Radar measurements of wind at Kwajalein

The high-power ALTAIR and TRADEX radars were used for high-resolution wind measurements. Thin turbulent layers were observed in the stably stratified regions of the troposphere. The layers had thicknesses of the order of 100 m and vertical spacings of several hundred meters. Wind profiles were generated by interpolation using observed velocities in the layers. A detailed comparison between a wind profile constructed by using scattering from refractive index fluctuations produced by turbulence and a profile obtained from high-resolution balloon observations showed good agreement between the two methods of observation. On the basis of the comparison, the uncertainty (accuracy) of the mean wind profile derived from turbulence measurements was estimated to be of the order of 0.3 m/s for each of the Cartesian horizontal wind components.