Implementation of the Airborne Phased Array Radar (APAR) Observing Simulator (AOS?

Development of new observing systems is critical for the advancement of scientific understanding of weather phenomena. One of the issues with developing new instrumentation is the unknown performance characteristics of the instrument, the subsequent unknowns in uncertainty in measurements, and the tools for quality control, visualization, and data analysis. Given the technological advancements that have occurred recently, the creation of end-to-end observing system simulators provides an opportunity to investigate the observing capabilities and limitations of instruments and reduce some of the risks associated with the performance of instrument development. This work aims to describe such a scenario for the proposed development of the Airborne Phased Array Radar (APAR). The APAR Observing Simulator (AOS) was developed to understand APAR's measurement capabilities for high-impact weather events. Using Cloud Model 1 (CM1) and Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model output to provide various storms of interest and their surrounding environments. Radar moments are determined using the Cloud Resolving Model Radar Simulator (CR-SIM). The simulated APAR data can be obtained by providing radar sampling characteristics and a hypothetical NCAR C-130 flight paths operated within the model space. The output can be examined directly or passed through additional tools to analyze various aspects of the data collected during each flight. This paper reports the framework and the progress in implementation of AOS prototype and its current capabilities, including the radar simulator, radar sampling, radar convention and data format, and multiple Doppler analysis.