Tuesday, 24 January 2012: 9:15 AM
DOW Mobile Radars in the Classroom
Room 348/349 (New Orleans Convention Center )
The Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR) operates 3 X-band mobile Doppler radars (DOWs). Each radar is equipped with a suite of weather instruments that allow for the simultaneous collection of meteorological variables such as temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and wind speed/direction. The multiple Doppler radar network is rapidly deployable, thereby affording users the flexibility to target easily specific regions/weather of interest. The DOW radars have been an integral component of radar meteorological courses at several universities. DOW radars, as National Science Foundation (NSF) Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities (LAOF), can be requested for educational projects. Typically, a university will request a DOW for about 3 weeks. The requesting procedure is simplified and expedited compared to the normal NSF proposal process. If the request is approved, CSWR brings the radar to the university and provides training in operations and a lecture on radar principles, and provides assistance with radar data viewing/analysis software. The DOWs are designed to be operable by students after minimal training, so operations during the last two weeks of the deployment are conducted by the faculty and students at the university. The experience with the DOWs permits students to participate directly in the operation of innovative scientific instrumentation, experimental design, and data analysis. Universities that have requested DOWs for education include: University of Utah, North Carolina State University, University of Colorado, University of Oklahoma, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue, University of Nebraska, University of North Dakota, University of Illinois, Saint Cloud University, Lyndon State College and Jackson State University. An overview of the DOW mobile radar network, including how to request this facility for research and educational purposes, will be presented. Additionally, examples of the different student projects and data collected will be discussed.
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