Dataset
NERC Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) Radar: stratospheric and tropospheric structure and dynamics observations, version 3
Abstract
The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) Radar is operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council at the Radar Facility's (MSTRF's) site in Capel Dewi, near Aberystwyth, Mid-Wales. The 46.5 MHz pulsed Doppler radar is used primarily for making atmospheric observations over the approximate altitude range 2 - 20 km, i.e. over most of the troposphere and the lower stratosphere - hence the term "ST-mode". Additional observations are made over the approximate altitude range 56 - 96 km, i.e. covering the mesosphere - hence the term "M-mode" (see related dataset).
The instrument has been in operation, using the Dopppler Beam Swinging technique (see linked documentation for further details), since late 1989. It was intially operated on a campaign basis, but switched to quasi-continuous observations (i.e. close to 24-7 operation) in late 1997.
This dataset includes radial data products, i.e. range profiles along each beam pointing direction, and the "Cartesian" data products that are derived from them in the form of altitude profiles. The latter are used for most purposes. Data products are derived from the version 3 processing scheme, which supersedes earlier versions. Further details can be found via the linked documentation. Radial data products include:
signal power (relates to atmospheric structure)
radial velocity (relates to wind speed along the beam pointing direction)
spectral width (relates to turbulence intensity)
Cartesian data products include:
horizontal wind components (zonal and meridional)
vertical wind velocity
vertical beam signal power
tropopause altitude
vertical beam spectral width
radar return aspect sensitivity
Note - some files are released marked as '-suspect'. These have been released to permit early access to the data where the majority of data are known to pass quality control, but a small, limited part of the data have been identified as being 'suspect'. An internal remark about the suspect data may be found within the file's metadata 'comments' attribute.
Details
| Previous Info: |
2016-08-11 Missing data from recent days are not presently available due to suspected sporadic e-layer return contamination. Please see MS… Show More 2016-08-11 Missing data from recent days are not presently available due to suspected sporadic e-layer return contamination. Please see MST site for access to these data until they have been cleaned up and delivered for ingestion into the CEDA archive Show Less |
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| Previously used record identifiers: |
No related previous identifiers.
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| Access rules: |
Access to these data is available to any registered CEDA user. Please Login or Register for an account to gain access.
Use of these data is covered by the following licence: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/. When using these data you must cite them correctly using the citation given on the CEDA Data Catalogue record. |
| Data lineage: |
Data are acquired by the MST radar facility and sent to the BADC within an hour of acquisition. Data are then immediately ingested into the BADC archives. |
| Data Quality: |
The MST radar data quality is described by D. A. Hooper, J. Nash, T. Oakley, and M. Turp. Validation of a new signal processing scheme for the MST radar at Aberystwyth. Ann. Geophys., 26(11):3253-3268, 2008. (available from here http://www.ann-geophys.net/26/3253/2008/angeo-26-3253-2008.html)
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| File Format: |
Data are netCDF formatted
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Related Documents
Process overview
Instrument/Platform pairings
| NERC: Mesosphere-Stratosphere-Troposphere (MST) Radar | Deployed on: Capel Dewi Atmospheric Observatory (CDAO) |
| Output Description | None |
- units: 1
- long_name: (Velocity bin number of the most positive limit of the signal component
- var_id: final_velocity_bin_number
- units: 1
- long_name: Alternative profile details
- var_id: alternative_profile_details
- units: m
- standard_name: altitude
- var_id: altitude
- long_name: Altitude above mean sea level
- units: m s-1
- long_name: Complementary beam horizontal velocity variability
- var_id: horizontal_wind_complementary_beam_variability
- units: 1
- long_name: Data weighting window index
