Comparison of Virtual Globe Technologies for Depiction of Radar Beam Propagation Effects and Impacts

Abstract

Virtual Globes (VGs) are quickly becoming the new paradigm in the Earth Sciences for education and outreach, logistics, and data access. VGs such as Google Earth, NASA WorldWind, ESRI ArcGIS Explorer, and many others are changing how science professionals and the public view and access geographic information, including observations and forecasts for applications in meteorology and climate, oceanography, and hydrology. This paper compares several current VG platforms for representation of weather radar beam elevation above the Earth surface. Effects and impacts addressed include beam occultation by terrain, potential interaction with wind power generators, and anomalous propagation.


Presentation

Poster
PDF (0.7 MB)

KML
GIS Weather Project at GMU (website)

Authors

Scott T Shipley (presenter)
Department of Geography, MS 1E2 George Mason University 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030-4444, United States

Dan Berkowitz
National Weather Service, Radar Operations Center National Weather Center 120 David L. Boren Dr, Norman, OK 73072, United States

Randy M Steadham
National Weather Service, Radar Operations Center National Weather Center 120 David L. Boren Dr, Norman, OK 73072, United States


Links

Virtual Globes Session at 88th Annual Meeting of American Meteorological Society
Session 9B1:
http://ams.confex.com/ams/88Annual/techprogram/
session_21095.htm
Session 9B2:
http://ams.confex.com/ams/88Annual/techprogram/
session_21847.htm