CLOUD TOP RADIOMETER

RAPID UPDRAFT VELOCITIES OF CLOUDS OFTEN ACCOMPANY SEVERE STORMS AND TORNADOS. DURING THESE HIGH ENERGY EVENTS, CLOUDS CAN RISE AS MUCH AS 40,000 FEET IN A MATTER OF MINUTES. A NEW TYPE OF INSTRUMENT, THE CLOUD TOP RADIOMETER(CTR), IS PROPOSED WHICH CAN MONITOR THE ALTITUDE OF CLOUD TOPS AT A HIGH REPETITION RATE AS AN INDICATION OF POTENTIALSTORM ACTIVITY. THE CTR UTILIZES THE OXYGEN A-BAND TECHNIQUE BUT INCORPORATES A CCD AREA DETECTOR ARRAY IN A STARING MODE TO ACHIEVE LONG DWELL TIMES AND HIGH SENSITIVITY. THIS ALLOWS A SMALL, LIGHTWEIGHT INSTRUMENT OPERATING AT AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, TO PERFORM ACCURATE ALTITUDE MEASUREMENTS WITHOUT COMPLICATED SCAN MECHANISMS AND CRYOGENIC SYSTEMS. THE STARING CTR ALSO OBTAINS HIGH RESOLUTION CLOUD TOP IMAGES FOR GLOBAL CLOUD MONITORING AND MODELING PROGRAMS. THE CTR CONTAINS A STABILIZATION MIRROR SO THAT BI-DIRECTIONAL REFLECTANCE MEASUREMENTS CAN BE MADE AT MULTIPLE ANGLES OF THE SAME CLOUDS. THE MIRROR WILL ALSO ALLOW STEREO IMAGES OF THE CLOUDS TO BE OBTAINED FOR A CORRELATING SET OF CLOUD TOP ALTITUDE VALUES. THE ANTICIPATED RESULTS ARE A FEASIBILITY STUDY AND CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR PHASE I AND A COMPLETE WORKING BREADBOARD MODEL FOR PHASE II WHICH CAN BE FLOWN ON A GET-AWAY-SPECIAL ABOARD THE STS.