The wind profiler transmits a pulse of electromagnetic energy in a specific direction. The profiler is able to show wind data at various heights in the atmosphere at the same time. The virtual temperature profiler uses an acoustic wave directed vertically. It receives and processes the resulting backscatter and measures the speed of propagation. Virtual temperature can be computed because the speed of sound is related to air temperature.
Virtual temperature is a temperature measurement that takes into account moisture in the air.
It is the temperature that dry air would have if its pressure and specific volume were equal to those of a given sample of moist air. Virtual temperature is roughly one-half to two degrees Celsius warmer than the actual temperature.