The detailed design and development of an operational radiometer for regular use in sounding temperature and humidity in the marine boundary layer on NDBC buoys is proposed. The design follows that a well demonstrated unit pioneered by the PI and Co-Is that has been used successfully in the field on ships, aircraft, and ground based sites. It relies on full (360 degree) scanning of the sky above and sea below the radiometer, along with optimal profile inversion to obtain ~15 minute soundings. A Phase I effort is proposed to transition the design of the existing 60 GHz temperature-only system to an environmentally hardened and optimized temperature and humidity sounding system suitable for implementation and extended testing on a buoy in Phase II. The PI and Co-Is have unique experience in scanning radiometry and hardened instrument development for this task. SUMMARY OF
Anticipated Results: A detailed design complete with extensive simulation results is expected for the Phase I study. In successive phases it is expected that a number of the operations buoy units would be required to outfit NDBC buoys with the MBL THP capability. The potential market is ~5-15 units annually for the first several years of production
