An evaluation of wind profiler, RASS, and microwave radiometer performance

Abstract

Several ground-based remote sensors were operated together in Colorado during February and March 1991 to obtain continuous profiles of the kinematic and thermodynamic structure of the atmosphere. Instrument performance is compared for five different wind profilers. Each was equipped with Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) capability to measure virtual temperature. This was the first side-by-side comparison of all three of the most common wind-profiler frequencies: 50, 404, and 915 MHz. Duel-frequency microwave radiometers that measured path-integrated water vapor and liquid water content were also evaluated. Comparisons between remote sensor and rawinsonde data generally showed excellent agreement. -from Authors