National Center for Atmospheric Research
ATD... S-Pol TRMM-LBA Brazil 1999

Quick-Look Images: Index


This is an abbreviated version of information that has already been released on CD. The CD dataset includes MPEG movies and four-panel images, each with a different radar parameter (the unabbreviated CD includes reflectivity, differential reflectivity, linear depolarization ratio, and differential phase panels). This condensed version includes images of reflectivity, only. Please ignore support documentation that may refer to the additional parameters available on the CD set.

Images and movies linked to these pages are large, and do not transport well across the Internet. CD-ROM is the preferred media for exchange of this sort of imagery. To order images on CD, contact one of the ATD data managers.

An example of the larger, full-image CD product is available on line.

All days/times are in UTC.

Days Available

January 1999
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
February 1999
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28
Color Coding
Full Day of Data
Partial Day of Data
No Data


Some things to look for:

Precipitation typically is evident during the early UTC hours (this is the finish of the previous afternoon's convection), tapering to nearly nothing by 0400 UTC (midnight, local). Convection again builds in the afternoon, beginning around 1500 UTC. A more monsoonal regime is evident on 26-Feb and 27-Feb.

Bird Bursts occur fairly regularly. The burst produces a ring-shaped echo in the radar display as over-nighting birds leave their roosting site and radiate outward to begin the days' activity. This happens at about local sunrise on clear mornings (on cloudy mornings, the departure from the roosting area is probably more diffuse). For S-Pol in TRMM, local sunrise is at about 10:00 UTC; roosting site is at about 10° azimuth, 40 km range. Days with obvious bird bursts are noted in the list, below.

Sunrise appears as one or two beams of microwave energy with above-noise-floor power. The sunrise appears in the scans nearest to 1005 UTC, at an azimuth between 100° to 110° (depending upon the date).


Information Available


Information Updates (on the Web)


--- Credits --- / NCAR Atmospheric Technology Division
Created: 28-Feb-1999
Last modified: Sun Feb 28 13:55:42 MST 1999