Phased-array radar applications

MPARSUP: Software Upgrades for the NWRT Phased-Array Radar

The NWRT PAR is located in Norman, OK and has been operational since 2003 (photo by A. Zahrai)

The National Weather Radar Testbed (NWRT) was established to demonstrate the potential to simultaneously perform aircraft tracking, wind profiling, and weather surveillance as a multifunction phased-array radar (MPAR). Since its inception in September of 2003, the system has undergone an extensive engineering evaluation and numerous hardware and software upgrades. These have supported several research experiments with the goal of demonstrating many of the unique advantages of using phase-array technology in the context of weather observations. A modern and improved multi-processor/multi-computer signal processing environment has allowed the implementation of new and advanced real-time signal processing techniques that continue to provide researchers and users with an optimum platform for demonstrating and evaluating the MPAR concept. Specific goals for this project are to improve the quality of meteorological data produced by the NWRT PAR, to demonstrate adaptive scanning capabilities for weather observations, and to demonstrate dynamic scheduling of multi-function scanning strategies.

MPARSUP addresses upgrades in three major areas:

• Software infrastructure
• Digital signal processing
• Algorithms

For additional information, go the official MPARSUP project page and check out the timeline of upgrades.

An overall description of this effort can be found on conference papers presented at the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 AMS Annual Meetings.

For more information about this radar go to NSSL's PAR webpage.

Back to PAR applications