DYNAMO NOAA P-3 Dropsonde High Resolution L3 Data (ESC format)

1.0 General Description

This data set contains 469 high vertical resolution dropsondes released from the NOAA P-3 between 9 November and 13 December 2011. This data set is the same as NOAA P-3 Dropsonde High Resolution L3 Data (EOL format) but with the format converted to the EOL Sounding Composite (ESC) format to match the L2 DYNAMO sounding data sets. Version 2 of this data set was released in January 2017 to correct an issue with the humidity data, see Section 2.2 for details.

1.1 Data Set Contact

Scot Loehrer
NCAR/EOL
loehrer@ucar.edu

2.0 Detailed Data Description

2.1 Detailed Format Description

All upper air soundings were converted to National Center for Atmospheric Research/Earth Observing Laboratory (NCAR/EOL) Sounding Composite Format (ESC). ESC is a version of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) CLASS format and is an ASCII format consisting of 15 header records for each sounding followed by the data records with associated QC information.

Header Records

The header records (15 total records) contain data type, project ID, site ID, site location, release time, sonde type, and meteorological and wind data processors, and the operator's name and comments. The first five header lines contain information identifying the sounding, and have a rigidly defined form. The following 7 header lines are used for auxiliary information and comments about the sounding, and may vary from dataset to dataset. The last 3 header records contain header information for the data columns. Line 13 holds the field names, line 14 the field units, and line 15 contains dashes ('-' characters) delineating the extent of the field.

The five standard header lines are as follows:

Line	Label (padded to 35 char)	Contents
1	Data Type:	Description of type and resolution of data.
2	Project ID:	Id of weather project.
3	Release Site Type/Site ID:	Description of the release site.
4	Release Location (lon,lat,alt):	Position of release site in the format described below.
5	UTC Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s):	Time of release, in the format: yyyy, mm, dd, hh:mm:ss
6	Reference Launch Data Source/Time:	IWGADTS Format (IWG1)/07:45:34
7	Sonde Id:	112325053
8	System Operator/Comments:	olney/none, Good Drop
9	Post Processing Comments:	Aspen Version 3.1; Created on 01 Feb 2012 23:12 UTC; Configuration research-dropsonde

The release location is given as: lon (deg min), lat (deg min), lon (dec. deg), lat (dec. deg), alt (m)

Longitude in deg min is in the format: ddd mm.mm'W where ddd is the number of degrees from True North (with leading zeros if necessary), mm.mm is the decimal number of minutes, and W represents W or E for west or east longitude, respectively. Latitude has the same format as longitude, except there are only two digits for degrees and N or S for north/south latitude. The decimal equivalent of longitude and latitude and station elevation follow.

The seven non-standard header lines may contain any label and contents. The labels are padded to 35 characters to match the standard header lines. Records for this dataset include the following non-standard header lines.

Line	Label (padded to 35 char)	Contents
6	Sonde Id:	112325053
7	Reference Launch Data Source/Time:	IWGADTS Format (IWG1)/11:17:50
8	System Operator/Comments:	Tudor/Looked good from here., none
9	Post Processing Comments:	Aspen Version 3.0.0.0; Created on 27 Jan 2011 23:40 UTC; Configuration ModEditsonde
10
11
12	Nominal Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s):	Nominal time of release, in the format: yyyy, mm, dd, hh:mm:ss

Data Records

The data records each contain time from release, pressure, temperature, dew point, relative humidity, U and V wind components, wind speed and direction, ascent rate, balloon position data, altitude, and quality control flags (see the QC code description). Each data line contains 21 fields, separated by spaces, with a total width of 130 characters. The data are right-justified within the fields. All fields have one decimal place of precision, with the exception of latitude and longitude, which have three decimal places of precision. The contents and sizes of the 21 fields that appear in each data record are as follows:

Field No.	Width	Format	Parameter	Units	Missing Value
1	6	F6.1	Time	Seconds	9999.0
2	6	F6.1	Pressure	Millibars	9999.0
3	5	F5.1	Dry-bulb Temperature	Degrees C	999.0
4	5	F5.1	Dew Point Temperature	Degrees C	999.0
5	5	F5.1	Relative Humidity	Percent	999.0
6	6	F6.1	U Wind Component	Meters / Second	9999.0
7	6	F6.1	V Wind Component	Meters / Second	9999.0
8	5	F5.1	Wind Speed	Meters / Second	999.0
9	5	F5.1	Wind Direction	Degrees	999.0
10	5	F5.1	Ascent Rate	Meters / Second	999.0
11	8	F8.3	Longitude	Degrees	9999.0
12	7	F7.3	Latitude	Degrees	999.0
13	5	F5.1	Elevation Angle	Degrees	999.0
14	5	F5.1	Azimuth Angle	Degrees	999.0
15	7	F7.1	Altitude	Meters	99999.0
16	4	F4.1	QC for Pressure	Code (see below)	99.0
17	4	F4.1	QC for Temperature	Code (see below)	99.0
18	4	F4.1	QC for Humidity	Code (see below)	99.0
19	4	F4.1	QC for U Wind Component	Code (see below)	99.0
20	4	F4.1	QC for V Wind Component	Code (see below)	99.0
21	4	F4.1	QC for Ascension Rate	Code (see below)	99.0

