MU radar-RASS measurements of tropospheric turbulence parameters

oleh: David J. Low, Toshitaka Tsuda

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: Borntraeger 1998-12-01

Deskripsi

The present capabilities of the MU radar-RASS are outlined, and applications to studies of turbulence in the lower atmosphere are described. In particular, we consider the application of simultaneous measurements of the Brunt-Väisälä frequency (via RASS) to radar wind profiler estimates of turbulent parameters. We find that the Brunt-Väisälä frequency can vary significantly on timescales which are beyond the resolution of conventional balloon-borne radiosonde observations, and that such variations are significant in the calculation of turbulent energy dissipation rates. A case study of afternoon convection is examined in detail, concentrating on the wind, stability and turbulence fields, and examples of gravity wave generation, propagation, and dissipation are discussed in the context of these dynamic/thermodynamic fields. We conclude that the measurement of temperature profiles in real time is a valuable addition to studies of atmospheric turbulence due to the derivation of continuous stability parameter information, and suggest how the high spatio-temporal resolution temperature fluctuation field may be applied to studies of potential-kinetic energy equipartition.