A bistatic sodar for precision wind profiling in complex terrain

A new ground-based wind profiling technology-a scanned bistatic sodar-is described. The motivation for this design is to obtain a "mastlike"wind vector profile in a single atmospheric column extending from the ground to heights of more than 200 m. The need for this columnar profiling arises from difficulties experienced by all existing lidars and sodars in the presence of nonhorizontally uniform wind fields, such as found generically in complex terrain. Other advantages are described, including improved signal strength from turbulent velocity fluctuations, improved data availability in neutral atmospheric temperature profiles, improved rejection of rain echoes, and improved rejection of echoes from fixed (nonatmospheric) objects. Initial brief field tests indicate that the scattered intensity profile agrees with theoretical expectations, and bistatic sodar winds are consistent with winds from standard mast-mounted instruments. © 2012 American Meteorological Society.