Wind Shear Detection with Pulse Doppler Radar.
Abstract
Measurement of wind profiles and wind shear near air terminals in all weather regimes may be possible with pulse Doppler radar. The use of radar for solving the airport wind shear problem was investigated experimentally and with computer simulations. Radar tests are continuing. A single Doppler device cannot measure the complex three-dimensional wind field that exists in some weather events. In Phase I of this project a computer simulation showed that a radar with a 150 m pulse length and a 1.5 degree beamwidth could resolve low level wind profiles. The computer simulation program has been expanded so that the radar measured radial velocity profile and the field of radial velocities could be calculated and displayed for any analytic or numerical input wind model. Various output displays are available. Both the location of the radar and the volume that is scanned can be chosen relative to the input coordinate system. The program can also accept input wind models expressed relative to the approach path. Effects of antenna beamwidth and radar range resolution can be simulated. The program is useful for studying the expected observations for any radar (or laser) Doppler system. Radar reflectivity is assumed constant but the program could readily accommodate reflectivity gradients. Thus the program should prove valuable for studying the utility of single Doppler radar observations in any situation. The simulation results, using wind models that can cause problems for landing aircraft, show that the radial velocity field of a single Doppler radar depicts wind shear by a change in the orientation of contours of constant velocity. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA088576
Entities
People
- R. G. Strauch
- W. B. Sweezy
Organizations
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration