Development of COST 76 wind profiler network in Europe

Progress in networking wind profiler radars in Europe has been co-ordinated by the COST 76 project, involving collaboration between universities, nati onal meteorological services and industry. The profilers deployed in Europe are not of uniform type. Networking such a variety of systems together requires flexibility in data reporting codes a nd in methods of data communication. The Remote Sensing Branch of the UK Me t Office has developed the necessary infrastructure for network operations, in collaboration with European partners within COST 76. In 1993, only one profiler in Europe (MST radar, Aberystwyth) was providing wind measurements that were regularly used in meteorological operations. D uring the current COST 76 CWINDE-99 test, 13 sites have been able to report in real time to the network centre in the UK. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Lt d. All rights reserved.