SGP/DL/DLPROF/C1 - Instrumental artifact in vertical velocity variance profiles

Long-term averages of vertical velocity variance profiles developed from vertical staring 
data show a height-dependent sinusoidal modulation superimposed on the atmospheric 
variance profile. This modulation causes a wiggle in the variance profile. The period of the 
wiggle is about 350 m, and the effect is most obvious during hot afternoon periods in the 
summer months. The exact cause of this problem is not known, but we suspect that it may be 
caused by temperature sensitivity in beam alignment.

When developing long-term averages of vertical velocity profiles, users should apply 

higher SNR thresholds to data acquired during hot afternoon periods in the summer 
months. We have found that an SNR threshold of 0.03 helps to minimize the wiggle artifact.

• radial_velocity

• w_variance