Radar Meteorology

Catalog description

In METEO 434 , students will learn the basic operating principles and applications of weather radar, a primary observing platform for both operational and research meteorologists. In particular, students will learn the fundamentals of radar data acquisition, signal processing, and interpretation for measurements of weather phenomena. In order to successfully achieve these skills, students will master the following concepts: the basics of radar engineering, design, and operation; the physics of electromagnetic radiation, its propagation through the stratified atmosphere, polarization and phase shifts, and scattering from various hydrometeors; the physical properties of atmospheric scatterers, and how the physical properties of hydrometeors (e.g., size, shape, dielectric constant, orientation) affect the scattering signal. Lectures will frequently involve real-world data examples, theoretical considerations, and practice problems. In addition, several lectures will be devoted to recent technological or scientific advances published within the last 1-2 years, in order to provide students with an updated and working knowledge of the field. When practical, the course will include a field trip to a National Weather Service Doppler radar facility, most likely the system in Moshannon State Forest in central Pennsylvania. With this knowledge and these tools in hand, the remainder of the class will heavily focus on the interpretation of radar signals in weather phenomena, with particular emphasis on the interpretation and applications of dual-polarization weather radar data. To this end, one class per week will involve the discussion and interpretation of student-provided radar images. As the semester progresses, the students are expected to incorporate additional depth of understanding and newly discussed radar variables into these discussions. Students will actively participate in the course through bringing real-world examples of radar observations to class for presentation and discussion. They will be required to access data from the internet or smart phone app, organize it for a computer-based presentation, write a brief description, give the in-class presentation, and lead the subsequent discussion. In addition, the students will work towards a term project that is a case study of a high-impact weather event of their choosing. This project provides students the opportunity to master ordering data from the internet, downloading it, processing it, reading it into common coding languages, and creating graphics for display. In addition, part of the project will involve quantitative data analysis or manipulation, emphasizing computer coding and data handling skills. The semester-long project will culminate in a final presentation and report synthesizing their newly acquired knowledge and skillsets.