An Objective Method for the Determination of Tropopause Height from VHF Radar Observations

Abstract

The relationship between the magnitude of backscattered power observed at vertical incidence by a VHF radar is related to atmospheric stability in accordance with the recently developed Fresnel scattering model. Utilizing the Fresnel scattering model, tropopause height can be determined objectively from the observed vertical profile of backscattered power. The method is demonstrated with observations from the Sunset VHF radar. A preliminary error analysis shows that the technique is potentially capable of determining tropopause heights within about 300 m of the tropopause heights determined from radiosonde soundings.