International Weather Radar Networking


Book Description

International Weather Radar Networking covers all aspects of the subject in a collection of contributions drawn from all over the world. Of particular interest are the papers describing work in Eastern Europe and papers reviewing of the achievements of the Commission of the European Communities COST-73 project. During the last twenty years there has been a rapid growth in the number of digital radars deployed for operational use in Western Europe. There are now around 100, of which about half have a Doppler capability, providing wind as well as reflectivity information. The international exchange of the data from these systems promises a great enhancement of the benefits to weather forecasting and commercial users. This volume reports work being undertaken to realize those benefits and points the way to future developments of radar technology.




Weather Radar Technology Beyond NEXRAD


Book Description

Weather radar is a vital instrument for observing the atmosphere to help provide weather forecasts and issue weather warnings to the public. The current Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) system provides Doppler radar coverage to most regions of the United States (NRC, 1995). This network was designed in the mid 1980s and deployed in the 1990s as part of the National Weather Service (NWS) modernization (NRC, 1999). Since the initial design phase of the NEXRAD program, considerable advances have been made in radar technologies and in the use of weather radar for monitoring and prediction. The development of new technologies provides the motivation for appraising the status of the current weather radar system and identifying the most promising approaches for the development of its eventual replacement. The charge to the committee was to determine the state of knowledge regarding ground-based weather surveillance radar technology and identify the most promising approaches for the design of the replacement for the present Doppler Weather Radar. This report presents a first look at potential approaches for future upgrades to or replacements of the current weather radar system. The need, and schedule, for replacing the current system has not been established, but the committee used the briefings and deliberations to assess how the current system satisfies the current and emerging needs of the operational and research communities and identified potential system upgrades for providing improved weather forecasts and warnings. The time scale for any total replacement of the system (20- to 30-year time horizon) precluded detailed investigation of the designs and cost structures associated with any new weather radar system. The committee instead noted technologies that could provide improvements over the capabilities of the evolving NEXRAD system and recommends more detailed investigation and evaluation of several of these technologies. In the course of its deliberations, the committee developed a sense that the processes by which the eventual replacement radar system is developed and deployed could be as significant as the specific technologies adopted. Consequently, some of the committee's recommendations deal with such procedural issues.




Weather Radar Networking


Book Description

Over the past twenty years, there has been a rapid expansion in the number of opera tional, digital weather radars in Europe. Work within COST 73 stimulated the use of data from these radars and also demonstrated the potential of the international exchange of weather radar data in near real-time. The Management Committee of the COST 73 Project have laid the foun dations upon which future international operational radar networking may be built in Europe, and has indicated the directions that future weather radar technological developments might take. Throughout this five year Project, it has been possible to achieve success o~ through the goodwill of the participants. The considerable international co-operation is, in no smaIl measure, the underpinning reason why the Management Committee of COST 73 have been able to address such a wide range of topics within the general category of international weather radar networking. It has been an honour to have had the opportunity to act as Chairman of a group of meteorolo gists, engineers and managers possessing such a wide variety of talents and experience. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their many and varied contributions.




Weather Radar Networking


Book Description

Meteorology is by nature a multidisciplinary and transnational subject and COST cooperation has proved to be a flexible and suitable framework at European level for meteorological activities such as the standardisation of observation techniques and harmonised transmission of meteorological data. Although meteorology is not covered by a specific Community programme as such, various Community actions dealing with meteorology are now included in the EEC research programme on climatology (the "EPOCH" programme - 1989-92) of mechanisms of extreme and sudden concerning particularly the study meteorological events, in order to predict catastrophies and consequently to reduce human and material losses. In the context of COST cooperation, which is supported by the Commission of the European Communities, the COST 73 project (1986-1991) associates 16 countries in Western Europe with the aim of setting up a weather radar network providing real-time measurements of rain, snow or hail precipitations. In this project, radar data are transmitted and combined if appropriate with satellite data - in one or more "compositing centres" of the participating countries, in order to improve weather forecasting. Together with the COST 73 Management Committee, the Commission of the European Communities organized a seminar on this matter, in Brussels on 5-8 September 1989, at the half-way stage of the project.




