Multifrequency Decoding of a Phased Array Doppler Sodar

Abstract

Doppler sodar is being used for studying the lower part of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and wind profiling. To obtain maximum altitude coverage multifrequency transmission has been used along with more transmitted power. In this article, the implementation of multifrequency transmission of a Doppler sodar and its decoding to extract the atmospheric parameters are presented. This article also shows the advantage of profiling using multifrequency sodar operation. The range of frequency used for transmission is between 1700 and 2100 Hz. The decoded Doppler spectra have shown significant improvement in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as well as higher altitude coverage compared to single-frequency transmission and reception. Wind profiles obtained from sodar have been compared with data obtained from high-resolution GPS sonde balloons, which were launched from a place close to the sodar system. The authors observed that 30% more wind data height coverage in when transmission is in multifrequency mode; the consistency in wind estimate is also improved compared to the single-frequency transmission.