W-Band ARM Cloud Radar System
| Mead, James | ProSensing Inc. |
| Widener, Kevin | Pacific Northwest National Laboratory |
The W-Band ARM Cloud Radar (WACR) is a dual polarization 95 GHz radar that will be deployed at the SGP CART site in the spring of 2005. The WACR system will be installed in the existing MMCR shelter, and will provide continuous zenith pointing measurements of clouds to compliment measurements provided by MMCR. Built by ProSensing Inc. of Amherst, MA, the WACR system include a high peak power (1.5 kW) EIKA transmitter, low noise receiver, and PC-based digital receiver. In addition to an internal calibration procedure, an electronically controlled deflector plate mounted on the roof of the MMCR shelter will be used to periodically illuminate a tower-mounted corner reflector. Joint observations with the WACR and MMCR systems will provide dual wavelength data for improved cloud parameter estimation. The WACR system will be less sensitive than MMCR to backscatter from insects, due to Mie scattering effects and reduced antenna gain. This difference in scattering will be used to discriminate between insects and clouds in the atmospheric boundary layer.
This poster will be displayed at the ARM Science Team Meeting.