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

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

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

Page 4© Crown copyright 2004 Wind Profiler Specification & location  Either or MHz.  Winds km (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.

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

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

Page 7© Crown copyright 2004 Site Works – Jan 2003

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

Page 9© Crown copyright MHz wind profiler.

Page 10© Crown copyright 2004 Antenna fed from six transmitters

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

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)

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

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)

Page 15© Crown copyright 2004 PMSE Echo’s Solution – Change Configuration File

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

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

Page 18© Crown copyright 2004

Page 19© Crown copyright 2004 Solution? - MPP Signal Processing

Page 20© Crown copyright 2004 GraphXM plot (Classic)

Page 21© Crown copyright 2004 GraphXM plot (MPP)

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. Don’t leave IE running.  Remote Monitoring Installed WebCam. Developing new techniques. Working with Vaisala.  Unique system Solutions take longer!

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

Page 24© Crown copyright 2004 Current 24 hour wind data

Page 25© Crown copyright 2004 Acceptance test – Flight 1

Page 26© Crown copyright 2004 Acceptance test – Flight 11

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

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.

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