Tropical Cyclone Inner-Core Structure from Conically Scanning Airborne Doppler Radar: IWRAP and HIWRAP

The inner-core structure of tropical cyclones in various phases of storm development will be shown from two conically scanning airborne Doppler radars. The first radar, called the Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (IWRAP), is a dual-frequency (C- and Ku-band), multiple incidence angle system scanning at 60 RPM with range gates of 30 meters. IWRAP has been flying on the NOAA P3 aircraft for several years. The second radar, called the High Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profile (HIWRAP), operates at Ku- and Ka-band, has two incidence angles and scans at 16 RPM with current range gates of 150 meters. HIWRAP is new and flew on the Global Hawk aircraft for the first time in 2010 during the GRIP experiment. Both radars complement each other well. For example, while HIWRAP samples the full troposphere with an aircraft altitude of ~ 20 km and IWRAP only measures the lower levels of the storm (~ 2 – 4 km), IWRAP measurements have higher resolution allowing turbulent structures to be captured.

Three-dimensional wind retrievals and reflectivity will be shown that reveal some new insights on the structure of eyewall replacement cycles, mature systems and genesis.