In a typical implementation, the radar or sodar can sample along each of five beams: one is aimed vertically to measure vertical velocity, and four are tilted off vertical and oriented orthogonal to one another to measure the horizontal components of the air's motion. A profiler's ability to measure winds is based on the assumption that the turbulent eddies that induce scattering are carried along by the mean wind. The energy scattered by these eddies and received by the profiler is orders of magnitude smaller than the energy transmitted.
In a typical configuration, the radar or sodar samples along each of five beams: one points vertically to measure vertical velocity, and four are tilted off vertical and oriented orthogonally to capture horizontal air motion components. A profiler's ability to measure winds is grounded in the assumption that turbulent eddies causing scattering are carried by the mean wind. The energy scattered by these eddies and received by the profiler is many orders of magnitude smaller than the transmitted energy.