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Instrument

NPOL
NASA S-band Dual Polarimetric Radar

The NASA S-band Dual Polarimetric Radar (NPOL) is a transportable, ground-based scanning dual polarimetric Doppler radar. As an active remote sensor, NPOL detects returned electromagnetic radiation to identify radar reflectivity, Doppler velocity, rainfall rate, particle size distribution, water contents, and precipitation type. Under typical operating conditions, NPOL has a beamwidth of 0.95° and a 150 km maximum range. NPOL is operationally equivalent to Doppler radars employed by the U.S. National Weather Service’s Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) network, but NPOL has the added advantage of being fully deployable.

NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory passes Antarctica's tallest peak, Mount Vinson, on Oct. 22, 2012, during a flight over the continent to measure changes in the massive ice sheet and sea ice. Credit: NASA/Michael Studinger (Photography courtesy NASA Images)

Instrument Details

Radar
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Clouds > Cloud Microphysics > Particle Size Distribution
Earth Science > Spectral/engineering > Radar > Doppler Velocity
Earth Science > Spectral/engineering > Radar > Radar Reflectivity
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Precipitation Profiles > Rain Type
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Precipitation Rate
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Precipitation > Hydrometeors
Earth Science > Spectral/engineering > Radar > Spectrum Width
Full Column Profile
Variable
0.15 km
2.7 - 2.9 GHz
https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-13-00185.1External Link

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http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/GPMGV/IPHEX/NPOL/DATA101External Link
http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/GPMGV/IFLOODS/NPOL/DATA102External Link
http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/GPMGV/IFLOODS/MULTIPLE/DATA301External Link
http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/GPMGV/MC3E/NPOL/DATA101External Link
http://dx.doi.org/10.5067/GPMGV/OLYMPEX/NPOL/DATA301External Link
10.5067/CAMEX-4/SBAND/DATA101External Link