XDS: WPDN
wpdn: Wind Profiler Demo Network
General Data Description
NOAA’s former Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL) Demonstration Division provided data from an array of wind profilers. These data include wind profiles, spectral moments, RASS temperature profiles, and surface observations. More information about these data can be found at the profiler web site.
Measurement Description
WPDN measurements
Temporal Coverage
Datastream | Start Date | End Date |
---|---|---|
sgp06fslwpdnmetX1.b1 | March 19, 2002 | November 4, 2014 |
sgp06fslwpdnrassX1.b1 | March 19, 2002 | November 4, 2014 |
sgp06wpdnmmtsX1.a1 | February 5, 1994 | February 26, 2002 |
sgp60fslwpdnmetX1.b1 | March 19, 2002 | November 4, 2014 |
sgp60fslwpdnrassX1.b1 | March 19, 2002 | November 4, 2014 |
sgp60wpdnrassX1.b1 | February 2, 1995 | February 26, 2002 |
sgp60wpdnsurfX1.b1 | January 21, 1994 | February 26, 2002 |
sgp60wpdnwndsX1.b1 | January 21, 1994 | February 26, 2002 |
Current data are available at the ARM Archive approximately three days after they are generated.
Area Covered
sgp06wpdnmmtsX1.a1 covers the seven WPDN stations surrounding the SGP Site
LOCATION LAT LON ______________________________________ Haviland KS 37.65 99.09 Hillsboro KS 38.31 97.30 Lamont OK 36.69 97.48 Morris (Haskell)OK 35.68 95.86 Neodesha KS 37.38 95.63 Purcell OK 34.98 97.52 Vici OK 36.07 99.22
The other data streams contain all the stations available. A list of available stations can be found at profiler site location information.
Datastream Inputs
sgp06wpdnmmtsX1.00
sgp60wpdnmmtsX1.00
sgp60wpdnrassX1.00
sgp60wpdnsurfX1.00
sgp60wpdnwndsX1.00
sgp06fslwpdnmetX1.00
sgp06fslwpdnrassX1.00
sgp60fslwpdnmetX1.00
sgp60fslwpdnrassX1.00
Related Links
The profiler website
Contacts
ARM Data Center
Data User Notes
sgp60wpdnrassX1.b1
The following is the data provider’s response to a question about correcting for vertical velocity in the temperature estimates:
To this date, we have not corrected our RASS temperature estimates for the vertical motion of the atmosphere. It is true that we should, at least some of the time, but not during periods of precipitation.
Ideally, we would apply the vertical velocity correction anytime the profiler would be measuring the true clear-air motion of the atmosphere. But when precipitation begins, the vertical velocity correction should not be applied because the wind profiler would then be measuring the fall speed of the hydrometeors and not the true air motion that the RASS is working with.
The question becomes when is it precipitating? Our profilers are sensitive to clouds and easily measure the fall velocity of snowflakes. We are looking at the magnitude of the errors in RASS temperatures versus the measured vertical velocities. We no doubt should correct for larger fall velocities, say > 1-3 m/s, but we see these often here in the lee of the Rockies, both clear-air and during precipitation. Surface obs. don’t work well to detect precipitation because of our dry atmosphere (virga). Maybe it’s a combination of thresholds (velocity and signal power) that must be known to tell when to apply the correction.
Consensus Algorithms
A reference for consensus algorithms is available at the XDC Web site (http://www.xdc.arm.gov/docs/data_info/sgp/qcalgo.txt)
sgp60wpdnsurfX1
The global attribute, Platform Description, is incorrect after Oct. 1, 1997 through the end of coverage (Feb. 26, 2002). The global attribute only lists the first 14 stations. The complete station information can be found at the XDC Web site.
Check for Data Quality Reports about these data via the ARM DQR web service
FSLWPDN data collection was discontinued on 11/05/2014
Acronyms
FSL Forecast Systems Laboratory NCDC National Climatic Data Center RASS Radio Acoustic Sounding System SGP Southern Great Plains WPDN Wind Profiler Demonstration Network
Citable References
Barth, MF, RB Chadwick, and DW van de Kamp. 1994. “Data processing algorithms used by NOAA’s wind profiler demonstration network.” Annales Geophysicae 12(6): 518-528, doi: 10.1007/s00585-994-0518-1
Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL), May 1996, FSL in Review- Fiscal Year 1995, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, 102 pp.
National Weather Service and the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, August 1994, Wind Profiler Assessment Report and Recommendations for Future Use 1987-1994, U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, Silver Spring, Maryland, 141 pp.