NPOL: GPM Precipitation Science Research Facility
NASA S-Band Dual-Polarimetric Radar (NPOL)
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NPOL is NASA\'s premier weather radar. It is one of only two mobile S-band
dual-polarization radars (the other being NCAR\'s SPOL). When not being
deployed for PMM/GPM field campaigns, it is operated near NASA Wallops
Flight Facility in Newark, MD.
NPOL has a wavelength of 10.65 cm, an operating frequency of 2700-2900 MHz,
variable PRF of 500 and 1000 Hz with a 0.95 degree beam width. NPOL can
operate with both horizontal and vertical polarization in both simultaneous
and alternating modes. The radar has a prime-focus parabolic reflector which
is 8.5 m in diameter and is housed on five sea-tainers. When readied for
deployment, the entire radar and antenna system is stored within the five
seatainers.
The image to the right shows a network of rain gauges and disdrometer deployed
in the NPOL domain. All of these instruments are being used to help validate
GPM satellite over an area of 0.5 degrees latitude x 0.5 degrees latitude.
Click on on the image to see a higher resolution map of the network.
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Latest NPOL Imagery
PPI Images
RHI Images
Archived NPOL Plots
NOTE:
Radar imagery on this page was generated using
PyART
Helmus, J.J. and Collis, S.M., 2016. The Python ARM Radar Toolkit (Py-ART),
a Library forWorking with Weather Radar Data in the Python Programming Language.
Journal of Open Research Software, 4(1), p.e25. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/jors.119.
Radar Calibration Information
BirdBath Scan [Zdr cal]
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Use the pull down menu to display a monthly BB NPOL Calendar.
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Data Availability & NPOL Precipitation Events
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Use the pull down menu to display a monthly NPOL Event plot.
Use the pull down menu to display a yearly NPOL Event plot.
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Notes on the Hydrometeor Identfication Images
The HID product is generated using software provided by Colorado State University
and is based on the continued work of
Dolan et al. (2013).
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