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NCAR ELECTRA AIRCRAFT - ELDORA RADAR DATAP. Hildebrand (NCAR/RSF, USA)Announced availability: 22 October 1993 Data AccessThe NCAR Electra Doppler Radar (ELDORA) data for TOGA COARE are available upon request from Bob Rilling at NCAR/ATD. All ELDORA datasets (both DORADE and clipped UF) are also available from the NCAR Mass Storage System (MSS), pathname /FOFDMG/DATA/TOGACOARE/ELDORA. MSS datasets are COS-blocked and need translation for use on non-COS platforms, or may have COS-blocking removed upon transfer to tape. Users are welcome to obtain data directly from the MSS. Contact the NCAR Scientific Computing Division Consulting Office if you need assistance with this.
A user's guide is available from the NCAR/ATD Web server http://www.atd.ucar.edu/atd_technical_info.html in postscript format.
BackgroundThe NCAR ELDORA, mounted on NCAR's Electra aircraft, conducted its first field tests, when the radar operated on 13 of the 15 Electra missions in January/February 1993 during TOGA COARE. The radar was developed jointly by NCAR/ATD and the French Centre de Recherche en Physique de l'Environnement (CRPE).The first seven flights were boundary layer flights which, for ELDORA, served primarily as check-out missions. The remaining six flights were atmospheric convection missions during which high-quality ELDORA data were collected. Some simplifications to ELDORA operations and reductions in spatial resolution were required to deal with initial operational and hardware problems. Consequently, the radar sampled at 0.72- to 1.4-km intervals along the flight track (as opposed to the design goal of 0.3 to 0.6 km), at 0.15-km intervals in range, and at 1-deg intervals in elevation. The radar can sample storm motions over a domain extending 30-60 km out from the flight track. The system is an X-band (3.2-cm wavelength), dual-Doppler radar with 35- to 50-kW peak power, a complex transmitted waveform, a beamwidth of 1.8 deg, and 40-dB antenna gain. The radar transmits two beams that respectively scan over two cones, one pointed 18 deg forward and the other pointed 18 degrees aft of a plane perpendicular to the aircraft heading. This technique allows the radar to collect dual-Doppler information as the aircraft flies past or through storms. The forward and aft radar measurements are used to reconstruct the storm reflectivity (rainfall) and kinematic structure. The ELDORA data for February 1993 show smooth, noise-free reflectivity and velocity fields, much like those from ground-based Doppler radars. Achieving this level of data quality was the primary reason for designing ELDORA with a complex transmitted waveform with multiple frequencies. These data should have a high degree of utility and scientific interest. However, the system was very unstable in January, causing data fragmentation, and the utility of some of these data is questionable.
Data File InformationParameters included in the ELDORA dataset, for both the forward- and aft-looking radars are:
DZ reflectivity NC normalized coherent power SW spectrum width VR raw velocity as recorded by the field system VG velocity corrected for aircraft motion VU unfolded velocity derived during batch processing from VG Data are available for the following periods (all times in GMT): P70001 ELD/RP7 01/12/93 2216 0142 TOGA COARE P70002 ELD/RP7 01/13/93 2207 2243 TOGA COARE P70003 ELD/RP7 01/15/93 2253 0133 TOGA COARE P70004 ELD/RP7 01/16/93 2256 2358 TOGA COARE P70005 ELD/RP7 01/16/93 2256 2358 TOGA COARE P70006 ELD/RP7 01/18/93 0051 0259 TOGA COARE P70007 ELD/RP7 01/26/93 2230 0158 TOGA COARE P70008 ELD/RP7 01/27/93 0159 0302 TOGA COARE P70009 ELD/RP7 01/27/93 2245 2316 TOGA COARE P70010 ELD/RP7 02/04/93 2141 0030 TOGA COARE P70011 ELD/RP7 02/05/93 0116 0144 TOGA COARE P70012 ELD/RP7 02/06/93 1546 1734 TOGA COARE P70013 ELD/RP7 02/06/93 1750 2005 TOGA COARE P70014 ELD/RP7 02/09/93 1606 1817 TOGA COARE P70015 ELD/RP7 02/09/93 1828 2007 TOGA COARE P70016 ELD/RP7 02/10/93 1846 2011 TOGA COARE P70017 ELD/RP7 02/10/93 2037 2129 TOGA COARE P70018 ELD/RP7 02/10/93 2254 0026 TOGA COARE P70019 ELD/RP7 02/17/93 2008 2328 TOGA COARE P70020 ELD/RP7 02/18/93 2127 0037 TOGA COARE P70021 ELD/RP7 02/19/93 0047 0210 TOGA COAREData Distribution The preferred format for distribution is the DORADE format; the preferred media for distribution is high-density EXABYTE (8mm tape). Other media (e.g., low density Exabyte, 9-track) and other formats (e.g., Universal Format, with clipping below ground and above the troposphere) can also be provided.
For scientific information, please contact:
Peter Hildebrand
email: peter@ncar.ucar.edu
To obtain a copy of the dataset from RDP , please contact:
Bob Rilling
email: rilling@ncar.ucar.edu
For help from the MSS, please contact:
Dennis Joseph
email: joseph@ncar.ucar.edu
Return to Aircraft Data Overview Return to TOGA COARE Data User's Guide Table of Contents Return to the COARE Homepage http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/coare/catalog/data/convection_mesoscale/Electra_eldora.html Downloaded Thursday, 08-Jan-2009 20:22:05 EST Last Updated Thursday, 26-May-2005 17:16:52 EDT Please see the NCDC Contact Page if you have questions or comments. |