First result from the NRC Airborne W and X-band (NAWX) radar system—Observations of winter clouds during the Canadian CloudSat and CALIPSO validation project

The National Research Council (NRC) Institute for Aerospace Research in collaboration with ProSensing Inc. has recently completed the development and installations of a state-of-the-art airborne dual-frequency (W- and X-band) radar system – NAWX on its Convair-580 Research Aircraft. The NAWX radar system consists of six antennas and a motorized reflector that are housed in a blister radome while the radar RF unit and other electronic units are installed inside the cabin. Both radars are equipped with electronic switching allowing near-simultaneous polarimetric and Doppler observations in vertical and horizontal directions. This paper presents first result from the NAWX radar system collected in winter clouds during the Canadian CloudSat and CALIPSO Validation Project (C3VP) that is being conducted in Ontario and Quebec, Canada between October 2006 and March 2007. The clouds sampled so far include glaciated and mixed phase clouds consisting of various crystal types, sizes and concentrations and in some cases multiple layers. The presentation focuses on the use of polarimetric, Doppler and dual-frequency measurements and the in-situ microphysics data in characterizations of microphysical structure and processes of winter clouds sampled during the C3VP campaign.