Radar Meteorology


Book Description

As we all know, weather radar came into existence during the Second World War when aircraft detection radars had their vision limited by echoes from rain bearing clouds. What was often considered to be of nuisance value by the air force personnel trying to locate enemy aircraft was seen as an opportunity by the weather men. Thus adversity in one field was converted into an opportunity in another. Since then weather radar has found myriad applications with the increased sophistication of technology and processing systems. It has now become an indispensable tool for the operational forecasters, cloud physicists and atmospheric scientists. The current generation radar is but a distant echo of the radars of the 1940s. As a result, its operation and maintenance have become very complex, like the technology it uses. Therefore, there is a definite requirement of focussing our special attention not only on the science of radar meteorology but also on its operational aspects. The present book, as pointed out by the author, attempts to fill this gap. The author has presented the subject with a balanced blend of science, technology and practice. The canvas is indeed very broad. Starting with the history of weather radar development the book goes on to discuss in a lucid style the physics of the atmosphere related to radar observation, radar technology, echo interpretation, different applications and finally attempts to look into the future to indicate potential new opportunities in this field.




Weather Radar


Book Description

With their images practically ubiquitious in the daily media, weather radar systems provide data not only for understanding weather systems and improving forecasts (especially critical for severe weather), but also for hydrological applications, flood warnings and climate research in which ground verification is needed for global precipitation measurements by satellites. This book offers an accessible overview of advanced methods, applications and modern research from the European perspective. An extensive introductory chapter summarizes the principles of weather radars and discusses the potential of modern radar systems, including Doppler and polarisation techniques, data processing, and error-correction methods. Addressing both specialist researchers and nonspecialists from related areas, this book will also be useful for graduate students planning to specialize in this field




The Evolution of Meteorology


Book Description

The essential guide to the history, current trends, and the future of meteorology This comprehensive review explores the evolution of the field of meteorology, from its infancy in 3000 bc, through the birth of fresh ideas and the naming of the field as a science, to the technology boom, to today. The Evolution of Meteorology reveals the full story of where meteorology was then to where it is now, where the field is heading, and what needs to be done to get the field to levels never before imagined. Authored by experts of the topic, this book includes information on forecasting technologies, organizations, governmental agencies, and world cooperative projects. The authors explore the ancient history of the first attempts to understand and predict weather and examine the influence of the very early birth of television, computers, and technologies that are useful to meteorology. This modern-day examination of meteorology is filled with compelling research, statistics, future paths, ideas, and suggestions. This vital resource: Examines current information on climate change and recent extreme weather events Starts with the Ancient Babylonians and ends with the largest global agreement of any kind with the Paris Agreement Includes current information on the most authoritative research in the field of meteorology Contains data on climate change theories and understanding, as well as extreme weather statistics and histories This enlightening text explores in full the history of the study of meteorology in order to bring awareness to the overall path and future prospects of meteorology.




Floods and Flood Management


Book Description

In recent years there have been a number of catastrophic floods that have resulted in a tragic loss of life. These natural disasters highlight the need to further understand the occurrence phenomena, to improve forecasting techniques, and to develop procedures and contingency plans to minimise the flood impact. This volume contains contributions from the 3rd International Conference on Floods and Flood Management held in Florence in November 1992. The volume is timely and provides an important overview for engineers, scientists, managers and researchers of the latest developments in technology, analysis and management.




Radar Meteorology


Book Description

A comprehensive introduction to the current technology and application of radar in meteorology and atmospheric sciences Written by leading experts in the field, Radar Meteorology, A first Course offers an introduction to meteorological radar systems and applications, with emphasis on observation and interpretation of physical processes in clouds and weather systems. This comprehensive introduction to the subject offers an overview of the quantities essential to radar meteorology including the radar reflectivity factor, and Doppler, dual-polarization, and multi-wavelength radar variables. The authors highlight wind retrieval from single and multiple Doppler radars, precipitation estimation and hydrometeorological applications, with chapters dedicated to interpretation of radar data from warm season mid-latitude severe weather, winter storms, tropical cyclones and more. In addition, Radar Meteorology highlights research applications of this burgeoning technology, exploring dynamic applications such as space-borne and ground-based vertically pointing radar systems, and cloud, airborne and mobile radars. As meteorological radars are increasingly used professionally for weather observation, forecasting and warning, this much-needed text: Presents an introduction to the technical aspects and current application of radar as used in the meteorology and atmospheric sciences Contains full-colour illustrations that enhance the understanding of the material presented Examines the wide-range of meteorological applications of radar Includes problems at the end of each chapter as a helpful review of the contents Provides full instructor support with all illustrations and answers to problems available via the book’s instructor website. Radar Meteorology offers a much-needed introductory text to the study of radar as applied to meteorology. The text was designed for a one semester course based on the authors' own course in Radar Meteorology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.







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