MU radar spaced antenna observations with varying apertures: Scatterer and antenna contributions to the ground diffraction pattern

Abstract

The 46.5 MHz MU radar located at Shigaraki, Japan (34.85°N, 136.10°E), is used to investigate the consistency of refractive index scale measurements utilizing a method based on Full Correlation Analysis (FCA) which includes compensation for the scale effects of transmitting and receiving antenna apertures. Horizontal correlation lengths of refractive index irregularities within the troposphere are determined from spaced antenna (SA) observations using six configurations with differently sized transmitting and receiving antennas. Results show that the algorithm effectively compensates for transmitting and receiving antenna aperture sizes. Estimates of turbulence structure scatterer correlation lengths and turbulence intensity are compared to background wind and shear from Doppler beam swinging (DBS) data to show how enhanced turbulence decreases the size of scatterers.