Comparisons Of Volume-Imaging Radar Observations Of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Turbulence With Large Eddy Simulations

The Turbulent Eddy Profiler (TEP) is a volume-imaging 915 MHz radar designed for atmospheric boundary-layer turbulence studies. The TEP system is a pulsed, phased-array radar that uses digital beamforming techniques in order to provide four-dimensional images of C-n(2) fluctuations and wind vectors on grid scales comparable to those of large-eddy simulations (LES).In this paper we present results from an August 1996 deployment of TEP, including preliminary comparisons of TEP data and LES results. Vertical profiles of Cia fluctuations are presented for a highly convective boundary layer. Those results are compared to published data simulated with LES from similar conditions. The measured variability of C-n(2) agrees well in the high signal-to-noise regions of the TEP data.