Temperature Profilers MTP-5

Revolutionary technology for remote measurements of the air temperature profile up to 1000 meters. Measuring the temperature of the atmosphere in the 1000 m of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) closest to the ground is desirable in a number of application in the science of meteorology and environment. As altitude increases the air temperature falls with a theoretical rate of approximately 6.5^oC per 1,000m, but this is influenced by a number of factors.

MTP-5 is a remote sensing instrument that measures radiation emitted from the lower 600 - 1000 m of the atmosphere, within the Planetary Boundary Layer. The atmosphere is a strong source of radiation but the changes due to temperature are small, so a very sensitive receiver is required. Unique radiometers and specially designed antennae operating in the 5 mm waveband form the heart of MTP-5.

Atmospheric radiation is measured by scanning in angular steps from horizontal to vertical and the operating software processes the data into vertical height and temperature information. The data is stored and profiles are displayed graphically every 5 minutes, typically showing the temperature at 50 m height intervals.

MTP-5 has important applications in the monitoring of urban air quality. It offers a simple, fast and economical solution for forecasting and for aiding the process of issuing public information. Typically a small network of 2 or 3 instruments is used, one in the city centre and others in areas from which changes in atmospheric conditions originate.

The WindowsTM software that comes with every MTP-5 runs on a PC connected to the instrument and controls system configuration, measurement, data storage, processing, diagnostics and auto-calibration. The data is stored as daily ASCII files for easy export to spreadsheets. After each scan, a graph of the temperature profile is shown on-screen. Daily graphs of temperatures can also be displayed.

MTP-5 data are useful for scheduling releases from industrial processes and as inputs to computer models that predict the dispersion of gasses deliberately or accidentally released.

Other applications include:

•      Investigation into urban heat island effects
•      Monitoring of atmospheric stability at airports
•      Regional and mesoscale forecasting in meteorology
•      Input to emergency management systems of nuclear power .. stations and petrochemical facilities
•      Support of energy balance studies and fog forecasting
•      Research into radio wave and laser beam propagation
•      Atmospheric chemistry research

MTP-5 producing in three different models.

MTP 5 is a family of instruments sharing design features and components and they have common software and data formats. The choice of model depends on the application and the measurement location characteristics. They are:

MTP-5H	MTP-5HE	MTP-5PE (RE)

MTP-5 in detail

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