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Weather Radar Goes Miniature
quackking writes "As reported today in the Boston Globe, the NSF has committed at least $17M to build out a new network of miniature (at least in comparison with today's monsters) weather radars. This is to radar what Beowulf clusters are to the mainframe; the scientists at U Mass Amherst project that eventually a weather radar node will be deployable for under $20K! Now to figure out how to get real-time access to this mesh of sensors and create a really cool screensaver..."
I've always thought that wide-spread weather research could be enhanced in an even lower-cost fashion. If basic sensor arrays (wind speed / direction, humidity, temperature, pressure, and whatever else you can fit in there) powered by solar panels could be deployed for less than $200 per station, you could litter the nation with them spaced out every couple of miles in a grid. Then, have them all phone home (they could repeat their own traffic to reduce reliance on other networks) to a high-powered computer (or via a distributed network, a la SETI@home) to determine weather patterns.
Granted, low cost radars like this are a step towards getting high-resolution data for more areas, but something like what I've described could possibly help answer larger climate-related questions.
That green slime had it coming.
"to build out a new network of miniature (at least in comparison with today's monsters) weather radars"
But can you mod linux onto it? Failing that; In Soviet Russia, the weather radar miniturizes YOU.
You need a FREE iPod Nano
Can we at least install on /. some neural-network scanners that would mod all such obsolete jokes down?
Less is more !
Let's hope that these resources will be widely available for research purposes and weather forecasting. I think this is a big step in understanding various weather systems, a science that is far from understood by anyone.
Not long after this is implemented, I hope to see various news agencies provide not only forecasting based on information provided from the new equipment, but raw data (and maybe not-so-raw data...like images) as well.
This could be a great resource for researchers and the slashdot crowd alike.
I would imagine that the array would work quite well for several reasons.
First of all, the amount of energy you have to use to send a signal decreases with distance squared. So covering an area with with several small radar stations should keep the working signal in the relatively strong range with less power consumption.
Also, there will be a lot of overlap near the edges of the stations' zones, reducing anomolous readings through error checking. (This would have to be implemented. It wouldn't happen on its own.)
And it also opens the door for the possibility of trasmitting signals from one station to the next instead of always waiting for the ping to come back. That could allow for new methods and better results and more accuracy.
Slashdot Syndrome: the sudden, extreme urge to correct someone in order to validate one's self.
Has anyone home-brewed a radar system of any type? Is it possible? What could you do with it?
"If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid." - Epictetus
Err, if you want a really cool screensaver, look out a window -- wind effects, sky, clouds -- all in real-time. Amazing, and not $17m!
'Thats they exact same thing a banana wrench monkey.'
Now to figure out how to get real-time access to this mesh of sensors and create a really cool screensaver...
Hmmm, you know, p2p would be the perfect way to distribute said data among all the people who need access to it (if it was a screensaver and so popular and contained realtime feed...)
Beowulf jokes aside, I think the editors and other posters are missing the point here. The NSF is putting up $17M of a total of $40M, the rest to be made up from private industries (like Raytheon) and public institutions. That's like, I don't know, less than half.
With the private companies coming on, you can bet that there's more than just weather radar applications, though that's not a bad place to start. Still, you've got to wonder why Raytheon would pump $5M into it if there wasn't something in it for them...
If successful, the new technology could also be used to track the low-level winds that could carry a biological, chemical, or radiological attack.
What's the point if the system can't detect the biological/chemical element in question? Even if they knew where the element was released, and they could track the low-level winds, I doubt they could accurately predict how it would disperse. Even with more accurate & detailed data, the weather is a very chaotic and unpredictable system. But at least we'll be able to detect weather patterns missed by current technologies, so it's a good step forward.
The article is not clear, but it sounds like they may be using a new radar technology called Phased Array. It works like doppler, except that instead of the mechanical motor needed to move the dish to scan the area, it scans the area electronically, completing an entire scan in one minute to Doppler's 5 minutes or 8 minutes.
Another benefit of phased radar array is that the scanning speed can be upgraded with better computer equipment with higher bandwidth and number crunching capabilities.
-Cyc
/.'s 10 Millionth
hey, a question for those with more knowledge than me.
Would it be possible to have the individual nodes of the array be cell phone towers using the existing signals they are constantly transmitting for use in radar imaging. I understand the wavelength is different, but would cell phone length waves still interfere enough to return a proper reading?
just a thought of using a existing setup for data.
"Secrecy is the keystone of all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy
$17M divided by $20K = 850 sensors. Area of US is 9,629,091 sq km (according to the CIA). That's 7,578,834 sq mi. That's one sensor per 8,916 sq mi (11,328 sq km). That's just over the area of New Jersey.
Now, the sensors you propose, at $200 each, could get you 85,000 sensors for $17M. That's one sensor per 892 sq mi -- a bit smaller than Ocean County, NJ.
Not quite "every couple of miles", but not too bad. Still, I'd have to think the radar might return more data points anyway, sweeping across the landscape as they do. Plus, it couldn't cost much to add a package of temp/humidity/wind/etc. to each radar, which, while not 85,000 locations, wouldn't be bad either. And I'd have to guess those radars can cover at least a New Jersey each.
"A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." --Theodore Roosevelt
Well, no, and that's the point. Current radar installations are huge and expensive. As a consequence, they are spread out hundreds of miles apart 'cause we can only afford a few. The coverage that they provide is really not all that great because radar only sees by reflecting off objects. Whatever is behind that object is invisible (in this case; object == cloud). With these smaller radars every 20 miles, the number of potential blind spots drops dramatically.
Additionally, these smaller radars can see closer to the ground and provide higher resolution data than their larger counterparts. All good stuff for the met community.
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They've been using the same stock image for Boulder since 1975. That's because the weather never actually changes here. Even when it's "raining" the cloud cover is too thin for radar to actually pick up. The replaced the weather radar with a cardboard mock-up years ago and no one's ever noticed.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I've heard of radars that receive at a different location from that where the signal is transmitted. Such radars are known as a bistatic radars. Some of them even use existing existing radiation sources such as TV stations.
I wonder if it's practical for a network of weather radars. A receive-only radar should be cheaper and have less regulatory hurdles to jump.
Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
Oh man, I kill me.
Well, somebody should.
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing -- Emo Phillips
This radar array sounds nice but I think there is a lot of hype in the article. A more low tech solution to collecting rainfall data and other weather data is to use a community of volunteers. There is in Colorado such a community. The Community Collaborative Rain and Hail Studyi (and Snow too) provides an unique way to study weather in Colorado.
The data could be made available to the public through a Web Map Server following the Open GIS Consortium specs OpenGIS.org.
This data could then be incorporated into your own personal Web enabled apps utilizing an open source product like U of MN Mapserver
You can get raw weather data from here:
C .r adar/
http://weather.noaa.gov/pub/SL.us008001/DF.of/D
Different products, different sites...all updated as soon as the data comes in from the radar site. Then you can use the Geo::Nexrad perl code from sourceforge to parse at least the radial products.
In a few months, NOAA will get further into testing of their new DVB satellite delivery and you'll be able to get all of the NOAA data & imagery with a small satellite dish and a DVB card compatible with Linux.