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Page 1 Crown copyright 2004 The Challenges for an operational wind profiler. Remote and unattended Tim Oakley TECO-05 Bucharest, 4 th -7 th May 2005

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Page 2 Crown copyright 2004 Plan Background Why? Installation How? Problems & Solutions Current StatusWas it a success? Future Challenges

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Page 3 Crown copyright 2004 Network 2000 8 Core stations, manned 24/7 Met Office proposed to close Stornoway. Replace with a wind-profiler

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Page 4 Crown copyright 2004 Wind Profiler Specification & location Either 440-450 or 50 - 65 MHz. Winds 1 - 12km (90%) Height Resolution 150m 500m Temporal Res. 30min 10min Random Error 2ms -1 (Absolute error tested against Radiosondes) Lifetime 10 years, harsh environment. 1 visit per 6 months.

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Page 5 Crown copyright 2004 Chosen System Competitive tender. Vaisala system with antenna from ATRAD(Australia) 64MHz 144 Yagi array

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Page 6 Crown copyright 2004 Location of antenna Open sea to west Internal loch South Uist Site

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Page 7 Crown copyright 2004 Site Works Jan 2003

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Page 8 Crown copyright 2004 Site Works Feb 2003 (end)

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Page 9 Crown copyright 2004 64 MHz wind profiler.

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Page 10 Crown copyright 2004 Antenna fed from six transmitters

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Page 11 Crown copyright 2004 Transmitters Processing electronics + beam switching + transmit/receive switches

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Page 12 Crown copyright 2004 Installation Overview Work Services complete March 2003 Antenna Installation March 2003 (end) Communication link installed April 2003 Electronics installed May 2003 First transmission 9 th May 2003 (Project started October 2000)

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Page 13 Crown copyright 2004 Problems & Solutions. Bleed through on T-R Switch Polar Mesosphere Summer Echo's (PMSE) Interfering signals - Internal Oscillators -Comms. Cable -External? Air Conditioning IT Security Memory leak? ( on Internet Explorer) Remote Monitoring Unique system learning curve for all

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Page 14 Crown copyright 2004 Bleed through (High Mode only). Solution Hardware solution not found. Software revision to remove gates around zero. Manufacturer (ATRAD) working on a hardware solution Atmospheric signal Interference (bleed through)

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Page 15 Crown copyright 2004 PMSE Echos Solution Change Configuration File

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Page 16 Crown copyright 2004 Interfering signal Changed oscillators. Shielded/rerouted cables

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Page 17 Crown copyright 2004 Interfering signal Internal/External signal?

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Page 18 Crown copyright 2004

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Page 19 Crown copyright 2004 Solution? - MPP Signal Processing

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Page 20 Crown copyright 2004 GraphXM plot (Classic)

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Page 21 Crown copyright 2004 GraphXM plot (MPP)

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Page 22 Crown copyright 2004 Problems & Solutions. Air Conditioning Reset to off after power cut. Unit reconfigured. IT Security Virus hit system Dec 03. Software hardened. Memory leak? Monitored. Dont leave IE running. Remote Monitoring Installed WebCam. Developing new techniques. Working with Vaisala. Unique system Solutions take longer!

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Page 23 Crown copyright 2004 South Uist 64MHz Current Status Final system acceptance test July 04 Data being assimilated by UK NWP Hand over to operations 30 th Sept 04 Operational configuration: - 4 beams (no vertical) - 2 modes, every 30mins - MPP algorithm - Opposing beam check

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Page 24 Crown copyright 2004 Current 24 hour wind data

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Page 25 Crown copyright 2004 Acceptance test Flight 1

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Page 26 Crown copyright 2004 Acceptance test Flight 11

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Page 27 Crown copyright 2004 Current Upper-Air Network 2004 2 Manned Radiosonde Sites 4 Autosonde Sites Supplementary Radiosonde sites, ascents as required 5 Wind-Profiler Sites

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Page 28 Crown copyright 2004 Summary & Future Challenges. Wind profilers proven record for reliability and unattended operations. Systems accepted for operational use around the globe. However we need more work/development in the following areas: Remote monitoring Early identification of system failures/degradation Quality Evaluation Improved data quality & training for operational network managers to identify problems. High Resolution data Use of this data both for nowcasting & system validation. Integration Using wind profilers with other remote sensing systems. IT development IT ( signal processing, security, communications) is a fundamental part of these systems. Sustainability Work with industry to ensure the continued support & availability of these systems. Plus development of the next generation.

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Page 29 Crown copyright 2004 Advert: (1)Poster by Herb Winston, et al Quantitative assessment of improved spectral moments selection algorithm on an operational 64 MHz clear-air doppler wind profiler (2)Quality management of a European wind profiler network (CWINDE) Saturday! Questions