A deployable Modular Profiling Network

NCAR is proposing to develop a deployable facility for application to a broad range of lower atmospheric observation needs. The central instrument would consist of modular antenna panels and distributed TX and RX electronics which could be configured either as a single 449 MHz ST radar or as a network of approximately 6 boundary layer profilers. A low side-lobe antenna design and advanced signal processing methods would be used, bringing new capabilities to NCAR's user community. The MPN would also include several low power Doppler lidars and in-situ instrumentation capable of measuring land-atmosphere exchange and surface layer turbulence and fluxes. It would meet diverse needs for the studies of the surface layer, boundary layer, free troposphere, and tropopause.