HS3

The Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GHRC DAAC) has published another core dataset in the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) collection. The HS3 Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) dataset contains ocean surface winds and precipitation observations from the HIRAD multi-band passive microwave radiometer. HIRAD uses novel interferometric aperture synthesis technique to produce high-resolution wide swath observations without any mechanical scanning of the antenna.

GHRC has published its first HS3 dataset, Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) Global Hawk High Altitude MMIC Sounding Radiometer (HAMSR). This dataset contains measurements gathered by the HAMSR instrument during the HS3 campaigns during the hurricane seasons of 2012 and 2013 in the Atlantic Ocean basin region. HAMSR has 25 spectral channels in 3 bands (50-60 Ghz, 118 Ghz, 183 Ghz), and it provides measurements that can be used to infer the 3D distribution of temperature, water vapor, and cloud liquid water in the atmosphere, even in the presence of clouds. HAMSR is mounted in payload zone 3 near the nose of the Global Hawk NASA aircraft. Data is available in netCDF/CF format.

GHRC personnel attended the annual science team meeting for Hurricane Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3), held May 5-7 at NASA Ames Research Center. HS3 is an Earth Ventures – Suborbital 1 mission, with data to be archived at and distributed by GHRC. Manil Maskey, lead developer for the HS3 information system at GHRC, and Dr. Xiang Li, atmospheric scientist at GHRC, discussed system requirements related to data formats, metadata and documentation. Maskey presented current status and plans for the HS3 data collection at GHRC along with prototype of the flight report browser, a key component of the HS3 data system.