Preliminary observation of temperature profiles by radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) with a 1280 MHz lower atmospheric wind profiler at Gadanki, India

Abstract. A UHF wind profiler operating at 1280 MHz has been developed at NARL for atmospheric studies in the planetary boundary layer. In order to explore application of radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) technique to this profiler, a suitable acoustic attachment was designed and preliminary experiments were conducted on 27–30 August 2010. Height profiles of virtual temperature, T_v, in the planetary boundary layer were derived with 1 μs and 0.25 μs pulse transmission, corresponding to a height resolution of 150 m and about 40 m, respectively. Diurnal variation of T_v is clearly recognized, and perturbations of T_v are also seen in association with a precipitation event. Simultaneous profiles obtained from the MST Radar-RASS and an onsite 50 m tower demonstrate the capability to continuously profile the atmospheric temperature from near the ground to upper tropospheric altitudes.