NASA Goes Flat

Rain, snow, ice crystals and hail are part of a complex process that drives energy circulation in the atmosphere, which in turn helps regulate our planet's climate. A new NASA radar is helping scientists understand this process by measuring the characteristics of various forms of precipitation within rain and snowstorms.

The NASA Polarimetric Radar (NPOL), developed by a research team from Goddard's Wallops Flight Facility is unique. It is an ultra-modern flat panel radar antenna that is fully portable and self-contained. Hexagonal in shape and 18-feet (5.5 meters) across, it requires no special site preparation and can be set up on a basically flat area anywhere in the world.

"NPOL is NASA's only portable polarimetric precipitation research radar and one of the very few polarimetric weather radars in the world," said Dr. John Gerlach, NPOL Principal Investigator from Wallops. "This radar will allow us to conduct more extensive ground measurements to support orbiting satellites and enhance their data gathering capabilities."

For the complete article on the NASA Polarimetric Radar, go to: http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/news-release/releases/2002/02-158.htm