Title
Simultaneous observations of structure function parameter of refractive index using a high-resolution radar and the DataHawk small airborne measurement system
Date Issued
16 September 2016
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Copernicus GmbH
Abstract
The SOUSY (SOUnding SYstem) radar was relocated to the Jicamarca Radio Observatory (JRO) near Lima, Peru, in 2000, where the radar controller and acquisition system were upgraded with state-of-the-art parts to take full advantage of its potential for high-resolution atmospheric sounding. Due to its broad bandwidth (4 MHz), it is able to characterize clear-air backscattering with high range resolution (37.5 m). A campaign conducted at JRO in July 2014 aimed to characterize the lower troposphere with a high temporal resolution (8.1 Hz) using the DataHawk (DH) small unmanned aircraft system, which provides in situ atmospheric measurements at scales as small as 1 m in the lower troposphere and can be GPS-guided to obtain measurements within the beam of the radar. This was a unique opportunity to make coincident observations by both systems and to directly compare their in situ and remotely sensed parameters. Because SOUSY only points vertically, it is only possible to retrieve vertical radar profiles caused by changes in the refractive index within the resolution volume. Turbulent variations due to scattering are described by the structure function parameter of refractive index Cn2. Profiles of Cn2 from the DH are obtained by combining pressure, temperature, and relative humidity measurements along the helical trajectory and integrated at the same scale as the radar range resolution. Excellent agreement is observed between the Cn2 estimates obtained from the DH and SOUSY in the overlapping measurement regime from 1200 m up to 4200 m above sea level, and this correspondence provides the first accurate calibration of the SOUSY radar for measuring Cn2.
Start page
767
End page
780
Volume
34
Issue
9
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Meteorología y ciencias atmosféricas
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84988637927
PubMed ID
Source
Annales Geophysicae
ISSN of the container
09927689
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus