Doppler On Wheels National Mobile Doppler Radar Facility

The Center For Severe Weather Research, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

The Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR) proposes to continue providing three mobile Doppler radars known as Doppler on Wheels (DOWs) as part of the national Lower Atmosphere Observing Facility (LAOF) suite. The CSWR DOWs fulfill an important role in the suite of NSF-supported lower atmosphere observing facilities by providing a low-cost, nimble technology for obtaining critical measurements at close-range to severe weather. Users of the DOWs have conducted research into topics such as tornado genesis, winter storm development, winds associated with hurricane landfall, and in-cloud microphysical processes. The DOWs are state-of-the-art X-band radars mounted on purpose-built trucks to provide rapid access to weather phenomena of interest. The facility consists of two dual-polarimetric X-band radars (DOWs 6 and 7) and one multi-beam X-band (Rapid-Scan DOW) that provides very fast, high spatial resolution data. During the next performance period (2014-2018), CSWR will deploy the DOWs, as well as their Mesonet vehicles (truck-mounted mobile weather stations) and "tornado pods", a collection of ruggedized, deployable, instrumented structures designed to measure meteorological variables during encounters with extreme weather, in support of research projects deemed to be of exceptional merit by the peer review process. CSWR staff will maintain and upgrade the instrumentation to facilitate cutting edge research in the areas of atmospheric dynamics and cloud physics. Future deployments will be augmented by the availability of the mobile mesonet sampling capability. CSWR will apply the latest technologies in their radars in accord with community research needs and plan to develop new mobile capabilities such as a mobile C-band radar. Over the past five years, the DOWs have been the most requested lower atmosphere observing facility for educational and outreach purposes. Since 2008, the DOWs and CSWR staff have deployed to eighteen universities across the United States and have carried out extensive "on-the-road" tours involving public displays and lectures that have reached over 100,000 members of the general public. CSWR expects to continue providing these services as requested and has among its staff two credentialed teachers (one in elementary education and another in high school science) who bring age-appropriate pedagogy to the outreach events.