Radar data processing and visualization over complex terrain

Abstract

MountainZebra is a data flow configuration that processes and displays radar data over complex terrain. The system combines three elements: the data stream from an operational radar, 3D topographical information, and the NCAR Zebra data visualization and integration software. MountainZebra operates routinely on a 3D data stream from the National Weather Service Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) at Camano Island, Washington (near Seattle). The WSR-88D data are continuously acquired, archived, formatted, and interpolated for multidimensional display. The three-dimensional topographical information in MountainZebra can be automatically underlaid on any horizontal or vertical display of the radar data. This system allows radar data and other geophysical fields to be analyzed in precise relation to the underlying terrain. Terrain-based visualization facilitates radar data analysis by identifying terrain clutter and shadowing and by identifying orographic precipitation mechanisms. The utility of MountainZebra is illustrated in the investigation of stable orographic enhancement over the windward slopes of the Cascade Mountains of the Pacific Northwest and an orographically enhanced squall line to the lee of the European Alps.