Antarctic Middle Atmosphere Wind Profiles from Davis Radar

Wind speed and direction data for the middle atmosphere above Davis, Antarctica, collected every two minutes since 1994. The dataset spans heights from approximately 50km to 110km at 2km intervals. It was produced by the Australian Antarctic Division (AU_AADC) and is sourced from NASA's Earthdata platform.

Use Cases

• Analyzing wind speed and direction time-series to study gravity wave activity and dynamical coupling in the Antarctic middle atmosphere.
• Investigating seasonal and long-term trends in atmospheric winds across the 50-110 km height range at 2km resolution.
• Using the radar echo strength and character parameters to assess signal quality and atmospheric conditions.
• Correlating Davis station data with measurements from similar radars at Syowa, Rothera, McMurdo, and Scott Base for comparative polar studies.
• Examining the impact of technical upgrades (e.g., 8-bit to 12-bit digitization in 2000) on data continuity and quality for long-term analysis.

Strengths

• Continuous data collection from April 1994 to present, providing a long-term record exceeding 25 years.
• High temporal resolution with sampling every two minutes, excluding maintenance downtime.
• Vertical profiling from approximately 50km to 110km altitude at 2km intervals.

Limitations

• The data rate for wind parameters is less than the sampling rate due to acceptance criteria, resulting in potential gaps.
• Electron density measures derived from polarization changes are noted as unreliable.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and completeness metrics are unknown.

Provenance

Source

Australian Antarctic Division (AU_AADC), hosted on NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Collected via Medium Frequency Spaced Array (MFSA) radar using Full Correlation Analysis (FCA).

Time Range

1994-04-11 to present.

Freshness

Data collection is ongoing, with updates from continuous radar operation.

Geography

Davis Station, Antarctica.