Overview

This dataset contains measurements from eight different Vaisala Triton Wind Profiler instruments. The Triton Wind Profiler is a sodar wind profiler that measures wind speed, direction, and turbulence intensity at heights from 30 m to 200 m above ground every 10 minutes. The eight Tritons are located at various sites around the WFIP2 study area.

Data Details

Regarding the minimum requirements for the site description, a Keyhole Markup Language (KML) file is attached with all of the AON Triton locations. Unfortunately, there are no photos of the sites. The layout of each site is simple. At all locations, the Triton Wind Profiler is placed on the ground with the solar panel facing due south. Each unit is solar powered and communicates its data via satellite, so there are no cables of any kind. Also, the specified start and end dates are for the entire AON network. Some individual units start later or end earlier. All start/end dates for the individual units are given as follows:

AON1 (z17): 10/1/2015 -- 7/31/2017

AON2 (z14): 10/1/2015 -- 7/31/2017

AON3 (z18): 10/1/2015 -- 7/31/2017

AON4 (z12): 12/5/2015 -- 7/31/2017

AON5 (z06): 10/1/2015 -- 7/31/2017

AON6 (z05): 10/1/2015 -- 7/31/2017 (w/gap 2016-08-01 -- 2016-09-28)

AON7 (z02): 10/1/2015 -- 7/31/2017 (w/gap 2016-07-01 -- 2016-11-18)

AON8 (z01): 12/7/2015 -- 4/9/2016

AON9 (z20): 11/19/2016 -- 7/31/2017

Data Quality

The Triton firmware has a quality assessment algorithm that assigns a quality factor (“quality”) to each time/height measurement of wind, expressed as a percent value in the range 0-100. In addition, the upward Doppler velocity (“vert”) is measured and can be used as an indicator of falling precipitation, which negatively affects data quality. Two automated procedures are applied in real time as these data (level 00) are sent to the DAP. Data are set to a missing value (null in the CSV file) when either “quality” < 90% or “vert” < -1.5 m/s. Because the data level is from a real-time feed, no manual quality control (QC) has been performed. Periods of missing data are likely due to real-time glitches, many of which will be filled in once the final data retrieval and QC process are performed (level b0). Finally, for the first few months of the study, the variables provided in the real-time (level "00") files differ slightly than what is specified on this metadata web page. The header line in the earlier CSV files is fairly self-explanatory in defining the variables and units.

Uncertainty

When compared to nearby towers instrumented with cup anemometers and wind vanes, the root mean square (RMS) difference in 10-minute wind speed between the Triton and met tower typically is around 0.5 m s-1. When tested at 30 different sites in a recent validation study, the RMS difference in long-term mean wind speed between the Triton and met tower is 1.3%.

Constraints

Various meteorological and environmental conditions can lead to either weaker returns or enhanced noise, resulting in a poor measurement. The higher the target point, the more difficult it is to retrieve a strong signal. Hence, a common situation is that good data will be obtained up to some height yet not above it. The percentage of time that good data are recovered at a particular height is the data recovery rate. In a recent validation study, data recovery rates were around 98% at lower heights, slowly dropping off to 96% at 100 m, 83% at 160 m, and 70% at 200 m.