Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) Open Radar Data Acquisition (ORDA) Enhancements

The WSR-88D Open Systems projects have been described in numerous papers over the past five years, mainly focusing on the Open Principal User Processor (OPUP) and the Open Radar Products Generator (ORPG). These systems are nearing completion and will be fielded shortly. The development of the Open Radar Data Acquisition (ORDA) component of the WSR-88D has progressed to the point of the initial use of its equipment at a proof of concept demonstration for the Legacy RDA in March 2000. In May 2000, representatives of the three WSR-88D federal agencies: the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Department of Defense Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA), and the Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), met at the WSR-88D Radar Operations Center (ROC) in Norman, Oklahoma to discuss the future development of the ORDA with respect to their individual and joint mission needs. This meeting was held under the broad aegis of the NEXRAD Product Improvement (NPI) program. This meeting produced a list of recommended enhancements critical to the future development of the ORDA. A similar group had earlier met in July of 1996 to discuss present and future development of the ORDA. In addition, a wide range of ORDA enhancements have been called for in a high level federal document addressing needed requirements to the WSR-88D.

This paper will describe the initial list of potential enhancements the joint group had agreed on during the two-day ORDA enhancement meeting held in May 2000. Additional enhancements may arise during the evolution of the ORDA, and its future development. The individual agencies must develop these enhancements into their operational requirements as part of their mission needs, in that they will address present deficiencies in their current capabilities, new technologies, or reduce the costs of their present (and expanded) services. Consequently, it is possible that not all of these enhancements will be included in the first software build after the replication of the existing Build 10.

As a result of the ORDA meeting which was held in May 2000, a total of twenty-four enhancements distributed over five general categories have been proposed. These categories are: (1) performance enhancements, (2) enhanced data quality control, (3) expanded data products, (4) enhanced data resolution, and (5) reliability and maintenance enhancements. This paper will further discuss each of these enhancements in detail.