Data Platform NOAA P-3 Research Aircraft
Description The NOAA P-3 aircraft, operated by NOAA/Aircraft Operations Center, provided critical data during IMPROVE-2. Most importantly, the tail dual-Doppler radars provided a three-dimensional picture of the wind fields around the central Oregon Cascades at the same time as the Convair 580 was making detailed microphysical observatons. The P-3 also measured cloud microphysical and basic state properties along its flight track.
Location(s) Airborne
Operators Jim Roles (NOAA/AOC), Project Manager; Barry Damiano (AOC), Flight Director; Nick Bond (NOAA/PMEL), Brian Colle (SUNY/Stny Brook), and Brad Smull (UW/JISAO), Flight Scientists
Data Format(s) Standard data in netcdf and text format; cloud physics data in NOAA's own binary format; radar data in NOAA's own binary format
Software UW Zebra for standard data; CARG-in-house software for cloud physics data (compatibility engineering in progress); various software for radar data
Data Location(s) /home/disk/imp1/zeb-improve2-data/n42rf_qc for standard data; /home/disk/wrf1/improve2/P3_cloudphys for cloud physics data; tapes in room 612 ATG for radar data