The NCAR HIAPER Cloud Radar (HCR) is an airborne millimeter (W-band) wavelength radar that provides high spatial and temporal resolution remote sensing capabilities on the NSF/NCAR HIAPER aircraft. The HCR is housed in a 20 inch diameter wing pod and is capable of estimating winds and microphysics over a 15 km radius with 40 meter gate spacing. HCR can be operated in scanning and fixed-pointing modes for detecting cloud boundaries and cloud liquid and ice. The HCR beamwidth is 0.7 deg and range resolution is between 40 and 150 m.
Configuration: NSF/NCAR HIAPER GV aircraft Number of available systems: 1
HIAPER Cloud Radar (HCR) Facility Request Guidance Information
Parameter
Specification
Antenna
0.3 m, lens
Antenna Gain
46.21 dB
Beamwidth
0.68 deg
Transmit Frequency
94.40 GHz
Transmit Wavelength
3.2 mm
Transmitter
Klystron
Peak Power
1.6 kW
Pulse Width
0.256 - 1.0 μs
Pulse Repetition Frequency
10 kHz
Receiver Dynamic Range
76 dB
Receiver Bandwidth
20 MHz
System Noise Power
-104 dBm
Noise Figure
8.9 dB
Sensitivity (0 dB SNR)
-39.d dBz @ 1km
Unambiguous Velocity
+/- 7.75 m/sec
Dwell Time
100 ms
Typical Values:
Mission Coordinator Display:
Time Series Data: Moments data are provided in the Operations Center after research flights. Time series data are not typically available until after the project.