Premium
SOMARE‐99: A demonstrational field campaign for ultrahigh‐resolution VHF atmospheric profiling using frequency diversity
Author(s) -
Chilson Phillip B.,
Palmer Robert D.,
Muschinski Andreas,
Hooper David A.,
Schmidt Gerhard,
Steinhagen Hans
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
radio science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.371
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1944-799X
pISSN - 0048-6604
DOI - 10.1029/1999rs002308
Subject(s) - radiosonde , radar , depth sounding , remote sensing , troposphere , 3d radar , atmospheric sounding , radar imaging , geology , environmental science , meteorology , radar engineering details , computer science , geography , telecommunications , oceanography
During May of 1999 the sounding system (SOUSY) VHF radar was operated in a demonstrational field campaign specially designed to test the applicability of range imaging (RIM) to radar studies of the atmosphere. The RIM technique utilizes frequency diversity to offer a novel method of improving radar range resolution over that which can be obtained with a conventional pulsed radar with the same bandwidth. During the field campaign, which is being called SOUSY Multifrequency Atmospheric Radar Experiment 1999 (SOMARE‐99), the application of RIM on a VHF radar has been demonstrated. The data from SOMARE‐99 are intended for investigating the dynamics and morphology of fine‐scale vertical structures in the troposphere. This paper gives an overview of SOMARE‐99 and provides some initial scientific results. A central and important result was obtained by comparing RIM‐processed radar observations and data from radiosondes. Profiles of the vertical gradient of the generalized refractive index and the so‐called RIM‐enhanced echo power are found to bear similarities during one particular case, for which the radiosonde was located directly over the radar. Furthermore, a spectral analysis of these two parameters has provided evidence that RIM is successfully identifying multiple structures within the radar sampling volume with scales smaller than the conventional range resolution.