Simultaneous acoustic sounder measurements at two locations

Abstract

The application of air quality models requires a knowledge of the meteorological structure of the lower atmosphere. This information can be obtained by the use of acoustic sounders, or airborne sondes. Such studies were carried out at the Athabasca Oil Sands area, Alberta, Canada, during summer and winter seasons. Two acoustic sounders were operated simultaneously at two topographically different locations 4 km apart. The sounding data were supplemented by meteorological observations from minisondes and a tethersonde at one location. The majority of the sounder data from both locations showed turbulent, thin layers often associated with the presence of inversion layers, particularly in the winter season. The data exhibited a number of features common to this type of topography. Both sounder echoes were characterized by a wavy structure indicating a vertical oscillation in the height of the echoes. Although agreeing in general, the data had a few differences especially close to the ground. To determine whether the return of the sounder signal was related to the actual atmospheric structure, the sounder records were compared with local temperature measurements. The result shows good agreement between the different systems.