Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA)

Students Design Advanced Radar Network

An all-student team of 15 graduate and undergraduate students at the ERC for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) is creating an experimental radar system, to be deployed in Puerto Rico, that will transform our ability to monitor rainfall. Comprised of an array of miniature radar sensors, the system produces accurate rainfall data to be used to predict flooding and support other applications such as crop hydrology that require accurate rainfall estimates. The radar system should be operational by Fall 2006.

The student-run testbed system offers both a unique research and educational experience. It requires students to work across disciplinary and geographical boundaries and understand all facets of developing and implementing a testbed. When the testbed is up and running it will cover a crucial 1.5 km-high gap in atmospheric weather-monitoring over western Puerto Rico that traditional radar technology cannot sense. The testbed also will explore methods for more accurate measurement of rainfall and wind data than is now possible. And it could be used as a back-up to the current radar system if the Puerto Rican electrical grid blacks out in heavy weather. One of many student design innovations is a system for allocating power-hungry activities (such as computation) to nodes with more reliable access to power, to minimize downtime.

To learn more about this topic:
See the Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere at http://www.casa.umass.edu/educationandoutreach/students/
studenttestbed.html

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The student-run radar network consists of two types
of installations: a CASA "rooftop radar" (coverage
shown by blue circle) located at the University of
Puerto Rico-Mayaguez; and CASA "off the grid"
radars (pink circles) that will be deployed at
remote locations using solar panels to provide
power. This array will fill in a low-level coverage
gap that the island's only WSR-88D Doppler radar
cannot "see."

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Last modified: May 16, 2006