Sodar

From Glossary of Meteorology



sodar

(Coined word from sound detection and ranging.) Sound-wave transmitting and receiving equipment operated on principles analogous to those of radar.

Irregularities in atmospheric temperature and wind velocity constitute sources of scattering for acoustic waves. Sodars measure vertical profiles of the mean and turbulent properties of the sound to heights of several hundred meters by transmitting acoustic waves upward and measuring the Doppler shift in the backscattered acoustic signals. Sodar is sometimes inappropriately called acoustic radar.


Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact permissions@ametsoc.org. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.