The use of x-band radar to support the detection of in-flight icing hazards by the NASA Icing Remote Sensing System

David J. Serke; Marcia K. Politovich; Andrew L. Reehorst; Andrew Gaydos

doi:10.1117/12.795290

25 August 2008 The use of x-band radar to support the detection of in-flight icing hazards by the NASA Icing Remote Sensing System

David J. Serke, Marcia K. Politovich, Andrew L. Reehorst, Andrew Gaydos

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 7088, Remote Sensing Applications for Aviation Weather Hazard Detection and Decision Support; 70880E (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.795290
Event: Optical Engineering + Applications, 2008, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

In-flight icing hazards from supercooled small drops, drizzle and freezing rain pose a threat to all aircraft. Several products have been developed to provide hazard warning of in-flight icing to the aviation community. NCAR's Current Icing Product¹ (CIP) was developed to provide a near-realtime assessment of the hazard presented by supercooled liquid water (SLW) aloft in an algorithm that combines data from satellites, the Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) model, the national 2-D composite of S-band NEXRAD radar reflectivity, surface observations and pilot reports (PIREPs). NIRSS² (Fig. 1) was developed by NASA to provide a ground-based, qualitative in-flight icing hazard assessment in the airport environment with commercially available instrumentation. The system utilizes a multichannel radiometer³, built by Radiometrics Corporation, to derive the temperature profile and integrated liquid water (ILW). NIRSS's radar is a modified airborne X-band model WU-870 made by Honeywell. The ceilometer used is a standard Vaisala CT25K Laser Ceilometer. The data from the vertically pointing ceilometer and X-band radar are only used to define the cloud bases and tops. The liquid water content (LWC) is then distributed within the cloud layers by the system software. A qualitative icing hazard profile is produced where the vertical temperature is between 0 and -20°C and there is measurable LWC.

Citation Download Citation

David J. Serke, Marcia K. Politovich, Andrew L. Reehorst, and Andrew Gaydos "The use of x-band radar to support the detection of in-flight icing hazards by the NASA Icing Remote Sensing System", Proc. SPIE 7088, Remote Sensing Applications for Aviation Weather Hazard Detection and Decision Support, 70880E (25 August 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.795290

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available