The NCAS mobile dual-polarisation Doppler X-band weather radar (NXPol)

• Main Authors: R. R. Neely III, L. Bennett, A. Blyth, C. Collier, D. Dufton, J. Groves, D. Walker, C. Walden, J. Bradford, B. Brooks, F. I. Addison, J. Nicol, B. Pickering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2018-12-01
• Series: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
• Online Access: https://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/11/6481/2018/amt-11-6481-2018.pdf
• ISSN: 1867-1381; 1867-8548

<p>In recent years, dual-polarisation Doppler X-band radars have become a widely used part of the atmospheric scientist's toolkit for examining cloud dynamics and microphysics and making quantitative precipitation estimates. This is especially true for research questions that require mobile radars. Here we describe the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) mobile X-band dual-polarisation Doppler weather radar (NXPol) and the infrastructure used to deploy the radar and provide an overview of the technical specifications. It is the first radar of its kind in the UK. The NXPol is a Meteor 50DX manufactured by Selex-Gematronik (Selex ES GmbH), modified to operate with a larger 2.4&thinsp;<span class="inline-formula">m</span> diameter antenna that produces a 0.98<span class="inline-formula">^∘</span> half-power beam width and without a radome. We provide an overview of the technical specifications of the NXPol with emphasis given to the description of the aspects of the infrastructure developed to deploy the radar as an autonomous observing facility in remote locations. To demonstrate the radar's capabilities, we also present examples of its use in three recent field campaigns and its ongoing observations at the NERC Facility for Atmospheric Radio Research (NFARR).</p>