Talk:SODAR

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I would request the author to expand the uses of SODAR as:

SODAR can be used in any application where the winds aloft or the atmospheric stability is required to be determined. Some typical applications include: atmospheric dispersion studies, wind energy siting, wind shear warning, emergency response wind monitoring, sound transmission analyses, microwave communications assessments and aircraft vortex monitoring.

--AnadiK 06:41, 11 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] SODAR is an acronym for SOund Detection And Ranging

SODAR is an acronym for SOund Detection And Ranging, not Sonic... as written in the original article.

In the description of a SODAR it could be added:

Sodars are advanced instruments for the remote measurement of wind and turbulence in the lower atmosphere. They allow continuous vertical soundings without the installation of masts or the workintensive use of tethered balloons. Areas of applications include meteorological research and monitoring, wind energy siting, diffusion analysis at industrial plants, wind shear detection at airports and optical propagation through turbulence.

A sodar antenna emits short acoustic pulses into the atmosphere. The acoustic waves are backscattered at temperature inhomogeneities in the air. The antenna receives the backscattered signals and the subsequent electronics and digital processing evaluates the amplitudes and frequencies. The duration between emission and reception provides the height information about the area to be evaluated. Since the temperature inhomogeneities move with the wind, a Doppler frequency shift is observed revealing the wind speed relative to the beams axes. If this Doppler shift is measured at different beam directions, the three-dimensional wind profile is obtained. The amplitude of the backscattered signals supplies information about the strength of the thermal turbulence. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Zepki (talk • contribs) 14:28, 18 January 2007 (UTC).