This paper describes the turbulent eddy profiler (TEP), a volume-imaging, UHF radar wind profiler designed for clear-air measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer on scales comparable to grid cell sizes of large eddy simulation models. TEP employs a large array of antennas-each feeding an independent receiver-to simultaneously generate multiple beams within a 28Њ conical volume illuminated by the transmitter. Range gating provides 30-m spatial resolution in the vertical dimension. Each volume image is updated every 2-10 s, and long datasets can be gathered to study the evolution of turbulent structure over several hours. A summary of the principles of operation and the design of TEP is provided, including examples of clear-air reflectivity and velocity images.

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Digital beamforming techiques with adaptive processing have been used for several decades in high performance radar systems to track targets in the presence of jamming. With the availability of inexpensive microwave and digital componentry, these techniques are now practical for non-military applications. We have recently developed a 915 MHz digital beamforming radar system, termed the Turbulent Eddy Profiler, designed to resolve atmospheric C;4. fluctuations over a three-dimensional volume containing several thousand pixels, with each pixel approximately 30 m on a side.These scales are comparable with Large Eddy Simulations (LES) allowing a comparison of radar-derived structure statistics with those generated by LES.