Radiosonde Return and Reusability Evaluation for Enhanced Rapid High Altitude Weather Observations
Keywords
radiosonde, atmospheric measurement, autonomous glider, weather balloons
Presenter Abstract
Radiosondes attached to weather balloons are sent into the atmosphere to measure the variations of pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed and direction. Generally, radiosondes are not recovered after gathering data, resulting in a negative environmental impact caused by abandoning radiosondes and allowing them to degrade, an issue that is exacerbated by the need to conduct periodic launches with multiple radiosondes to investigate changing weather patterns. To address this environmental issue, this project investigates recoverability and reusability of radiosondes. By attaching a Graw radiosonde to a Meteoglider produced by Meteomatics, data can be collected on the descent as well as the ascent. With a programmed autopilot, the glider can be returned to a previously set location on the ground for simple recovery of the glider and the radiosonde. Additionally, gliders give radiosondes an increased flight range, enabling this technology to be used to gather data that was previously inaccessible, such as atmospheric measurements from severe storm fronts. However, because radiosondes are designed for single use, the reliability of data collected on the descent and on subsequent flights of a previously flown radiosonde is evaluated by comparison with other atmospheric measurements collected simultaneously. A camera is attached to the tail of the glider to gather images from the flights.
Presentations
Presented in Session 8: New Observations III
Radiosonde Return and Reusability Evaluation for Enhanced Rapid High Altitude Weather Observations
Radiosondes attached to weather balloons are sent into the atmosphere to measure the variations of pressure, temperature, humidity, and wind speed and direction. Generally, radiosondes are not recovered after gathering data, resulting in a negative environmental impact caused by abandoning radiosondes and allowing them to degrade, an issue that is exacerbated by the need to conduct periodic launches with multiple radiosondes to investigate changing weather patterns. To address this environmental issue, this project investigates recoverability and reusability of radiosondes. By attaching a Graw radiosonde to a Meteoglider produced by Meteomatics, data can be collected on the descent as well as the ascent. With a programmed autopilot, the glider can be returned to a previously set location on the ground for simple recovery of the glider and the radiosonde. Additionally, gliders give radiosondes an increased flight range, enabling this technology to be used to gather data that was previously inaccessible, such as atmospheric measurements from severe storm fronts. However, because radiosondes are designed for single use, the reliability of data collected on the descent and on subsequent flights of a previously flown radiosonde is evaluated by comparison with other atmospheric measurements collected simultaneously. A camera is attached to the tail of the glider to gather images from the flights.