September 8, 2022 Dataset Open Access

Radiosonde profile measurements during FESSTVaL 2021

Kirsch, Bastian; Stiehle, Bernhard; Löhnert, Ulrich; Ament, Felix

This data set contains atmospheric profile measurements retrieved from 452 radiosonde ascents during FESSTVaL 2021. The data set consits of observations from three data sources: (1) operational 6-hourly radiosonde launches from the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg - Richard Aßmann Observatory (MOL-RAO) performed by the German Weather Service (sups_rao; 421 sondes); (2) special radiosonde launches from the MOL-RAO performed by the University of Hamburg (fval_uhh; 19 sondes); and (3) special radiosonde launches from the Falkenberg boundary layer measurement site (located about 5 km south of MOL-RAO) performed by the University of Cologne (fval_uzk; 12 sondes). All profiles are stored in seperate files according to the SAMD convention for FESSTVaL. A data file contains the 3-dimensional position information and basic meteorological parameters measured by the radiosonde dependent on time (at 1-s resolution) and typically covers both ascent and descent of the radiosonde flight. The vertical resolution of the measurement data depends on the ascent/descent velocity of the sonde. Date and time in the file names refer to the actual launch time (in UTC) of the respective radiosonde.

Quality:
The measurements are performed by standard radiosonde types. Apart from basic physical consistency checks, the data set contains the measurements as recorded by the instruments. For technical specifications please refer to the manufacturer's information (Vaisala RS41-SGP: https://www.vaisala.com/sites/default/files/documents/RS41-SGP-Datasheet-B211444EN.pdf; GRAW DMF-09: https://www.graw.de/fileadmin/cms_upload/de/Resources/GRS-KD-0038-DE_V01.13_DFM-09_Datenblatt.pdf). The data processing for (2) includes a correction of erroneous measurement time in the original source files, where the time stamp is updated only every 10 s. Therefore, the 1-s time stamps for (2) are determined with an accuracy of +/-5 s or better. Additionally, these profiles occasionally contain isolated time steps produced by the instruments that should be treated with caution.

Parameters:

Standard Name: air_temperature; Unit: K;Start-time: 2021-05-07;End-time: 2021-08-29
Standard Name: air_pressure;Unit: Pa;Start-time: 2021-05-07;End-time: 2021-08-29
relative_humidity, 1, 2021-05-07 - 2021-08-29
wind_speed, m s-1, 2021-05-07 - 2021-08-29
wind_from_direction, degree, 2021-05-07 - 2021-08-29
latitude, degrees_north, 2021-05-07 - 2021-08-29
longitude, degrees_east, 2021-05-07 - 2021-08-29
altitude, m, 2021-05-07 - 2021-08-29

Measurement Details

Instruments:
Vaisala RS41-SGP (sups_rao, fval_uhh)
GRAW DMF-09 (fval_uzk)

Location: 52.2094°N, 14.1203°E, 112 m, MOL-RAO, Germany
Instruments altitude: 52.2094°N, 14.1203°E, 112 m, MOL-RAO, Germany
Horizontal resolution: None
Vertical resolution: approx. 10 m (depending on vertical velocity of radiosonde)
Time resolution: 1 second

Funding: This research was carried out in the Hans Ertel Center for Weather Research (HErZ). This German research network of universities, research institutions, and the German Weather Service (DWD) is funded by the BMVI (Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure).
Provenance and History:
The measurement data for (1) are retrieved from the opendata server of the German Weather Service. All data are processed by the University of Hamburg.