Comparison of a deconvolution technique for measuring mesospheric winds with the spaced antenna technique

Abstract

Two techniques of mesospheric wind velocity measurement are compared. One is the spaced antenna technique and the other is a technique described in this paper which deconvolves radar data in order to determine the positions and Doppler shifts of D-region scatterers. Both techniques were employed in the height interval 70–96 km using the Bribie Island radar (152°E, 27°S) operating at 1.98 MHz. A median discrepancy of 15 m/s between the two sets of wind measurements was observed. This was reduced to about 7 m/s when both techniques were forced to use the same echo information when performing a wind velocity measurement. In performing a measurement, the deconvolution technique has the advantage of being able to use the echo information within a height interval whereas the spaced antenna technique uses echo information within a range interval. However the deconvolution technique has disadvantages including much greater computer time requirements.