High temporal resolution velocity estimates from a wind profiler

Existing techniques for rejecting spurious data in single-cycle wind profiles employ a consensus average method to several profiles. This technique sometimes fails and also severely limits temporal resolution. The authors find by first applying a median filter to three successive single-cycle (3 min) spectral data and then guiding the velocity calculation by a first guess, it is possible to extract high-quality wind profiles at 3-min intervals. For support to launch operations, it is critical the wind-profile data be correct. The authors introduce an interactive quality control methodology in which the median spectral data are overlaid with the computed velocity profile. Two test cases are presented.