Advanced Radiometer For Cloud Liquid Water and Aircraft Icing Detection

Aircraft icing continues to be one of the major safety and operational concerns of the FAA, elements of the military, and the foreign military and civilian counterparts. Attempts to develop methods to directly detect aircraft icing meteorological conditions have met with mixed success. Combining ground-based microwave radiometers with radars has shown great promise, but deficiencies of the radiometers have limited their value. In our Phase I effort we have determined solutions to several technical challenges in the design of a narrow beam multi-waveband radiometer that is to operate in concert with weather radars. We have also calculated optimum eigenfrequencies for detection of aircraft icing conditions. In Phase II we will construct a turnkey fast sampling multifrequency profiling and dual polarization narrow beam radiometer system. In this radiometer system, all beams are collinear and match the antenna gain pattern of weather research radars. The radiometer will have the capability of profiling (ranging) water vapor along the beam as well as discriminate ice and water phase hydrometeors. We will also develop a fast beam steering system to operate in concert with the radar. The turnkey radiometer system and documentation are deliverables.