Abstract
The development of a novel VHF radar designed to measure winds and temperatures in the planetary boundary layer is described. The radar operates at 54.1 MHz and is compact and easily transportable. The antenna system consists of 12 Yagis grouped into three subarrays arranged in the form of an equilateral triangle. Transmission takes place on the whole array, and reception takes place on the three subarrays, with winds measured by the spaced antenna technique over a height range between 300 and 3000 m. Results from field trials conducted in southern Australia in a variety of meteorological conditions are presented. Comparisons with high‐resolution radiosondes launched from the radar site show excellent agreement, with rms differences between radiosonde and radar wind components being about 1.5 m s−1. Observations carried out in rain show that echoes from precipitation are clearly distinguishable from clear‐air echoes. Unlike UHF radars, this means that vertical air velocities can be measured during precipitation, and the evolution of drop‐size distributions can be studied down to low altitudes. It is shown that temperatures derived from a radio acoustic sounding system are measured up to heights near 2 km, depending on background wind conditions.
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