AIR TRAJECTORIES AND TURBULENCE STATISTICS FROM WEATHER RADAR USING TETROONS AND RADAR TRANSPONDERS

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Abstract
An experiment was carried out to determine the feasibility of utilizing weather radar (WSR-57) to obtain air trajectories over tens of miles at altitudes less than 5,000 ft. above the ground. Five constant volume balloons (tetroons) were released each carrying a lightweight (about 150 gm.) transponder which upon being interrogated by the WSR-57 radar would transmit an identifying signal. All flights were successful and the transponder signals provided positive, unambiguous target identification at ranges and altitudes where the ground clutter made direct reflective positioning impossible. Although the purpose of the experiment was to test the tracking system, data of particular interest were obtained from the simultaneous release of a pair of tetroons which were tracked for more than 2 hours to beyond 20 mi. Analysis of these two flights provided values of the relative dispersion Ȳ2 proportional to t3 and larger, as well as showing negative separation rates. These flights also provided estimates of viscous dissipation (ε) comparable to data by other investigators and illustrate a possible technique for relating the energy transfer to and from large-scale features of the flow. The complexity of air motions on the mesoscale and some of the problems associated with non-stationary non-homogeneous turbulence fields are readily seen from these flights.

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