Forecasting and future work - Severe Convective Storms and Tornadoes: Observations and Dynamics - page 423

the ocean. Research groups at OU (Oklahoma University), NCAR, U. Mass., and
Colorado State University, among others are currently pursuing advances in radar
technology.
Pulsed Doppler lidars, which can estimate winds in clear air from aerosol
movements or molecular movements, should be improved so that their range
resolution can be decreased to be closer to their azimuthal resolution, which is
currently only 20 cm; range resolution now is 50m, but should be reduced to
10m or less. Pulsed Doppler lidars can complement Doppler radars, which work
best when there are hydrometeors or insects (in clear air), but lidars cannot
penetrate very far into precipitation or clouds.
In situ probes will be improved to increase the chances of successful
measurements. With the upcoming armored A-10 storm-penetrating aircraft in the
U. S., we should be able to obtain in situ measurements of hydrometeor type,
thermodynamic measurements, and vertical velocity measurements in severe
convective storms. Robotic helicopters could be used to make thermodynamic
measurements in and around convective storms, but not in regions of large hail
or high winds. An advantage of robotic helicopters over UAVs is that they
can hover: they do not need to keep moving, like sharks, to ''stay alive'' in the
air.
Swarms of small, lightweight, expendable probes that drift with the wind, in
part enabled by nanotechnology, may be used to provide detailed thermodynamic
measurements and wind measurements where radars or lidars are not appropriate.
These probes, an example of which were first introduced in the 1996 movie Twister
as science fiction, might someday be realized as science fact. They could be
released by airborne platforms such as manned aircraft, UAVs, or robotic
helicopters.
As computers evolve to be faster and contain even more memory, we will be
able to simulate both tornadoes and their parent convective storms with sucient
spatial resolution to resolve both. Better representation of microphysical processes
will also be possible. Improved short-term forecasts should be possible at very
high spatial resolution, with the advent of improved cloud microphysics, and can
be made for many ensemble members.
On the theoretical side, and probably in conjunction with faster computers, it
may be possible to improve our understanding of boundary-layer physics and to
analyze tornadogenesis as an instability problem. There are currently many
researchers involved in improving radar technology, many making use of
new instrumentation, and many doing numerical experiments and assimilating
data into numerical models but, arguably, fewer doing more basic theoretical
work.
7.4 GENERAL MONOGRAPHS AND TOPICS
The reader is referred to p. 24 for a list of relevant general monographs and
topics.