Jimena of 1991 and Olivia of 1994 pp. The effect of vertical shear on structure and intensity." Monthly Weather Review, 130(9) pp.2291-2312

Kollias, P., B.A. Albrecht, and F.D. Marks. 2002 "Why Mie?" Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 83(10) pp.1471-1483

Walsh, E.J., C.W. Wright, D. Vandemark, W.B. Krabill, A.W. Garcia, S.H. Houston, S.T. Murillo, M.D. Powell, P.G. Black, and F.D. Marks. 2002 "Hurricane directional wave spectrum spatial variation at landfall." Journal of Physical Oceanography, 32(6) pp.1667-1684

Atlas, D., C.W. Ulbrich, F.D. Marks, R.A. Black, E. Amitai, P.T. Willis, and C.E. Samsury. 2000 "Partitioning tropical oceanic convective and stratiform rains by draft strength." Journal of Geophysical Research, 105(D2) pp.2259-2267

Lee, W.-C., and F.D. Marks. 2000 "Tropical cyclone kinematic structure retrieved from single Doppler radar observations, Part II: The GBVTD-simplex center finding algorithm." Monthly Weather Review, 128(6) pp.1925-1936

Lee, W.-C., B. J.-D. Jou, P.-L. Chang, and F.D. Marks. 2000 "Tropical cyclone kinematic structure retrieved from single-Doppler radar observations. Part III: Evolution and structures of Typhoon Alex (1987)." Monthly Weather Review, 128(12) pp.3982-4001

Reasor, P.D., M.T. Montgomery, F.D. Marks, and J.F. Gamache. 2000 "Low-wavenumber structure and evolution of the hurricane inner core observed by airborne dual-Doppler radar." Monthly Weather Review, 128(6) pp.1653-1680

Rogers, R.F., J.M. Fritsch, and W.C. Lambert. 2000 "A simple technique for using radar data in the dynamic initialization of a mesoscale model." Monthly Weather Review, 128(7) pp.2560-2574

Dodge, P.P., R.W. Burpee, and F.D. Marks. 1999 "The kinematic structure of a hurricane with sea-level pressure less than 900 mb." Monthly Weather Review, 127(6) pp.987-1004

Black, M.L., R.W. Burpee, and F.D. Marks. 1996 "Vertical motion characteristics of tropical cyclones determined with airborne Doppler radial velocities." Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 53(13) pp.1887-1909

Marks, F.D., 1985 "Evolution and structure of precipitation in Hurricane Allen (1980)." Mon. Wea. Rev., 113, 909-930.

To order these data or for further information, please contact:

Global Hydrology Resource Center
User Services
320 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, AL 35805
Phone: 256-961-7932
E-mail: support-ghrc@earthdata.nasa.gov
Web: http://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/