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Observations of vertical velocity over Illinois by the Flatland Radar
Author(s) -
Green J. L.,
Gage K. S.,
VanZandt T. E.,
Clark W. L.,
Warnock J. M.,
Nastrom G. D.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl015i003p00269
Subject(s) - radar , terrain , geology , orographic lift , doppler radar , meteorology , baroclinity , wind speed , scale (ratio) , doppler effect , geodesy , climatology , atmospheric sciences , precipitation , geography , physics , telecommunications , cartography , computer science , oceanography , astronomy
A new VHF clear‐air Doppler radar has been constructed in very flat terrain near Urbana, Illinois. This radar, called the Flatland radar, as presently configured measures a profile of the vertical component of the wind velocity every 2.5 minutes. It is found that typical time variances of vertical velocity over this very flat terrain are similar to the small variances observed during “quiet” periods near mountains. The observed absence of extended periods of large variance supports the hypothesis that the “active” periods observed near mountains are mainly due to orographic effects. The absence of such effects at Flatland should facilitate the study of other meteorological processes. For example, in the case study presented here it is suggested that the vertical motions associated with large‐scale baroclinic storms are measurable by the Flatland radar.