Robert A. Baxter, Certified Consulting Meteorologist

Checking the radar wind profiler antenna level

In the early 1990s the boundary layer wind profiler and radio acoustic sounding system (RASS) became more widely used as a measurement tool for winds and temperature in the lowest several kilometers. With the introduction of these instruments to the air quality community in studies in the Lake Michigan and Central California regions, techniques were developed and implemented  to assure that the quality of the data collected was understood. Like sodars, the radar based instrumentation underwent significant scrutiny in the development of techniques to verify the instrument's performance. Performance audit techniques include comparisons to other means of measuring the atmospheric phenomena such as sodars, rawinsondes, tethersondes and tall towers. In January 2002 I presented a paper describing some additional tools that can be used in the audit process to help in the performance verification. These audit tools are consistent with the procedures and techniques described in the most recent guidance released by the USEPA entitled Meteorological Monitoring Guidance Regulatory Modeling Applications (2000) . I participated in the workshops leading up to the release of that guidance and feel it is a good summary of what is needed to best assure data are collected of known quality.

Summarized below are papers I have prepared specifically relating to radar and RASS quality assurance, including the tools mentioned above. Additional details on the papers can be found on my publications page.     

• Innovative Procedures for the Performance Auditing of Radar Wind and RASS Profilers, 2002
• Quality Assurance of Remote Wind Profilers During the 1995 EPA Sodar Characterization Study, 1996
• Draft Guidelines for the Quality Assurance and Management of PAMS Upper-Air Meteorological Data, 1995
• Results of the 1991 LMOS Remote Wind Profiling Audit Program, 1993