A New X-band Weather Radar System with Distributed Phased-Array Front-ends: Development and Preliminary Observation Results

作     者：Xiaoqiong ZHEN Shuqing MA Hongbin CHEN Guorong WANG Xiaoping XU Siteng LI Xiaoqiong ZHEN;Shuqing MA;Hongbin CHEN;Guorong WANG;Xiaoping XU;Siteng LI

作者机构：Meteorological Observation Center of China Meteorological AdministrationBeijing 100081China College of Electronic EngineeringChengdu University of Information TechnologyChengdu 610225China Institute of Atmospheric PhysicsChina Academy of SciencesBeijing 100029China College of Earth and Planetary Sciences(CEPS)University of Chinese Academy of Sciences(UCAS)Beijing 100049China Eastone Washon Science and Technology Ltd.Changsha 410000China Institute of Urban MeteorologyChina Meteorological AdministrationBeijing 100089China 

出 版 物：《Advances in Atmospheric Sciences》 (大气科学进展（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2022年第39卷第3期

页      面：386-402页

核心收录：

学科分类：07[理学] 070601[理学-气象学] 0706[理学-大气科学] 

基　　金：supported by Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC)(Grant No.31727901) 

主　　题：phased-array weather radar multiple radar front-ends synchronized azimuthal scanning(SAS) data time differences(DTD) wind fields 

摘      要：A novel weather radar system with distributed phased-array front-ends was developed. The specifications and preliminary data synthesis of this system are presented, which comprises one back-end and three or more front-ends. Each front-end, which utilizes a phased-array digital beamforming technology, sequentially transmits four 22.5°-width beams to cover the 0°–90° elevational scan within about 0.05 s. The azimuthal detection is completed by one mechanical scan of0°–360° azimuths within about 12 s volume-scan update time. In the case of three front-ends, they are deployed according to an acute triangle to form a fine detection area(FDA). Because of the triangular deployment of multiple phased-array front-ends and a unique synchronized azimuthal scanning(SAS) rule, this new radar system is named Array Weather Radar(AWR). The back-end controls the front-ends to scan strictly in accordance with the SAS rule that assures the data time differences(DTD) among the three front-ends are less than 2 s for the same detection point in the FDA. The SAS can maintain DTD 2 s for an expanded seven-front-end AWR. With the smallest DTD, gridded wind fields are derived from AWR data, by sampling of the interpolated grid, onto a rectangular grid of 100 m ×100 m ×100 m at a 12 s temporal resolution in the FDA. The first X-band single-polarized three-front-end AWR was deployed in field experiments in 2018 at Huanghua International Airport, China. Having completed the data synthesis and processing, the preliminary observation results of the first AWR are described herein.