CONVECT

Radar Studies of Convective Dynamics

1 May 2025 - 30 October 2026

Lead Scientist: Pavlos Kollias

Observatory: AMF (ARM Mobile Facility 3) - BNF

Radar Studies of Convective Dynamics (CONVECT)

06/01/2025–09/30/2025

LEAD SCIENTIST     Pavlos Kollias
 

Observatory:                BNF (Bankhead National Forest)

The Radar Studies of Convective Dynamics (CONVECT) field campaign will deploy a phased-array Ku-band radar at the S30 supplemental site (Falkville) of the Bankhead National Forest (BNF) atmospheric observatory. The ROARS (Rain, Ocean, Atmosphere Radar System) Ku-band radar will complement two existing scanning radar systems at the BNF site: the second-generation C-band Scanning ARM Precipitation Radar (CSAPR2) and the X/Ka-band Scanning ARM Cloud Radar (SACR). The S30 site also offers additional instrumentation, including a disdrometer and a radar wind profiler, that will enhance radar-based studies of precipitation and convection.

A major challenge in understanding and forecasting convective storms and associated severe weather is the lack of high-quality observations of convective updraft strength, size, and temporal evolution. Progress in this area has been slow, in part due to the absence of routine measurements of dynamics and microphysical properties within deep convective clouds. The BNF observatory provides a unique advantage for studying convective storms due to its exposure to a range of seasonal convective environments. These include isolated convection and severe thunderstorms, organized summertime convection, and strongly sheared convection during transitional seasons.

The CONVECT campaign aims to provide high-resolution, spatiotemporal radar observations of storms and other severe weather phenomena. The ROARS Ku-band radar, equipped with a metamaterials-based antenna capable of 2D electronic scanning, will collect a unique data set on the life cycle and dynamics of convective clouds.

In addition to support from the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) facility, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI) program is funding the development and implementation of the Multisensor Agile Adaptive Sampling (MAAS) cyberinfrastructure. MAAS will guide the targeted sampling strategies for the Ku-band radar. The CSSI program also supports the ROARS radar deployment.

Further support comes from NASA’s Investigation of Cumulus Updrafts (INCUS) Calibration and Validation program, which backs the deployment of the Stony Brook University (SBU) SKYLER-2 X-band phased array radar at the University of Alabama at Huntsville's Severe Weather Institute – Radar and Lightning Laboratory (SWIRLL). NASA will also support operations of the ARMOR scanning dual-polarimetric Doppler radar, which operates at C-band (5625 MHz) with a 1° beamwidth.

The ROARS Ku-band radar, SKYLER-2, and ARMOR will operate with coordinated scanning strategies guided by MAAS. Both NSF and NASA will provide funding for the radar deployments and for the scientific analysis of the observations. Brookhaven National Laboratory will partially support deployment costs.