Comparison of a Doppler Sodar with Bivanes and Cup Anemometers

A commercial Doppler sodar was operated near a 300-m tower instrumented with bivanes and cup anemometers. Sodar measurements of wind speed and direction and a turbulence variable ( sigma sub(w)) were compared with tower measurements at 90, 180, and 300 m. A total of 2084 15-min periods of data were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of atmospheric and oceanic technology 1994, Vol.11 (1), p.192-199
Main Author: Kurzeja, Robert J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Marine
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Summary:A commercial Doppler sodar was operated near a 300-m tower instrumented with bivanes and cup anemometers. Sodar measurements of wind speed and direction and a turbulence variable ( sigma sub(w)) were compared with tower measurements at 90, 180, and 300 m. A total of 2084 15-min periods of data were compared during one year. The bias and precision of the sodar data were calculated with respect to the bivanes and anemometers. It was found that, with the exception of the azimuth bias, the sodar measurements exhibited a somewhat greater bias and higher (worse) precision that found in previous studies. The azimuth bias of the sodar with respect to the bivanes was much less than reported in previous studies. Reasons for the differences between the sodar and the tower instruments are discussed. Inspection of tower and sodar data indicated that with experience the sodar data could be quality assured reasonably well without the need for direct comparison with a tower.
ISSN:0739-0572
1520-0426
DOI:10.1175/1520-0426(1994)011<0192:COADSW>2.0.CO;2