Search Results
Abstract
An experiment comparing balloon and profiler observations was carried out to evaluate the capability of Doppler radar wind profilers to remotely measure useful meteorological quantities other than wind. The site chosen was in Southern California during a time of year when it offers a natural laboratory for investigating extreme contrasts in temperature and humidity. To evaluate the new capabilities, it was found that new and additional treatment of the radar data was necessary. For example, the adequacy of the usual radar wind observations obtained by editing the Doppler spectral moments was found to be very questionable for short-term observations, so the authors extended the editing to the raw spectra, and substantial improvement was found. The advantages of the redundancy in five-beam systems are investigated and are also found to be very necessary to obtain the accuracy needed. A technique for minimizing the variances of the differences of the four redundant pairs of radials is described. The resulting improved vertical velocity estimates substantially improve the agreement between radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) temperature retrievals and balloon-measured temperatures. The ability of the profilers to measure turbulence intensity was tested, and the accuracy of techniques using the spectral width to measure turbulent dissipation rate when complicated spectra are present is examined. Two different techniques for optimizing the calculation of spectral width are compared and the errors assessed. One technique integrates over the uncontaminated range of the chosen spectral peak and then extrapolates a Gaussian function to infinity. The other method uses the slope of the log least squares best fit of the uncontaminated points to a Gaussian function. Profiler-measured length scales of wind and scalar quantities are measured and compared. Profiles of radar-measured gradients of refractive index are compared with gradients measured by balloon. It is shown how gradients of humidity can be calculated to about the same accuracy as refractive-index gradients by combining the temperature gradients from RASS with the refractive-index gradient observations from the radar.
Abstract
An experiment comparing balloon and profiler observations was carried out to evaluate the capability of Doppler radar wind profilers to remotely measure useful meteorological quantities other than wind. The site chosen was in Southern California during a time of year when it offers a natural laboratory for investigating extreme contrasts in temperature and humidity. To evaluate the new capabilities, it was found that new and additional treatment of the radar data was necessary. For example, the adequacy of the usual radar wind observations obtained by editing the Doppler spectral moments was found to be very questionable for short-term observations, so the authors extended the editing to the raw spectra, and substantial improvement was found. The advantages of the redundancy in five-beam systems are investigated and are also found to be very necessary to obtain the accuracy needed. A technique for minimizing the variances of the differences of the four redundant pairs of radials is described. The resulting improved vertical velocity estimates substantially improve the agreement between radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) temperature retrievals and balloon-measured temperatures. The ability of the profilers to measure turbulence intensity was tested, and the accuracy of techniques using the spectral width to measure turbulent dissipation rate when complicated spectra are present is examined. Two different techniques for optimizing the calculation of spectral width are compared and the errors assessed. One technique integrates over the uncontaminated range of the chosen spectral peak and then extrapolates a Gaussian function to infinity. The other method uses the slope of the log least squares best fit of the uncontaminated points to a Gaussian function. Profiler-measured length scales of wind and scalar quantities are measured and compared. Profiles of radar-measured gradients of refractive index are compared with gradients measured by balloon. It is shown how gradients of humidity can be calculated to about the same accuracy as refractive-index gradients by combining the temperature gradients from RASS with the refractive-index gradient observations from the radar.
Doppler Correction of Wave Frequency Spectra Measured by Underway VesselsAbstract
“Sea State and Boundary Layer Physics of the Emerging Arctic Ocean” is an ongoing Departmental Research Initiative sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (http://www.apl.washington.edu/project/project.php?id=arctic_sea_state). The field component took place in the fall of 2015 within the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and involved the deployment of a number of wave instruments, including a downward-looking Riegl laser rangefinder mounted on the foremast of the R/V Sikuliaq. Although time series measurements on a stationary vessel are thought to be accurate, an underway vessel introduces a Doppler shift to the observed wave spectrum. This Doppler shift is a function of the wavenumber vector and the velocity vector of the vessel. Of all the possible relative angles between wave direction and vessel heading, there are two main scenarios: 1) vessel steaming into waves and 2) vessel steaming with waves. Previous studies have considered only a subset of cases, and all were in scenario 1. This was likely to avoid ambiguities, which arise when the vessel is steaming with waves. This study addresses the ambiguities and analyzes arbitrary cases. In addition, a practical method is provided that is useful in situations when the vessel is changing speed or heading. These methods improved the laser rangefinder estimates of spectral shapes and peak parameters when compared to nearby buoys and a spectral wave model.
Abstract
“Sea State and Boundary Layer Physics of the Emerging Arctic Ocean” is an ongoing Departmental Research Initiative sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (http://www.apl.washington.edu/project/project.php?id=arctic_sea_state). The field component took place in the fall of 2015 within the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas and involved the deployment of a number of wave instruments, including a downward-looking Riegl laser rangefinder mounted on the foremast of the R/V Sikuliaq. Although time series measurements on a stationary vessel are thought to be accurate, an underway vessel introduces a Doppler shift to the observed wave spectrum. This Doppler shift is a function of the wavenumber vector and the velocity vector of the vessel. Of all the possible relative angles between wave direction and vessel heading, there are two main scenarios: 1) vessel steaming into waves and 2) vessel steaming with waves. Previous studies have considered only a subset of cases, and all were in scenario 1. This was likely to avoid ambiguities, which arise when the vessel is steaming with waves. This study addresses the ambiguities and analyzes arbitrary cases. In addition, a practical method is provided that is useful in situations when the vessel is changing speed or heading. These methods improved the laser rangefinder estimates of spectral shapes and peak parameters when compared to nearby buoys and a spectral wave model.
Abstract
Ground-based observations of the 11.072-GHz line of ozone were made from January 2008 through the middle of September 2011 to estimate the maximum in the nighttime ozone in the upper mesosphere at an altitude of about 95 km for a region centered at 38°N, 290°E. The measurements show seasonal variation with a high degree of repeatability with peaks in ozone concentration about a month following each equinox. A significant increase in ozone concentration above the yearly trend occurred in 2010 from mid-November until the end of December, which the authors attribute to delay in the start of the meridional circulation for the austral summer of 2010.
Abstract
Ground-based observations of the 11.072-GHz line of ozone were made from January 2008 through the middle of September 2011 to estimate the maximum in the nighttime ozone in the upper mesosphere at an altitude of about 95 km for a region centered at 38°N, 290°E. The measurements show seasonal variation with a high degree of repeatability with peaks in ozone concentration about a month following each equinox. A significant increase in ozone concentration above the yearly trend occurred in 2010 from mid-November until the end of December, which the authors attribute to delay in the start of the meridional circulation for the austral summer of 2010.
