CASA's first test bed: Integrated Project #1

The Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) is an NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) established in the fall of 2003. During the anticipated ten years of the project, a total of five test beds are planned. The first of these test beds, Integrated Project #1 (IP1), will be located in southwestern Oklahoma. The purpose of IP1 is to focus on the study of hazardous wind events (e.g., tornadoes, downdrafts, wind shear) using a new philosophy of sensing, known as Distributed Collaborative Adaptive Sensing (DCAS). DCAS takes advantage of a networked, dynamically data-driven approach to sensing. Scanning will be limited primarily to 0 to 3 km AGL to maximize coverage of regions not observed by existing WSR-88Ds. In addition, 40% of the IP1 domain is covered by more than one radar, in order to maximize dual-Doppler coverage.

IP1 will be comprised of four magnetron, dual-polarized, X-band radars, spaced equidistant at an average 25 km apart. Each radar is mounted on a high-torque pedestal, capable of rapidly scanning at a rate of up to 120 deg/sec. Raw (Tier I) data are collected at each radar node, and quality control is applied within the signal processing. Moment (Tier II) data are generated from the Tier 1 data; Tier II data are then transmitted via 45 Mbit/s DS-3 microwave line-of-sight links to a central location, known as the System Operations Control Center (SOCC). Moment data are archived at the SOCC, and additional quality control, severe weather detection and optimization algorithms operate on the real-time data stream. Resource allocation software optimally determines the scanning strategy per radar for each 30 second cycle. These commands are transmitted back to the radar nodes to repeat the scanning cycle.

IP1 will be commissioned in spring 2006 and is expected to be in operation for approximately 3 years.