MAPR Observations of the Boundary Layer using RIM and Spaced Antenna Techniques at IHOP

NCAR deployed an Integrated Sounding System (ISS) at the International H2O Project (IHOP) in the Oklahoma panhandle during May and June 2002. This ISS included a surface met tower, radiosondes, sodar and the advanced UHF wind profiler MAPR (Multiple Antenna Profiler Radar). At the same site were NASA lidars (the Raman, GLOW, and HARLIE lidars), the University of Wisconsin AERI (Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer), and the University of Massachusetts FM-CW S-band vertically pointing radar.

MAPR is a spaced antenna 915 MHz wind profiler capable of making rapid wind measurements. At IHOP MAPR used the RIM (Range Imaging) frequency shifting interferometry technique to greatly enhance the vertical resolution of the radar. RIM combined with multiple antennas provides MAPR with the unique ability to provide reflectivity and wind measurements with high resolution in range and well as in time. The RIM and spaced antenna techniques were used for detailed study of features such as Kelvin-Helmholtz billows, rolls, and boundary layer top during IHOP. Examples of these observations and comparisons with observations from other instruments will be given.