CAMEX-4 Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research and Teaching Radars
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Instrument description
3. Data Products
4. File Naming Convention
5. Contact Information
1. Introduction
The Convection And Moisture EXperiment
(CAMEX) is a series of field research
investigations sponsored by the Earth Science Enterprise of the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA). The fourth field campaign in the CAMEX series
(CAMEX-4) ran from 16 August to 25 September, 2001 and was based out of Jacksonville
Naval Air Station, Florida. CAMEX-4 focused on the study of tropical cyclone
(hurricane) development, tracking, intensification, and landfalling impacts
using NASA-funded aircraft and surface remote sensing instrumentation.
The Shared Mobile Atmospheric Research
and Teaching Radars (SMART-R)
program is a collaborative research program involving four major weather research
institutions: National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma, Texas A&M
University, College Station, Texas, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, and
the University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma. With two truck mounted weather
radars, researchers can position themselves at short notice close to interesting
meteorological phenomena.
All equipment- antenna, power generator,
processors and readout computers are truck mounted to provide maximum transportability.
Originally located in the Florida Keys during CAMEX-4, the radar was moved to
the Venice Florida area for landfall of TS Gabrielle on 14 Sept.
2.
Instrument Description
Specifics of the SMART-R are shown
in the table below.
| Frequency |
C-Band: 5600-5800 MHz |
| Peak Power |
250 kW |
| Polarization |
Linear Horizontal |
| Pulse duration |
4 selectable from 0.3 to 2.0 microseconds |
| bin spacing |
selectable: 67m to 2000 m
bin averaging is optional |
| PRF |
selectable: 300-1200 Hz
dual-PRF for velocity dealiasing
optional |
| Gain |
~40 dB |
| Reflector |
2.54 m diameter: solid parabolic |
| half-power beamwidth |
1.5 degrees |
| elevation angle range |
Zero to 90 degrees |
| max. antenna rotation |
36 deg/sec |
| Variables |
radar reflectivity factor (with and/or without filters)
mean Doppler radial velocity spectrum width |
| data archive |
CD-ROM post-collection
redundant hard drives real time |
| file format |
SIGMET IRIS version 7.22 |
| Processor |
RxNet7 with 1 AUX board
2048 bins max
Pulse Pair Processing
FFT and RPHASE |
| clutter filters |
selectable none to extreme (eight levels) |
3.
Data Products
Data are archived in a format which
requires the use of the SIGMET IRIS radar program. This commercial program is
available from SIGMET. Contact them directly
with questions about obtaining the IRIS program.
For those users who have access to
SIGMET IRIS, we have the raw data files available for download via FTP from
our anonymous FTP
server. Technical support for these data is available as noted in
paragraph 5 below.
Browse imagery is also available
via anonymous FTP download from here.
For those users on UNIX based machines,
or for those desiring to use FTP (i.e. not using the web based FTP): anonymously
log into microwave.nsstc.nasa.gov, then cd to pub/data/camex4/SMART-R
for the SIGMET IRIS data files, or to pub/browse/camex4/SMART-R for the
browse imagery.
4.
File Naming Convention
Data are 'tarred' into daily data
files of the form:
c4gsmart_2001.jjj_daily.tar
where c4gsmart represents
CAMEX4 and the SMART radar, and jjj is the day of year.
When untarred, this will yield numerous
data files for use in the SIGMET IRIS program. File naming convention for these
data files is:
c4gsmart_yyyy.jjj_SR1yymmddhhmmss.RAWXGLS
where
c4gsmart identifies the experiment and instrument, yyyy.jjj
is the four digit year and day of the year, SR1 indicates that
this instrument is the #1 SMART radar, yymmddhhmmss indicates
year, month, date, hour, minute and seconds in UTC that the data were collected.
The file name extension is used in the IRIS program. Again, this file is in
SIGMET IRIS format, and may be read using their radar program. See their homepage
at SIGMET.
Browse imagery files are named as:
SR1yymmddhhmmss.gif
with nomenclature similar to that
shown in the data files. Imagery files may be viewed with any common viewer.
5.
Contact Information
Address Scientific issues
to:
Dr. Michael I. Biggerstaff
Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences
3150 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3150
979-847-9090, FAX: 979-862-4466
mikeb@ariel.met.tamu.edu
Engineering
issues should be addressed to:
Jerry Guynes
Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences
3150 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3150
979-845-7447, FAX: 979-862-4466
guynes@ariel.met.tamu.edu
Software issues should be addressed to:
Gordon Carrie
Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences
3150 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3150
979-845-7647, FAX: 979-862-4466
gdc3491@csrp.tamu.edu
Data can be ordered and questions
addressed at http://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/.
To order this data or for further information, please contact:
Global Hydrology Resource Center
User Services
320 Sparkman Drive
Huntsville, AL 35805
Phone: 256-961-7932
E-mail: ghrc@eos.nasa.gov
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