Vertical Efficiency of Active and Passive Balloon Tracking Systems from a Standpoint of Integrated Error.

摘要

Vertical efficiency is defined for active and passive balloon tracking systems. This concept is based on intrinsic error characteristics and relates to the capability of the systems to supply a vertical wind profile when subject to certain reliability stipulations. Expressions are derived for the vertical efficiencies of either system when observing a family of fundamental trajectories,and for this family,it is shown that vertical efficiency is expressible in terms of a dimensionless parameter related to balloon rise rate and horizontal wind speed. A fundamental result is the decrease of vertical efficiency with increasing horizontal balloon velocity. This is true for either system discussed,but it is most noticeable in the passive. Of the two systems,the active is shown to exhibit a higher vertical efficiency for all reasonable ranges of fundamental error parameters. (Author)