Characterization of Radar Boundary Layer Data Collected During the 2001 Multi-Frequency Radar IOP

Abstract

Ground-based radar measurements of insect clutter at Ka-band (35 GHz) and W-band (95 GHz) were collected over an extended period during the 2001 multi-frequency radar (MFR) intensive operational period (IOP). Previous research has indicated that Ka-band radar measurements of liquid clouds are often contaminated by insect clutter but that W-band measurements are less affected by insect clutter. The contrast between cloud and insect echos is two orders of magnitude (20 dB) higher at 95 GHz than at 35 GHz, which is the frequency of the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site millimeter wave cloud radar (MMCR) (Khandwalla 2001). These initial findings based on previous IOP data indicate that it is significantly easier to distinguish between cloud and insect echoes at 95 GHz.