Abstract
This chapter introduces the basic principles of radio-acoustic active devices devoted to the observations of atmospheric temperature and wind profiles. In the first part, the Doppler radar technique is presented and a brief history of the use of radars in the study of the atmosphere is reviewed. The concepts leading to the radar equation are given, and the methods for wind and temperature measurements are discussed. In particular, the derivation of mean radial motion, wind shear, turbulence parameters, and boundary layer structure from the zeroth, first, and second moment of the Doppler spectrum is explained. Furthermore, this chapter introduces the instruments wind profiler radar, Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS), and SOund Detection And Ranging (SODAR).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Angevine WM, Bakwin PS, Davis KJ (1998) Wind profiler and RASS measurements compared with measurements from a 450-m tall tower. J Atmos Ocean Technol 15:818–825
Barrick DE (1972) Remote sensing of sea state by radar. In: Derr VE (ed) Remote sensing of the troposphere. US Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
Battan LJ (1959) Radar meteorology. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, 161Â pp
Bianco L, Wilczak JM, White AB (2008) Convective boundary layer depth estimation from wind profilers: statistical comparison between an automated algorithm and expert estimations. J Atmos Ocean Technol 25:1397–1413
Ecklund WL, Carter DA, Balsley BB (1988) A UHF wind profiler for the boundary layer: brief description and initial results. J Atmos Ocean Technol 5:432–441
Hardy KR, Atlas D, Glover KM (1966) Multiwavelength backscatter from the clear atmosphere. J Geophys Res 71:1537–1552
Hildebrand PH, Sekhon, RS (1974) Objective determination of the noise level in Doppler spectra. J Appl Meteorol 13:808–818
Konrad TG, Arnold A, Dobson EB et al (1974) Unique boundary-layer experiment using radar, SODAR, and instrumented aircraft. EOS Trans-Am Geophys Union 55:271
Kraus JD (1950) Antennas. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY, 553Â pp
Kropfli RA, Katz I, Konrad TG, Dobson EB (1968) Simultaneous radar reflectivity measurements and refractivity index spectra in the clear atmosphere. Radio Sci 3:991–994
Lane JA (1969) Radar echoes from clear air in relation to refractive-index variations in the troposphere. Proc. IRE Lond 116:1656–1660
Lhermitte RM (1963) Motion of scatterers and the variance of the mean intensity of weather radar signals. Sperry Rand Res. Rept. No. SRRC-RR-63-57. Sperry Rand Res. Center, Sudbury. 43Â pp
Nathanson FE (1969) Radar design principles. McGraw Hill, New York, NY, 626Â pp
Nathanson FE, Reilly JP (1968) Radar precipitation echo experiments on temporal, spatial, and frequency correlation, IEEE Trans AES-4(4):505–514
North EM, Peterson AM (1973) RASS, a remote sensing system for measuring low-level temperature profiles. Bull Am Meteoreol Soc 54:912–920
Probert-Jones JR (1960) The analysis of Doppler radar echoes from precipitations. In: Proceedings of 8th weather radar conference. American Meteorological Society, Boston, MA, pp 377–385
Richter JH (1969) High resolution tropospheric radar sounding. Radio Sci 4:1261–1268
Riddle AC, Angevine WM (1992) Ground clutter removal from profiler spectra, STEP, In: Edwards B (ed) Fifth workshop on technical and scientific aspects of MST radar, Aberystwyth, Wales, UK, 6–9 Aug. 1991, SCOSTEP, pp 418–420
Spizzich A (1974) Refraction of acoustic-waves in atmosphere and its influence on measurement of wind by SODAR Ann Telecommun 29:301–310
Spizzichino A (1974) Discussion of operating-conditions of a Doppler SODAR. J Geophys Res 79:5585–5591
Strauch RG, Merritt DA, Moran KP, Earnshaw KB, van de Kamp D (1984) The Colorado wind profiling network. J Atmos Ocean Technol 1:37–49
White AB (1997) Radar remote sensing of scalar and velocity microturbulence in the convective boundary layer. NOAA Tech. Memo. ERL ETL-276. Environmental Technology Laboratory, Boulder, CO. 127Â pp. [Available from NOAA/ERL/ETL Broadway, Boulder, CO, 80305]
Wilczak JM, Gossard EE, Neff WD, Eberhard WL (1996): Ground-based remote sensing of the atmospheric boundary layer: 25 years of progress. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 78:321–349
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Bianco, L. (2011). Introduction to SODAR and RASS-Wind Profiler Radar Systems. In: Cimini, D., Visconti, G., Marzano, F. (eds) Integrated Ground-Based Observing Systems. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12968-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12968-1_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-12967-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-12968-1
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)