Mount Gambier (38°S, 141°E) prototype VHF wind profiler

Abstract

The Mount Gambier wind profiling radar was installed in September 1997 and has operated almost continuously since the beginning of 1998. The site is at the Australian Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology Mount Gambier Meteorological Office, close to the Mount Gambier airport. The radar was developed as a prototype operational profiler by the Atmospheric Physics Group at the University of Adelaide, in collaboration with the Australian Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology. It was designed to operate as a spaced antenna radar, as a Doppler beam swinging radar, and as a hybrid Doppler interferometer. Here we present a summary of the operation of the system and a comparison with radiosonde observations concentrating on operation in the spaced antenna mode. The utility of the system and recommendations for the further development of similar systems are addressed.