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Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) Wind Speed Retrievals and Assessment Using DropsondesThe Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) is an experimental C-band passive microwave radiometer designed to map the horizontal structure of surface wind speed fields in hurricanes. New data processing and customized retrieval approaches were developed after the 2015 Tropical Cyclone Intensity (TCI) experiment, which featured flights over Hurricanes Patricia, Joaquin, Marty, and the remnants of Tropical Storm Erika. These new approaches produced maps of surface wind speed that looked more realistic than those from previous campaigns. Dropsondes from the High Definition Sounding System (HDSS) that was flown with HIRAD on a WB-57 high altitude aircraft in TCI were used to assess the quality of the HIRAD wind speed retrievals. The root mean square difference between HIRAD-retrieved surface wind speeds and dropsonde-estimated surface wind speeds was 6.0 meters per second. The largest differences between HIRAD and dropsonde winds were from data points where storm motion during dropsonde descent compromised the validity of the comparisons. Accounting for this and for uncertainty in the dropsonde measurements themselves, we estimate the root mean square error for the HIRAD retrievals as around 4.7 meters per second. Prior to the 2015 TCI experiment, HIRAD had previously flown on the WB-57 for missions across Hurricanes Gonzalo (2014), Earl (2010), and Karl (2010). Configuration of the instrument was not identical to the 2015 flights, but the methods devised after the 2015 flights may be applied to that previous data in an attempt to improve retrievals from those cases.
Document ID
20180002462
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Cecil, Daniel J. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Biswas, Sayak K. (Universities Space Research Association Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
April 17, 2018
Publication Date
April 16, 2018
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
MSFC-E-DAA-TN48243
Meeting Information
Meeting: Conference on Hurricanes and Tropical Meteorology
Location: Ponte Vedra, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: April 16, 2018
End Date: April 20, 2018
Sponsors: American Meteorological Society
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: 80MSFC17M0008
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
wind retrieval
hurricanes

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