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First Scientific Working Group Meeting of Airborne Doppler Lidar Wind Velocity Measurement Program, appendix J

Three projects are suggested which could be done using the Doppler lidar. The first is a cooperative effort at BAO, the purpose of which is to check out instrumentation and contribute to boundary layer investigations at BAO. The second concerns unintended weather modification. Its purpose is to detect mechanisms by which regions of industry and urbanization modify weather. The cirrus cloud study proposes to characterize cirrus clouds by their lidar signal and to compare lidar and visually observed characteristics.

Koenig, L. R.

Wind velocity measurement accuracy with highly stable 12 mJ/pulse high repetition rate CO2 laser master oscillator power amplifier

A coherent CO2 lidar operating in a master oscillator power amplifier configuration (MOPA) is described for both ground-based and airborne operation. Representative data taken from measurements against stationary targets in both the ground-based and airborne configurations are shown for the evaluation of the frequency stability of the system. Examples of data are also given which show the results of anomalous system operation. Overall results demonstrate that velocity measurements can be performed consistently to an accuracy of + or - 0.5 m/s and in some cases + or - 0.1 m/s.

Bilbro, James W.

Calibration of Instruments for Measuring Wind Velocity and Direction

Signal Corps wind equipment AN/GMQ-1 consisting of a 3-cup anemometer and wind vane was calibrated for wind velocities from 1 to 200 miles per hour. Cup-shaft failure prevented calibration at higher wind velocities. The action of the wind vane was checked and found to have very poor directional accuracy below a velocity of 8 miles per hour. After shaft failure was reported to the Signal Corps, the cup rotors were redesigned by strengthening the shafts for better operation at high velocities. The anemometer with the redesigned cup rotors was recalibrated, but cup-shaft failure occurred again at a wind velocity of approximately 220 miles per hour. In the course of this calibration two standard generators were checked for signal output variation, and a wind-speed meter was calibrated for use with each of the redesigned cup rotors. The variation of pressure coefficient with air-flow direction at four orifices on a disk-shaped pitot head was obtained for wind velocities of 37.79 53.6, and 98.9 miles per hour. A pitot-static tube mounted in the nose of a vane was calibrated up to a dynamic pressure of 155 pounds per square foot, or approximately 256 miles per hour,

Vogler, Raymond D.

Measurements of wind velocity and pressure with a wave follower during Marsen

Air pressure data are used in determining the rate of momentum transfer from wind to waves. On the basis of the wind velocity measurements, the wave-induced airflow and its coherence with waves are obtained for various wind velocities and phase speeds of the ocean waves. The pressure results suggest that momentum transfer to waves can be specified by a certain relation, which is given. The wind-velocity results suggest that the wave-induced airflow is much smaller than the mean wind speed. An empirical equation is proposed for the modulation of atmospheric transfer to short waves caused by the orbital velocity of long waves.

Hsiao, S. V.

Evidence of a large-scale gradient in the solar wind velocity

Measurements of the solar wind velocity are compared at two widely separated locations, using plasma data obtained by Mariner 5, en route to Venus, and with the near-earth satellites Explorer 33, 34, and 35. A previous study of the propagation of interplanetary sector boundaries between Mariner and the earth had implied the existence of large scale velocity gradient which was interpreted as a latitude gradient of approximately 13 km/sec per degree of latitude. The results of the present investigation in which the earlier results were extended to the overall solar wind, without regard to the presence of sector boundaries, suggests that a latitude dependence of the solar wind velocity is the most plausible interpretation of the large-scale velocity gradient.

Rhodes, E. J., Jr.

Yb:YAG Lasers for Space Based Remote Sensing

Diode pumped solid state lasers will play a prominent role in future remote sensing missions because of their intrinsic high efficiency and low mass. Applications including altimetry, cloud and aerosol measurement, wind velocity measurement by both coherent and incoherent methods, and species measurements, with appropriate frequency converters, all will benefit from a diode pumped primary laser. To date the "gold standard" diode pumped Nd laser has been the laser of choice for most of these concepts. This paper discusses an alternate 1 micron laser, the YB:YAG laser, and its potential relevance for lidar applications. Conceptual design analysis and, to the extent possible at the time of the conference, preliminary experimental data on the performance of a bread board YB:YAG oscillator will be presented. The paper centers on application of YB:YAG for altimetry, but extension to other applications will be discussed.

