Collis, Scott

Dolan, Brenda

Fuchs, Brody

Guy, Nick

Hein, Paul

Helmus, Jonathan

Lang, Timothy J.

Thompson, Elizabeth

NASA Technical Reports Server

Marshall Space Flight Center and the  
open-source radar software revolution 
  
 
Timothy J. Lang  
 
 
 
 
Brenda Dolan, Brody Fuchs, Paul Hein, Elizabeth Thompson 
 
 
 
 
Scott Collis, Jonathan Helmus 
 
 
 
 
Nick Guy 
Acknowledgments 
Jason Burks, Steve Nesbitt,  
George Priftis, Brent Roberts 
Funding: NASA, DARPA, USDOJ 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20150018445 2019-08-31T06:30:06+00:00Z
Background 
 
My radar software history … 
 
Graduate School – RDSS, Reorder, SPRINT, Fortran, and pltgks 
 
Research Scientist – IDL, solo, Reorder, SPRINT 
 
NASA Civil Servant (2012) – Stick with IDL or go Python?  
 
NASA Marshall’s Lightning Group is mostly an IDL shop 
 
But folks are receptive to Python and some want to learn! 
 
I made the switch in early 2014 
MSFC Science Goals 
 
1. Understand lightning production in extreme weather 
events – GLM, ISS-LIS 
 
 
 
2. Validate precipitation estimates from space – GPM 
 
 
 
3. Study how well scatterometers characterize convective 
variability – RapidScat, CYGNSS 
 
 
 
Open-source radar software, powered by Python, plays a 
prominent role in all of these tasks! 
Marshall MRMS Mosaic Python Toolkit (MMM-Py) 
 
https://github.com/nasa/MMM-Py 
Goal 
Simplify the ingest, analysis, 
and display of NOAA MRMS 
3D radar reflectivity mosaics 
in a Python environment 
 
Features 
•  Can read any format 
MRMS, from 2009 onward 
•  Easy tile merging and 
domain subsetting 
•  Customizable plotting 
methods 
•  Save custom mosaics to 
file 
•  Demonstration Jupyter 
notebooks available 
Python Turbulence Detection Algorithm (PyTDA) 
 
https://github.com/nasa/PyTDA 
 
Goal 
Estimate eddy dissipation rate 
(EDR) from arbitrary Doppler 
radar sweep or volume 
 
Features 
•  Module contains independent 
functions for processing 
•  Works seamlessly with Py-
ART Radar object 
•  NTDA-like filtering and quality 
control of data if desired 
•  Uses sklearn trees, NumPy 
function broadcasting, and 
some Cython to allow near 
real-time use on a laptop 
Single Doppler Retrieval Toolkit (SingleDop) 
 
https://github.com/nasa/SingleDop 
Goal 
Estimate low-level 2D winds 
from single Doppler radar  
 
Features 
•  Xu et al. (2006) method 
•  Works with real or 
simulated radar data 
•  Background field can be 
specified or determined 
via VAD 
•  Uses Py-ART for data 
input and display 
•  Output gridded analyses 
to Python-readable binary 
(pickle) or netCDF (xray) 
•  Contour, vector, and 
mixed multi-panel plots 
supported 
Colorado State University Radar Tools (CSU_RadarTools) 
 
https://github.com/CSU-Radarmet/CSU_RadarTools 
Goal 
Provide routine polarimetric radar analysis and QC 
tools originally developed/used at CSU 
 
Features 
•  Independent of any other software framework 
•  Works with ndarrays or scalars 
•  CSU Fuzzy-Logic Hydrometeor ID (X, C, S-band) 
•  CSU Blended Rainfall Calculations 
•  CSU Ice and Liquid Water Mass calculations 
•  CSU Drop-Size Distribution calculations 
•  CSU KDP calculations (FIR based) 
•  Miscellaneous QC (insect filter, despeckling, etc.) 
•  Each works as importable sub-module 
•  Thorough demo notebook available, shows how to 
use with SkewT and Py-ART. 
Python Interface to Dual-Pol Radar Algorithms (DualPol)  
 
https://github.com/nasa/DualPol 
 
Goal 
Simple workflow for merging 
CSU_RadarTools with Py-ART 
Features 
•  One-line implementation for dual-
pol retrievals and integrating 
them within Py-ART radar object 
•  Class that simplifies display of 
HID & rain method colorbars 
Goal 
Calculate beam blockage and 
estimate corrections needed for 
polarimetric radar data 
 
Features 
•  KDP Method from Lang et al. 
(2009) 
•  Fully Self-Consistent Method 
from Giangrande and 
Ryzhkov (2005) 
•  Interfaces w/ DualPol, Py-
ART, CSU_RadarTools 
•  Process one volume or an 
entire field campaign’s worth 
of radar volumes 
•  Output results to image or file 
•  Demonstration notebook 
Python Polarimetric Radar Beam Blockage Calculation (PyBlock)  
 
https://github.com/nasa/PyBlock 
Collaborations 
 
Py-ART Contributions 
•  Color blindness friendlier 
rainbow color table 
•  NOXP radar data reader 
•  Automated dealiasing testing 
(Poster session #3 today)  
ARTview Contributions 
•  Minor feature additions 
•  Code cleanup/bug fixes 
•  Testing and evaluation 
Putting it all together … 
 
MMM-Py combined with in-
house Python modules that 
merge MRMS and Lightning 
Mapping Array (LMA) data to 
study storms that produce large 
charge moment change lightning 
and/or sprites 
•  El Reno storm (2013) 
•  Tornadic Stage 
•  MRMS w/ Oklahoma LMA 
source densities 
•  Colorado sprite-producing 
storm (2012) 
•  MRMS w/ animated 
Colorado LMA sources 
Putting it all together … 
 
IPHEx Field Campaign Data 
Fusion in support of GPM GV 
 
Radars 
Mixture of research and ops: 
NPOL, NOXP, KCAE, KGSP, 
KHTX, KMRX, KRAX, KFFC 
 
Tasks 
•  Py-ART to ingest and 
merge radar volumes onto 
common grid 
•  DualPol to compute rainfall 
and DSD parameters 
•  CSU_RadarTools to mask 
insect echoes & high 
differential phase texture, 
and despeckle remainder 
Z 
 
 
 
 
 
R 
 
 
 
 
 
D0 
Putting it all together … 
 
Exploring the best ways to compare 
scatterometers to ground-based Doppler 
radars 
Tasks 
•  Pydap to ingest 
RapidScat data via 
OPeNDAP 
•  Py-ART to ingest 
radar data and 
dealias velocity 
•  SingleDop to 
perform 2D low-
level wind retrievals 
•  Also: DualPol, 
CSU_RadarTools 
Summary 
 
Six Radar Modules 
1.  MMM-Py 
2.  PyTDA 
3.  SingleDop 
4.  CSU_RadarTools 
5.  DualPol 
6.  PyBlock 
 
Open source, play nice with 
Py-ART, support Python 3, & 
are available on GitHub right 
now (nasa & CSU-Radarmet) 
 
Contact Info: 
timothy.j.lang@nasa.gov 
+ PyAMPR! 
The Future 
 
Major coding done for now, but some possible ideas for directions to go: 
 
•  Merge into MSFC_RadarTools? 
•  Integration of components within Py-ART or wradlib? 
•  Make part of some future scikits-radar? 
•  NASA airborne radar module or interface? 
But for now … http://code.nasa.gov takeover! 


Marshall Space Flight Center and the Open-Source Radar Software Revolution

Marshall Space Flight Center and the Open-Source Radar Software Revolution

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