Measurement of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates in the mesosphere by a 3 MHz Doppler radar Original Research Article

A new narrow beam Doppler radar operating at 3.17 MHz has been installed close to the Andøya Rocket Range in Andenes, Norway in summer 2002 in order to improve the ground based capabilities for measurements of turbulence in the mesosphere. The main feature of the radar is a Mills Cross transmitting/receiving antenna consisting of 29 crossed half-wave dipoles. In combination with the modular transceiver system this provides high flexibility in beam forming and pointing. In general, vertical and oblique beams with a minimum one way half-power full-beam width (HPFW) of 6.6° are used. The observations are usually performed with a height resolution of 1 km and with off-zenith beams at 7.3° directed towards NW, NE, SE, and SW. Turbulence intensities have been estimated from the width of the observed signal spectra using an computationally intensive correction method which requires precise knowledge of the antenna radiation pattern. The program uses real-time measurements of the wind field in all determinations. Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates based on radar observations are presented and compared with corresponding climatological summer and winter profiles from rocket measurements, as well as with single profiles from model runs for selected periods from September 2003 to Summer 2004. The mean turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rates based on these radar measurements are about 5 mW/kg at 60 km altitude and about 20 mW/kg at 80 km, in reasonable agreement with mean turbulence intensities obtained from previous rocket soundings at Andenes.