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News Release 04-029
New Radar System May Help Airplanes Avoid In-Flight Icing
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This photo shows a dual radar designed to detect water droplets in clouds that can cause icing hazards for aircraft. The larger, S-band radar produces images of clouds and precipitation, whereas the smaller, Ka-band radar (mounted near the bottom of the large dish) can detect weaker clouds that are not precipitating.
Credit: Carlye Calvin, UCAR
The graphic shows preliminary findings. By comparing the differences between the images from each radar, researchers can detect an area that may harbor water
droplets (the reddish area at the bottom right of the "Z difference" image).
Credit: Jothiram Vivekanandan, NCAR