Electromagnetic measuring system for meteorology

• US 6,164,130 A
• Filed: 12/15/1999
• Issued: 12/26/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Elwe Technik GmbH (LD Didactic GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Spherics Mess- Und Analysetechnik GmbH
• Inventors: Geisler, Michael, Bugla, Gregor, Pabst, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): OEN, WILLIAM L
• Application Number:
  US09/461,862
• Time in Patent Office: 377 Days
• Field of Search: 73/170.16, 73/170.17, 73/170.24, 73/170.27, 73/178 R, 73/170 R, 702/3, 324/72, 324/77 E, 324/77 R, 324/335, 340/601, 342/26
• US Class Current: 73/170.24
• CPC Class Codes: G01W 1/16 Measuring atmospheric potential differences, e.g. due to electrical charges in clouds measuring potentiels in general G01R

Abstract

A meteorological electromagnetic measuring system contains a plurality of measuring stations which are physically distributed in a given area. Each measuring station contains at least one spherics receiver to pick up spherics signals and a transmission device to transfer measuring data available in the measuring station and derived from the spherics signals to a central evaluation unit assigned to the measuring stations. The measuring stations are disposed such that an average distance between adjacent measuring stations is less than 50 km for area wide detection of short-range spherics signals.

Claims

1. An electromagnetic measuring system for meteorology, comprising:

a plurality of measuring stations disposed distributed spatially in a prescribed region of space, each of said measuring stations having at least one spherics receiver for receiving spherics signals and a transmitter for transmitting measured data derived from the spherics signals received in said measuring stations, a mean spacing of respectively neighboring measuring stations being less than 50 km to provide area-covering detection of short-range spherics signals; and

a central evaluation unit associated with said measuring stations and receiving the measured data.

2. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said mean spacing is less than 30 km.

3. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein each of said measuring stations has a processing unit for deriving the measured data from the spherics signals.

4. The electromagnetic measuring system according claim 3, wherein said processing unit has a digital signal processor for digitally processing the spherics signals received and an A/D converter connected upstream of said digital signal processor.

5. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 4, wherein said digital signal processor carries out a spectral analysis of the spherics signals.

6. The electromagnetic measuring system according claim 4, wherein said digital signal processor carries out a time-series analysis of successive spherics signals.

7. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 5, wherein said digital signal processor appraises the spherics signals that have been analyzed with an aid of prescribed appraisal criteria.

8. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 4, wherein said digital signal processor has software for carrying out an analysis of the spherics signals and the software is teleserviced by said central evaluation unit.

9. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said digital signal processor separates the spherics signals from technical noise signals.

10. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 3, wherein said processing unit has a signal conditioning stage with an analog filter that is connected downstream of said at least one spherics receiver, and said at least one spherics receiver has at least one magnetic VLF antenna.

11. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said central evaluation unit has a means for determining a location of a spherics source by evaluating the measured data of at least neighboring measuring stations.

12. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, including a central direction-finding transmitter for determining an alignment of said at least one spherics receiver of each of said measuring stations.

13. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one spherics receiver has two horizontal and mutually perpendicularly aligned magnetic VLF antennas.

14. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 13, wherein said at least one spherics receiver includes a vertically aligned magnetic VLF antenna in at least some of said measuring stations.

15. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 13, wherein said at least one spherics receiver has a dipole antenna for measuring a component of an electric field in at least some of said measuring stations.

16. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 15, wherein said dipole antenna measures a vertical component of the electric field.

17. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein at least some of said measuring stations have a broadband VLF receiver with a broadcast antenna for receiving longwave broadcast signals.

18. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 17, including a central direction finding transmitter for monitoring an alignment of said broadcast antenna.

19. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said measuring stations include at least one sensor for detecting a further local measurand.

20. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said measuring stations contain a self-testing device for testing said at least one spherics receiver.

21. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein at least some of said measuring stations have a measuring system for detecting a current spatial position of said measure stations.

22. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said transmitter can be activated in an event-controlled fashion.

23. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said transmitter can be activated in a time-controlled fashion.

24. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein some of said measuring stations have a UHF/VHF receiver.

25. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 1, wherein said at least one spherics receiver is an array of respectively similar spherics receivers disposed at prescribed spacings from one another in at least some of said measuring stations.

26. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 25, wherein said prescribed spacings of said spherics receivers is between 1 and 20 m.

27. The electromagnetic measuring system according to claim 6, wherein said digital signal processor appraises the spherics signals that have been analyzed with an aid of prescribed appraisal criteria.