KAZR

The Ka-band ARM Zenith Radar (KAZR) remotely probes the extent and composition of clouds at millimeter wavelengths. The KAZR is a zenith-pointing Doppler radar that operates at a frequency of approximately 35 GHz. The main purpose of this radar is to determine the first three Doppler moments (reflectivity, vertical velocity, and spectral width) at a range resolution of approximately 30 meters from near-ground to nearly 20 kilometers in altitude.

The KAZR replaces the millimeter-wavelength cloud radar (MMCR) and uses a new digital receiver that provides higher spatial and temporal resolution than the MMCR. In addition, spectral artifacts in the data are significantly reduced in the KAZR, allowing researchers to study cloud dynamics much more closely than with the MMCR.

KAZR data from the 2018–2019 Cloud, Aerosol, and Complex Terrain Interactions (CACTI) field campaign in Argentina, the 2019–2020 Cold-Air Outbreaks in the Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (COMBLE) in Norway, and the 2021–2022 TRacking Aerosol Convection interactions ExpeRiment (TRACER) in the Houston, Texas, area are available as b1-level products. Building on the original operational data from these campaigns, the b1-level products feature improved data quality resulting from extensive analyses and corrections. The data are cross-calibrated to a common point, datastreams are corrected for operational issues that occurred during the campaigns, and data quality/ground clutter masks and basic derived products are incorporated. For more information, read the b1-level processing reports for CACTI, COMBLE, and TRACER.