A High Resolution Airborne Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Surface Wind Field Imager for the NOAA WP-3D Aircraft

High resolution, continuous monitoring of the lower boundary layer wind field and ocean surface wind field within tropical cyclones is required to improve intensity forecasting. This proposed Phase I effort will focus on realizing an operational airborne imaging Doppler radar capable of providing these winds with 15-meter vertical resolution from a minimum of 5000 feet to, and including, the ocean surface. The technical innovations required to realize this system are a digital receiver and spectral processor capable of handling 4.4 Gb/s input data rate and suppressing surface backscatter contamination in the lower volume backscatter profiles; a novel solid-state design that will achieve high sensitivity; a low loss, multi-beam antenna compatible with the NOAA WP-3D aircraft and a real-time retrieval processor. In addition to serving the tropical cyclone forecasting and research communities, this system and innovations developed could service the homeland defense and weather industries.