Low altitude wind shear detection using airport surveillance radars

This paper describes an enhanced weather processor for the Federal Aviation Administration´s Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR-9) that will include Doppler wind estimation for the detection of low altitude wind shear, scan-to-scan tracking to provide estimates of the speed and direction of storm movement and suppression´ of spurious weather reports currently generated by the ASR-9´s six-level weather channel during episodes of anomalous radar energy propagation (AP). This ASR-9 Wind Shear Processor (WSP) will be implemented as a retrofit to the ASR-9 through the addition of interfaces, receiving chain hardware and high-speed digital processing and display equipment. Thunderstorm activity in terminal airspace (the volume extending approximately 30 nmi from an airport and to 15,000 feet altitude) is an obvious safety issue and makes a significant overall contribution to delay in the United States commercial aviation industry. Analysis and on-line testing of the prototype ASR-9 WSP has confirmed that the system can provide operationally beneficial detection of low-altitude wind shear phenomena and enhanced weather situational awareness for Air Traffic Control teams