Use of X-band radars to support the detection of in-flight icing hazards

Abstract

The NASA Icing Remote Sensing System was operated for the Alliance Icing Research Study II field program during the winter of 2003 around Montreal, Canada and around Cleveland, Ohio during the winter of 2005. Icing research aircraft flights from these field programs provided verification data on liquid water content, air temperature and also cloud particle imagery and distributions. The purpose of this work is to show that the NASA Icing Remote Sensing System X-band radar reflectivity profiles could be used beyond merely defining vertical cloud boundaries, by operationally deriving a qualitative small drop icing hazard warning flag. Several case studies are presented which depict a variety of synoptic weather scenarios. These cases demonstrate that X-band reflectivities below -10 dBZ and above the minimum detectable are uniquely indicative of a particle population dominated by small, liquid droplets. A discussion is included for each case on how an in-flight icing hazard flag from the radar reflectivity profile would improve the operational hazard detection system. Comparison of the NASA Icing Remote Sensing System's X-band radar data to a nearby similar X-band from McGill University is done to ensure data quality and consistency.