The development of a transponder based technique for the acoustic calibration of SODARs

The accuracy and comparability of wind measurements by different SODARs is an unresolved issue. A technique is being designed using a laptop based transponder system which can simulate the Doppler shifted return echo signals generated by certain meteorological models. This system uses real-time analysis of the SODAR's output combined with the generation of return signals based upon both the theory of atmospheric absorption and turbulent scattering. This system has been tested with a METEK PCS.2000/24/MF in a controlled environment in various configurations. The results obtained show that this technique is effective in such an environment. The next step in the development of this system is to eliminate influencing factors such as the real atmospheric echo and background noise so that it can be used 'in situ'