Observations with the HAMSR Aircraft Microwave Sounder during CPEX

The High Altitude MMIC Sounding Radiometer (HAMSR) was developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2001 to serve as an aircraft based hurricane observatory. It initially flew on the high altitude ER-2 and later on the DC-8. More recently it was modified to fly on the Global Hawk UAV. It uses the most advanced technology and is among the most sensitive instruments of its kind. HAMSR has flown in a number of hurricane field campaigns and most recently in the Convective Processes Experiment (CPEX) focused on the early stages of tropical convection – initiation, organization and growth. CPEX deployed the NASA DC-8 from Fort Lauderdale, Florida during June 2017, with a payload that included a Doppler precipitation radar, a Doppler wind lidar, a dropsonde system and two microwave radiometers in addition to HAMSR. We will show selections of the HAMSR observations.

Copyright 2017 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.