Radar Wind Profiler at high frequency (RWP)
Instrument Categories: Atmospheric Profiling
General Overview
The radar wind profiler/radio acoustic sounding system (RWP/RASS), available in both 915-MHz and 1290-MHz frequencies, measures wind profiles and backscattered signal strength between (nominally) 0.1 km and 5 km and virtual temperature profiles between 0.1 km and 2.5 km. It operates by transmitting electromagnetic energy into the atmosphere and measuring the strength and frequency of backscattered energy. Virtual temperatures are recovered by transmitting an acoustic signal vertically and measuring the electromagnetic energy scattered from the acoustic wavefront. Because the propagation speed of the acoustic wave is proportional to the square root of the virtual temperature of the air, the virtual temperature can be recovered by measuring the Doppler shift of the scattered electromagnetic wave.
For more information on the operating system, see the 915 MHz RWP handbook.
Primary Measurements Taken
The following measurements are those considered scientifically relevant. Refer to the netCDF File Header Descriptions (Data Object Design Files) for the list of all available measurements, including those recorded for diagnostic or quality assurance purposes.
Available Value-Added Products
This instrument is an input to the following value-added products, which provide improved measurements or derived quantities.
- rwptemp - Radar Wind Profilers (RWP), 50 and 915 MHZ: virtual temperature profiles
Available Datastreams
- 1290rwpwindcon - 1290-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP1290): wind consensus data
- 1290rwpwindmom - 1290-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP1290): wind moments
- 1290rwpwindspec - 1290-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP1290): wind spectra
- 915issrwptempcon - Derived: temperature data from the 915RWP (consensus) and sonde, at altitude
- 915issrwpwindcon - Derived: wind data from the 915RWP (consensus) and sonde, at altitude
- 915rwphiwindcon - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): high power, wind consensus data
- 915rwphiwindmom - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): high power, wind moments data
- 915rwplowindcon - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): low power, consensus wind data
- 915rwplowindmom - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): low power, wind moments data
- 915rwptemp - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): virtual temperature profile data
- 915rwptempcon - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): temperature consensus data
- 915rwptempmom - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): temperature moments
- 915rwptempspec - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): temperature spectra
- 915rwpwind - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): wind profile data
- 915rwpwindcon - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): wind consensus data
- 915rwpwindmom - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): wind moments
- 915rwpwindspec - 915-MHz Radar Wind Profiler/RASS (RWP915): wind spectra
Sites / Facilities
Note: Click the "" to expand/collapse the list.
- North Slope Alaska (NSA)
- Central Facility, Barrow AK (C1)
- Southern Great Plains (SGP)
- Beaumont, KS (ABLE) (A2)
- Beaumont, KS (Intermediate) (I1)
- Central Facility, Lamont, OK (C1)
- Medicine Lodge, KS (I2)
- Meeker, OK (Intermediate) (I3)
- Oxford, KS (A5)
- Whitewater, KS (A1)
- Tropical Western Pacific (TWP)
- ARM Mobile Facility (FKB)
- Black Forest, Germany (M1)
- ARM Mobile Facility (GRW)
- Graciosa Island, Azores, Portugal (M1)
- ARM Mobile Facility (HFE)
- Shouxian, Anhui, China (M1)
- ARM Mobile Facility (NIM)
- Niamey, Niger (M1)
Mentor(s)
Richard Coulter
(630) 252-5833
rlcoulter@anl.gov