AGS-CIF: Mobile Rapid Scanning Radar (RaXPol) for Enhancing Weather Radar Research and Hands-on Education

The Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS) operates the Community Instruments and Facilities (CIF) program to enhance the scientific community’s access to instrumentation that is otherwise too costly or complicated to operate for most institutions. This award is for the University of Oklahoma’s Rapid scan X-band Polarimetric (RaXPol) radar.

RaXPol is a mobile radar with fast-scanning ability, making it ideal for studying tornadoes, hail, and lightning, along with many other weather-related topics. Wider use of RaXPol under the CIF program will provide additional information on societally-impactful weather, with a goal of improving forecasts of hazards to life and property. The use of RaXPol in outreach events will engage students at all levels, introducing both meteorological and engineering sciences.

RaXPol is a mobile, dual-polarization, Doppler radar with high sensitivity and fast scanning ability. The radar can provide a 20 second update of radar products over a volume of 360 degrees and 10 elevation angles. Recent and planned upgrades to the system, including a new transmitter and use of pulse compression techniques will further enhance the sensitivity of the system.

RaXPol is well-suited for studies of tornadoes, hailstorms, convective initiation and updraft evolution, thunderstorm electrification, tropical cyclones, winter precipitation processes, fire plumes, and precipitation measurements in complex terrain. The radar will be available for request by the scientific community through the US NSF’s Facility and Instrumentation Request Process.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.