- var_id: data_weighting_window_index
- units: 1
- long_name: Dwell number
- var_id: dwell_number
- units: m s-1
- standard_name: eastward_wind
- var_id: eastward_wind
- long_name: Eastward wind component
- units: 1
- long_name: Horizontal wind data reliability details
- var_id: horizontal_wind_components_reliability_details
- units: 1
- long_name: Horizontal wind data reliability flag
- var_id: horizontal_wind_components_are_reliable
- units: us
- long_name: Inter pulse period
- var_id: inter_pulse_period
- units: us
- long_name: Length of transmitter pulse
- var_id: length_of_transmitter_pulse
- units: dB
- long_name: Median spectral noise power for vertical beam profile
- var_id: vertical_beam_median_noise_power
- units: m s-1
- standard_name: northward_wind
- var_id: northward_wind
- long_name: Northward wind component
- units: 1
- long_name: Number of coherent integrations
- var_id: number_of_coherent_integrations
- units: 1
- long_name: Number of incoherent integrations
- var_id: number_of_incoherent_integrations
- units: 1
- long_name: Number of samples in the coherently integrated time series
- var_id: number_of_complex_samples_in_discrete_fourier_transform
- units: dB
- var_id: peak_smooth_psd_to_noise
- long_name: Peak smoothed signal power spectral density to noise power spectral density
- units: dB
- long_name: Peak smoothed signal power spectral density to noise power spectral desnity
- var_id: peak_smooth_psd_to_noise
- units: degrees
- long_name: Radar beam pointing azimuth angle
- var_id: beam_pointing_azimuth_angle
- units: 1
- long_name: Radar beam pointing direction number
- var_id: beam_pointing_direction_number
- units: degrees
- long_name: Radar beam pointing zenith angle
- var_id: beam_pointing_zenith_angle
- units: dB
- long_name: Radar return aspect sensitivity
- var_id: aspect_sensitivity
- units: 1
- long_name: Radar return aspect sensitivity is reliable
- var_id: aspect_sensitivity_is_reliable
- units: 1
- long_name: Radar return aspect sensitivity reliability details
- var_id: aspect_sensitivity_reliability_details
- units: dB
- long_name: Radar return signal power
- var_id: signal_power
- units: m s-1
- long_name: Radar return spectral width
- var_id: spectral_width
- units: m
- long_name: Radar-derived tropopause altitude
- standard_name: tropopause_altitude
- var_id: tropopause_altitude
- units: 1
- long_name: Radar-derived tropopause sharpness factor
- var_id: tropopause_sharpness_factor
- units: m
- var_id: range
- long_name: Range from the radar
- units: 1
- long_name: Signal component number
- var_id: signal_component_number
- units: 1
- long_name: Signal component reliability details
- var_id: signal_component_reliability_details
- units: 1
- long_name: Signal component reliability flag
- var_id: signal_component_is_reliable
- long_name: Spectral Width
- names: Spectral Width
- units: dB
- long_name: Spectral noise power
- var_id: noise_power
- units: m s-1
- long_name: Spectral velocity bin spacing
- var_id: spectral_velocity_bin_spacing
- units: us
- long_name: Sub-length of transmitter pulse
- var_id: sub_length_of_transmitter_pulse
- units: 1
- long_name: Time index of first dwell in cycle
- var_id: time_index_of_first_dwell_in_cycle
- units: 1
- long_name: Velocity bin number of the most negative limit of the signal component
- var_id: first_velocity_bin_number
- units: 1
- var_id: final_velocity_bin_number
- long_name: Velocity bin number of the most positive limit of the signal component
- units: 1
- long_name: Vertical beam data reliability details
- var_id: vertical_beam_data_reliability_details
- units: 1
- long_name: Vertical beam data reliability flag
- var_id: vertical_beam_data_are_reliable
- units: dB
- long_name: Vertical beam radar return signal power
- var_id: vertical_beam_signal_power
- units: m s-1
- long_name: Vertical beam radar return spectral width
- var_id: vertical_beam_spectral_width
- units: m s-1
- long_name: Vertical beam radar return spectral width corrected for beam-broadening
- var_id: beam_broadening_corrected_spectral_width
- units: m s-1
- long_name: Vertical beam radial velocity
- standard_name: upward_wind
- var_id: vertical_beam_radial_velocity
Co-ordinate Variables
- units: degrees_north
- standard_name: latitude
- var_id: latitude
- long_name: Radar latitude
- units: degrees_east
- standard_name: longitude
- var_id: longitude
- long_name: Radar longitude
- standard_name: time
- var_id: time
- long_name: UTC
Temporal Range
2005-04-30T23:00:00
Ongoing
Geographic Extent
52.4245° |
||
-4.0055° |
-4.0055° |
|
52.4245° |