| DQR ID | Subject | Data Streams Affected |
|---|---|---|
| D960405.1 | SGP/MWR/C1 - Loss of thermal stabilization | sgp1mwravgC1.c1, sgp5mwravgC1.c1, sgpmwrlosC1.a1, sgpmwrlosC1.b1 |
| D961120.1 | SGP/MWR/B1/B4/B5/B6/C1 - Thermal Stabilization Adjustment | sgp1mwravgC1.c1, sgp5mwravgB1.c1, sgp5mwravgB4.c1, sgp5mwravgB5.c1, sgp5mwravgB6.c1, sgp5mwravgC1.c1, sgpmwrlosB1.a0, sgpmwrlosB1.a1, sgpmwrlosB4.a0, sgpmwrlosB4.a1, sgpmwrlosB5.a0, sgpmwrlosB5.a1, sgpmwrlosB6.a0, sgpmwrlosB6.a1, sgpmwrlosC1.a1, sgpmwrlosC1.b1 |
| Start Date | Start Time | End Date | End Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08/19/1995 | 0000 | 08/20/1995 | 2359 |
| 08/26/1995 | 0000 | 09/04/1995 | 2359 |
| 07/01/1996 | 1825 | 07/23/1996 | 2300 |
| Subject: | SGP/MWR/C1 - Loss of thermal stabilization |
| DataStreams: | sgp1mwravgC1.c1, sgp5mwravgC1.c1, sgpmwrlosC1.a1, sgpmwrlosC1.b1 |
| Description: | Periodically during August and September 1995 all microwave radiometers at the SGP CART generated error messages in the Site Operations Log like: Time: Sat Aug 19 18:41:20 1995 MWRLOS.C1, tkxc: Value above Maximum. This indicates that the temperature of the microwave hardware (specifically, the cross-coupler or "xc") exceeded its controlled temperature (47-52 deg C) at which point it was no longer thermally stabilized and the gain was uncontrolled. During these periods which typically last about 8 hours from about local noon until about sunset the data behave anomalously and should be considered invalid. Specifically the precipitable water vapor increases and the liquid water path decreases (and becomes SIGNIFICANTLY NEGATIVE (-0.1 mm) on clear sky days). The RMS noise level in the data also increases sharply. The 'Tkxc' field appears ONLY in the a0-level data and does NOT appear in either the a1 (mwrlos) or c1 (mwr5avg) files. Therefore THESE ANOMALOUS VALUES HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE 5-MINUTE AVERAGES. The microwave hardware is thermally stabilized to about +/- 0.1 deg C by resistive heating. When the internal temperature rises above the set point the thermal stabilization of the instrument gain is lost. >From an examination of the component temperature data it appears that increasing the set point temperature to about 55 deg C (328 K) would prevent a re-ocurrance of this problem at the SGP. The manufacturer, Radiometrics, concurs that raising the set point will fix this problem and will not cause other problems. I will have to carefully examine the MCTEX data to determine whether this will be a problem for the TWP. The manufacturer and I had discussed this possibility prior to building the TWP MWRs (S/N 015, 016, and 017) and those instruments have set points above 50 deg C. Note that MWR 018 has a set point near 52 deg C (like the TWP models) but it still experienced a few loss-of-stabilization events. Note that the instruments with the lowest set points had the most loss-of-stabilization events. |
| Measurements: | sgp5mwravgC1.c1:
sgpmwrlosC1.b1:
sgp1mwravgC1.c1:
sgpmwrlosC1.a1:
|
| Start Date | Start Time | End Date | End Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08/01/1996 | 0000 | 08/31/1996 | 2359 |
| Subject: | SGP/MWR/B1/B4/B5/B6/C1 - Thermal Stabilization Adjustment |
| DataStreams: | sgp1mwravgC1.c1, sgp5mwravgB1.c1, sgp5mwravgB4.c1, sgp5mwravgB5.c1, sgp5mwravgB6.c1, sgp5mwravgC1.c1, sgpmwrlosB1.a0, sgpmwrlosB1.a1, sgpmwrlosB4.a0, sgpmwrlosB4.a1, sgpmwrlosB5.a0, sgpmwrlosB5.a1, sgpmwrlosB6.a0, sgpmwrlosB6.a1, sgpmwrlosC1.a1, sgpmwrlosC1.b1 |
| Description: | In order to correct a thermal stabilization problem identified earlier I adjusted the thermal set point of the microwave radiometers at the SGP upward from 48-50 deg C to 55 deg C in early August 1996 according to the schedule given below. B6 5 August 1996 C1 6 August 1996 B1 7 August 1996 B5 8 August 1996 Subsequent to making this adjustment the MWRs were put in TIP mode to check on whether the change in set point temperature affected their calibration. Because clear sky conditions were quite intermittent, it is difficult to determine whether the substantial variability in the tip data were attributable to the change in thermal set point. The instrument calibration was not altered in August. Tip data were again collected with these instruments in September prior to the beginning and at the close of the Water Vapor IOP. For example, the calibration of the instrument at the central facility (S/N 10) derived from the September data was essentially the same as that derived from calibration data acquired in February 1996. Although this would lead one to believe that altering the thermal set point did not affect the instrument calibration, it may be that some transient effect was induced. In comparing soundings launched from the central facility with the microwave radiometer there, I noticed that those sondes calibrated in June 1996 consistently reported lower integrated water vapor than the radiometer in July and September (during the IOP) but were in better agreement with the radiometer for the two weeks period immediately after the set point was adjusted. I suspect that adjusting the thermal set point may have temporarily increased the radiometer gain (kelvins/volt) thereby lowering the measured brightness temperature and the retrieved integrated water vapor. It is not clear why a temporary change in gain should occur or even whether it did. But users of the data should be aware that the data from the microwave radiometers at the SGP may be anomalous during August 1996. |
| Measurements: | sgpmwrlosB5.a1:
sgp5mwravgC1.c1:
sgp5mwravgB6.c1:
sgpmwrlosB4.a0:
sgpmwrlosB6.a0:
sgpmwrlosC1.b1:
sgpmwrlosB1.a0:
sgp1mwravgC1.c1:
sgpmwrlosC1.a1:
sgpmwrlosB4.a1:
sgpmwrlosB1.a1:
sgp5mwravgB1.c1:
sgp5mwravgB5.c1:
sgpmwrlosB5.a0:
sgp5mwravgB4.c1:
sgpmwrlosB6.a1:
|