Comparison of a deconvolution technique for measuring mesospheric winds with the spaced antenna technique

Two techniques of mesospheric wind velocity measurement are compared. One is the spaced antenna technique and the other is a technique described in this paper which deconvolves radar data in order to determine the positions and Doppler shifts of D-region scatterers. Both techniques were employed in the height interval 70–96 km using the Bribie Island radar (152°E, 27°S) operating at 1.98 MHz. A median discrepancy of 15 m/s between the two sets of wind measurements was observed. This was reduced to about 7 m/s when both techniques were forced to use the same echo information when performing a wind velocity measurement. In performing a measurement, the deconvolution technique has the advantage of being able to use the echo information within a height interval whereas the spaced antenna technique uses echo information within a range interval. However the deconvolution technique has disadvantages including much greater computer time requirements.