Mesoscale Variability of Jet Stream Winds Observed by the Sunset VHF Doppler Radar

Gage, K. S.; Clark, W. L.

doi:10.1175/1520-0450(1978)017<1412:mvojsw>2.0.co;2

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…These radars are referred to here as $T/MST radars although they are increasingly being called "wind profilers" by meteorologists. Several studies have been made of wind variability in the troposphere and stratosphere using the Sunset Gage and Clark [1978] studied the wind variability ob-' served by the Sunset radar during a jet stream pas-sage. R6ttger [1981] presented a study of strataspheric wind variability using the spaced-antenna technique.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the spectrum of atmospheric velocity fluctuations seen by MST/ST radar and their interpretation

Gage¹,

Nastrom²

1985

Radio Science

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We consider the observations of the spectrum of atmospheric motions over t h e range of periods from a few minutes t o many hours t h a t have been made with ST/MST r a d a r s i n the past f i v e years. This range of periods includes the periods associated with buoyancy waves and t h e s c a l e of atmospheric motions o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o by meteorologists a s the mesoscale. W e coneider both the spectra of horizontal and v e r t i c a l v e l o c i t i e s and examine t h e i r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n in. terms of buoyancy wave theory and turbulence theory. To h e l p i n i n t e r p r e t i n g these s p e c t r a we present some recently determined a i r c r a f t wave number spectra.I n recent years i t bas become possible t o observe continuously the atmospheric wind f i e l d above a p a r t i c u l a r location using clear-air Doppler radars. These r a d a r s a r e r e f e r r e d t o here a s ST/MST radars although they a r e increasingly being c a l l e d ''wind p r o f i l e r s " by meteorologists.Several studies have been made of wind v a r i a b i l i t y i n the troposphere and stratosphere using t h e Sunset and P l a t t e v i l l e ST r a d a r s i n Colorado, the Poker F l a t MST radar i n A l~s k a and the SOUSY HST r a d a r i n t h e Federal Republic of Germany, besides b r i e f campaigns elsewhere.Time-serieq a n a l y s i s of wind records measured by clear-air Doppler radar have yielded spectra of the horizontal and v e r t i c a l w i~+~ The frequency s p e c t r a of the horizontal wind t y p i c a l l y possess an f dependence while t h e frequency spectra of the v e r t i c a l velocity i s r a t h e r f l a t with a sharp f a l l -o f f a t periods below the Brunt-Vaisala period. Although it i s f a i r l y c l e a r t h a t the v e r t i c a l v e l o c i t y spectra a r e due t o waves, the horizontal velocity spectra have been a t t r i b u t e d t o quasi-two-dimensional turbulence by some authors and t o a spectrum of i n t e r n a l (buoyancy) waves by others.I n order t o explore the nature of the radar-observed spectrum of horizontal wind we make use of velocity spectra i n the wave number domain obtained recently from s p e c t r a l a n a l y s i s of a l a r g e s e t of a i r c r a f t winds obtained during t h e Global A i r Sampling Progran (GASP). I n addition t o the GASP horizontal wind s p e c t r a we a l s o make use of the temperature spectra obtained from the-GASP data set. A s a f i n a l diagnostic t o o l we compare the consistency of the horizontal velocity spectra with the radarobserved v e r t i c a l velocity spectrum under the hypothesis t h a t both spectra a r e due t o a common spectrum of i n t e r n a l waves.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the spectrum of atmospheric velocity fluctuations seen by MST/ST radar and their interpretation

Gage¹,

Nastrom²

1985

Radio Science

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“…4 and 5, make it possible to get a better estimate of the peak wind associated with a jet stream than is possible with radiosondes launched every 12 h. Also, the areas of jet-stream generated turbulence can be located. Further radar observations of jet streams and their mesoscale variability have been made by Gage and Clark (1978), and Ruster and Czechowsky (1980). Figures 5a-c show data taken with the SOUSY radar during a warm frontal passage on 8 February 1982.…”

Section: Observations Of Frontal Passagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The spectra for the meridional wind component are not shown but were very similar and had the same spectral index. Gage (1979) reviewed the results from diverse studies of turbulence at scales from a few hours to a few days and pointed out that a common thread was the finding of a -5/3 power law. Most, though not all, of these studies used data in the frequency domain.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The radars provide very reliable measurements and little routine maintenance is needed. The wind data can be processed completely automatically, and the measurements can be made regardless of the state of the weather (Gage and Balsley, 1978;Hogg et al, 1980). Thus, the system is ideal for operation in remote places where few data are available other- wise.…”

Section: The Wave Propagation Laboratory Profilermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The radars measure the winds by detecting backscatter from turbulent variations in the refractive index, i.e., humidity, temperature, and density variations. The measurement technique and many of the observations have been described by Gage and Balsley (1978), Balsley and Gage (1980), , and Harper and Gordon (1980). Many of these coherent radars have high power transmitters and large antennas that enable them to detect the small backscattered power to altitudes in the stratosphere and mesosphere.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

VHF and UHF Doppler Radars as Tools for Synoptic Research

Larsen¹,

Röttger

1982

Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc.

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Applications of VHFand UHF Doppler radars to research in synoptic meteorology are reviewed. We find that these radars show great potential for studies of large scales, but the area of research where the instruments really excel is in studying the interaction between the synoptic scale and the mesoscale. Several examples of results in both these areas are presented. Finally, the potential for operational use of the radar systems is discussed.

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Tropical atmospheric stability and wind structures as inferred from the Indian MST radar observations

Devara

Raj

Pandithurai

et al. 1997

Meteorl. Atmos. Phys.

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Mesoscale Variability of Jet Stream Winds Observed by the Sunset VHF Doppler Radar

Cited by 13 publications

References 5 publications

On the spectrum of atmospheric velocity fluctuations seen by MST/ST radar and their interpretation

On the spectrum of atmospheric velocity fluctuations seen by MST/ST radar and their interpretation

VHF and UHF Doppler Radars as Tools for Synoptic Research

Tropical atmospheric stability and wind structures as inferred from the Indian MST radar observations

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