HIWRAP Airborne Radar Data for Atlantic Snowstorms

U.S. Atlantic coast snowstorms are the focus of this airborne radar dataset collected by the HIWRAP instrument on NASA's ER-2 aircraft during the IMPACTS field campaign. It provides measurements of equivalent reflectivity factor, Doppler velocity, spectrum width, and Linear Depolarization Ratio to study snowband formation and microphysics. Data spans three winter seasons from January 2020 through February 2023 and is stored in HDF-5 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing snowband formation and evolution using time-series reflectivity and Doppler velocity data.
• Studying snow particle microphysics and growth mechanisms via Linear Depolarization Ratio (LDR) measurements.
• Improving snowfall remote sensing algorithms by comparing radar cross-section estimates with ground observations.
• Validating numerical weather prediction models of winter storms with airborne radar-derived wind and reflectivity profiles.

Strengths

• Data originates from a targeted, three-year NASA field campaign (IMPACTS) specifically designed to study snowstorms.
• Provides multiple co-located radar measurements including reflectivity, Doppler velocity, spectrum width, and depolarization ratio.
• Time range is precisely documented from January 25, 2020, to February 28, 2023, covering multiple winter storm seasons.

Limitations

• Specific row count, file size, and complete column list are not provided by any source, limiting precise assessment of dataset scale.
• Sources conflict on license information, with one listing 'other-license-specified' and another listing 'None', creating uncertainty.
• Data format is specialized (HDF-5), which may require specific software or libraries for access and analysis.

Provenance

Source

NASA ER-2 aircraft High Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP) instrument.

Collection Method

Airborne remote sensing measurements collected during the IMPACTS field campaign.

Time Range

January 25, 2020 through February 28, 2023

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:54:08.899174

Geography

U.S. Atlantic coast region, specifically areas impacted by snowstorms studied during the IMPACTS campaign.