The NCAS mobile dual-polarisation Doppler X-band weather radar (NXPol)

In recent years, dual-polarisation Doppler X-band radars have become a widely used part of the atmospheric scientist's toolkit for examining cloud dynamics and microphysics and making quantitative precipitation estimates. This is especially true for research questions that require mobile radars...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atmospheric measurement techniques 2018-12, Vol.11 (12), p.6481-6494
Main Authors: Neely III, Ryan R, Bennett, Lindsay, Blyth, Alan, Collier, Chris, Dufton, David, Groves, James, Walker, Daniel, Walden, Chris, Bradford, John, Brooks, Barbara, Addison, Freya I, Nicol, John, Pickering, Ben
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antennas (Electronics)
Atmospheric physics
Atmospheric sciences
Cloud dynamics
Clouds (Meteorology)
Doppler effect
Doppler radar
Doppler sonar
Dynamics
Infrastructure
Infrastructure (Economics)
Meteorological radar
Meteorological radar stations
Meteors
Microphysics
Polarization
Precipitation
Precipitation (Meteorology)
Precipitation estimation
Radar
Radomes
Rainfall
Remote observing
Scientists
Specifications
Superhigh frequencies
Technology application
Weather
Weather forecasting
Weather radar
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Summary:In recent years, dual-polarisation Doppler X-band radars have become a widely used part of the atmospheric scientist's toolkit for examining cloud dynamics and microphysics and making quantitative precipitation estimates. This is especially true for research questions that require mobile radars. Here we describe the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) mobile X-band dual-polarisation Doppler weather radar (NXPol) and the infrastructure used to deploy the radar and provide an overview of the technical specifications. It is the first radar of its kind in the UK. The NXPol is a Meteor 50DX manufactured by Selex-Gematronik (Selex ES GmbH), modified to operate with a larger 2.4 m diameter antenna that produces a 0.98∘ half-power beam width and without a radome. We provide an overview of the technical specifications of the NXPol with emphasis given to the description of the aspects of the infrastructure developed to deploy the radar as an autonomous observing facility in remote locations. To demonstrate the radar's capabilities, we also present examples of its use in three recent field campaigns and its ongoing observations at the NERC Facility for Atmospheric Radio Research (NFARR).
ISSN:1867-8548
1867-1381
1867-8548
DOI:10.5194/amt-11-6481-2018