Design Considerations for a Network of Thermodynamic Profilers

Abstract A modular design for a ground-based thermodynamic profiler is presented, based on experience with a six-channel microwave radiometer that has provided temperature, pressure, and moisture measurements continuously, unattended, since 1981. Each module consists of one pair of microwave channels, whose frequencies are chosen to facilitate the joint use of radio-frequency (RF) components, thus reducing hardware costs by nearly half. The number of modules included in a given system can be chosen to suit the altitude and accuracy requirements for that particular application. The accuracy of temperatures and pressure heights retrieved from simulated profilers with 4 to 18 channels is presented to illustrate the tradeoff between cost and accuracy.