Ewing, J.J.

Measuring solar wind velocity with spacecraft phase scintillations

The measurement of spacecraft phase scintillations with a coherent dual-frequency radio system permits solar-wind velocity measurements based on multiple-station phase scintillations. Advantages of measuring solar-wind velocity on the basis of multiple-station phase scintillations are discussed with respect to amplitude scintillations. These advantages include the ability to carry out observations closer to the sun, a much wider range of possible baselines, a lower S/N ratio for long-baseline phase measurements, and a wider range of antenna sizes and receiver noise temperatures. NASA antennas particularly suitable for these measurements are identified, and observations with the coherent S/X radio system aboard various NASA spacecraft intended for deep-space missions are proposed.

Woo, R.

Radar studies of the sea surface - An introduction

A variety of different radars have been used to observe the sea surface. The instruments include scatterometers to measure wind velocity, altimeters to measure wind speed and wave height, synthetic aperture radars (SAR) to map the radar reflectivity of the surface in order to see ocean surface waves and other phenomena, and two-frequency radars to measure ocean wavelength. The present investigation is concerned with the accuracy of the measurements of particular oceanic variables, improved means of calculating these variables, and a comparison of the relative similarities and differences among the various radars. Wind speed can be measured to useful accuracy from space using scatterometers such as that on Seasat. Significant wave heights can be measured to useful accuracy from space using altimeters, the present accuracy being + or - 10% for altimeters such as that on Seasat.

Stewart, R. H.

Wind velocity profiles measured by the smoke-trail method at the Eastern Test Range, 1964

Twenty-six detailed wind profiles measured by the smoke trail technique at the Eastern Test Range during the first seven months of 1964 are presented as plots of west-to-east and south-to-north velocity components at height intervals of 25 meters. The overall altitude ranges of the profiles vary from about 2.6 to 19.1 km. The wind measurements, which were made under a variety of conditions, include velocities in excess of the 90- and 95-percent highest values for the Eastern Test Range. The report also includes a listing of the wind profiles, their maximum velocities and direction of the maximum velocities, measured by the smoke trail method at the Eastern Test Range from 1962 to 1964.

Manning, J. C.

Wind velocity profiles measured by the smoke-trail method at Wallops Island, Virginia, 1965 - 1969

Thirty-nine detailed wind profiles measured by the smoke-trail method at the Wallops Island Test Range during the years 1965 through 1969 are presented as west-to-east and south-to-north velocity components at height intervals of 25 meters. The overall altitude range of the wind profile data varies from about 1 to 23 km. The wind measurements, which were made under a variety of conditions, include velocities in excess of the annual 99-percent highest wind value (the wind value which will not be exceeded 99 percent of the time) for the Wallops Island Test Range. The report also includes a listing of the wind soundings and their maximum velocities and direction of the maximum velocities measured at Wallops Island from 1959 through 1969. Results of smoke-trail enhancement experiments are also indicated.

Rhyne, R. H.

Wavelength dependence of coherent and incoherent satellite-based lidar measurements of wind velocity and aerosol backscatter

The results are presented of a capability study of Earth orbiting lidar systems, at various wavelengths from 1.06 to 10.6 microns, for the measurement of wind velocity and aerosol backscatter, and for the detection of clouds. Both coherent and incoherent lidar systems were modeled and compared for the aerosol backscatter and cloud detection applications.

Kavaya, M. J.

A comparison of vertical velocities measured from specular and nonspecular echoes by a VHF radar

For a number of years, there have been doubts about the accuracy of vertical wind velocities measured with quasi-specular reflections from mesosphere-stratosphere-troposphere (MST) radar. The concern has been that the layers producing the quasi-specular reflection process this hypothetical tilt. Because of the quasi-specular reflection process, this hypothetical tilt would control the effective zenith angle of the radar antenna beam so that a small component of the horizontal velocity would be included in what was assumed to be a truly vertical beam. The purpose here is to test the hypothesis that there is an effect on the wind velocities measured on a vertical antenna beam due to a long-term tilting of the stable atmospheric layers that cause quasi-specular reflection. Gravity waves have been observed to cause short-term tilting of turbulent layers and specularly reflecting layers. In both cases, the effect was a wave-like deformation atmospheric layers with a period of a few minutes. This geometry is shown. Because of this influence of gravity waves, it was expected that there would be short-term variations in the vertical velocity.

Green, J. L.