A Comparison of the Automated Meteorological Profiling System High Resolution Flight Element to the Kennedy Space Center 50MHz Doppler Wind Profiler

The Air Force is currently testing the Automated Meteorological Profiling System (AMPS) at Cape Canaveral Air Station. The AMPS High Resolution Flight Element consists of a Jimsphere tracked using the Global Positioning System to build high-resolution wind profiles. The Kennedy Space Center 50MHz Doppler Wind Profiler (DWP) is located 20 km from the Jimsphere launch site. A comparison of the u and v wind components is done between the 50MHz DWP and the AMPS Jimsphere for the months of November 1999 through March 2000, from an altitude of 6.2 km to 16.9 km.