Radar Wind Profilers launch from Stevens campus, Aug 6-30

HOBOKEN, N.J. — A large Urban Dispersion Program study is scheduled to be conducted in and around mid-town Manhattan from August 6 through August 26, 2005. This study is funded by both the US Department of Homeland Security and the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and is fully supported by the New York City Office of Emergency Management.

For this experiment, Dr. Alan Blumberg of Stevens Institute of Technology and colleagues Larry Berg from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Richard Coulter from Argonne National Laboratory will be deploying a radar wind profiler from the Stevens Institute of Technology campus.

As part of the Urban Dispersion study, perfluorocarbon tracer gases will be released in mid-town Manhattan, and the dispersion of the tracer gases will be monitored using a network of sensors deployed in Manhattan. Additional details of the experiment can be found at http://urbandispersion.pnl.gov/ and at http://www.eml.doe.gov/UDP/

In addition to the radar wind profiler, the Blumberg and colleagues will use Stevens as a launch site for radiosondes. Stevens was selected as a potential site because of its location west of Manhattan and because of its role in meteorological modeling. Given that the winds during August are generally southwesterly, this location is well situated to provide measurements of the conditions upwind of the study area.

The radar wind profiler and the radiosondes will be deployed in the parking lot, near the tennis courts behind the Castle Point Apartments. The experiment is scheduled to run from August 6th through August 30, 2005. Press are welcome to attend. There will not be any releases of perfluorocarbon tracer gases at Stevens, and each measurement system is silent.

Description of the Radar Wind Profiler
Radar wind profilers, sometimes referred to simply as wind profilers, are designed to measure wind speeds up to elevations of 4 km by detecting the back-scattered signal from microwave radar beams that are directed upward at some small angle (15°) from the vertical. The radar profiler operates at a frequency of 915 MHz. The radar antenna will be left on a flatbed trailer (approximately 30 feet long and 8 feet wide; Figure 1). An antenna clutter fence attaches to the trailer and is guyed with light cables for added stability. The July 1982 RF exposure limits set by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in ANSI C95.1-1982 are a maximum safe exposure level, at 915 MHz, of 3 mW/cm-2. The signal level outside of the clutter fence is less than 1 mWcm-2. The power requirements for the radar are not large, 15 Amp (110V/60Hz). And all equipment will be removed upon completion of the measurements. An instrument shelter (typically a small office trailer) will be stationed nearby to house the necessary electronics and computer equipment.

Description of the Radiosonde System

Radiosondes are free-flying balloon-borne instrument packages that are used to measure temperature, humidity, wind, ozone or other quantities. Because they are not tethered, they pass rapidly through any given level (with typical ascent rates of 4 ms-1). With permission from the FAA to launch the radiosondes from Stevens' campus, scientists launching the balloons will contact the FAA before each IOP. Stevens undergraduate and graduate students will also participate in the launch activities.

The radiosondes will be launched at two-hour intervals (starting at 7:00 EDT and ending at 13:00 EDT) only during six intensive operations periods. The radiosonde consists of a small red or white balloon (approximately 1 m in diameter at launch) and a small instrument package. In most cases, the radiosonde will rise to approximately 10 km before the balloon breaks and the instrument package drifts back to the surface. For launches at Stevens, it is expected that the balloons will land in the Atlantic Ocean

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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