Fields 16 through 21 contain the Quality Control information derived at the NCAR Earth Observing Laboratory (NCAR/EOL). Any QC information from the original sounding is replaced by the following EOL codes:

Code	Description
99.0	Unchecked (QC information is "missing.") ("UNCHECKED")
1.0	Checked, datum seems physically reasonable. ("GOOD")
2.0	Checked, datum seems questionable on physical basis. ("MAYBE")
3.0	Checked, datum seems to be in error. ("BAD")
4.0	Checked, datum is interpolated. ("ESTIMATED")
9.0	Checked, datum was missing in original file. ("MISSING")

Sample Data

The following is a sample record of DYNAMO NOAA P-3 high resolution dropsonde data in ESC format. The data portion is much longer than 80 characters and, therefore, wraps around to a second line. See section 2.1 for an exact format specification.

Data Type:                         AVAPS SOUNDING DATA, Channel 1/Descending
Project ID:                        DYNAMO
Release Site Type/Site ID:         NOAA P3/N43RF 2011109I1
Release Location (lon,lat,alt):    082 54.92'E, 06 15.92'S, 82.915, -6.265, 6437.4
UTC Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s):    2011, 11, 09, 07:45:34
Reference Launch Data Source/Time: IWGADTS Format (IWG1)/07:45:34
Sonde Id:                          112325053
System Operator/Comments:          olney/none, Good Drop
Post Processing Comments:          Aspen Version 3.1; Created on 01 Feb 2012 23:12 UTC; Configuration research-dropsonde
/
/
Nominal Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s):2011, 11, 09, 07:45:34
 Time  Press  Temp  Dewpt  RH    Ucmp   Vcmp   spd   dir   Wcmp     Lon     Lat    Ele   Azi   Alt    Qp   Qt   Qrh  Qu   Qv   QdZ
  sec    mb     C     C     %     m/s    m/s   m/s   deg   m/s      deg     deg    deg   deg    m    code code code code code code
------ ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ ------ ----- ----- ----- -------- ------- ----- ----- ------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
 556.3 1009.4  27.7  22.9  74.6 9999.0 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0     0.0 99.0 99.0 99.0  9.0  9.0  9.0
 555.8 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -5.7    3.4   6.7 120.6 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 555.5 1008.5  27.7  22.9  74.8   -5.4    3.1   6.2 120.4  -9.8   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0     7.8 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
 555.2 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -5.4    3.2   6.3 120.5 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 555.0 1008.0  27.6  22.9  75.2   -5.5    3.2   6.4 120.6  -9.8   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0    12.8 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
 554.8 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -5.6    3.3   6.5 120.6 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 554.5 1007.4  27.6  23.0  75.6 9999.0 9999.0 999.0 999.0  -9.8   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0    17.7 99.0 99.0 99.0  9.0  9.0 99.0
 554.2 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -5.9    3.5   6.9 120.8 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 554.0 1006.9  27.5  23.0  76.0   -6.1    3.6   7.1 120.8  -9.7   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0    22.5 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
 553.8 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -6.3    3.7   7.3 120.7 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 553.5 1006.3  27.5  23.0  76.3   -6.4    3.8   7.5 120.7  -9.8   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0    27.3 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
 553.2 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -6.5    3.9   7.6 120.7 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 553.0 1005.8  27.4  23.0  76.4   -6.7    3.9   7.7 120.6  -9.8   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0    32.2 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
 552.8 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -6.7    4.0   7.8 120.7 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 552.5 1005.2  27.4  22.9  76.2   -6.8    4.0   7.9 120.7  -9.8   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0    37.1 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
 552.2 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -6.8    4.1   7.9 120.8 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 552.0 1004.6  27.3  22.7  75.7   -6.8    4.1   8.0 120.9  -9.8   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0    42.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
 551.8 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -6.8    4.1   8.0 121.0 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 551.5 1004.1  27.2  22.5  75.0   -6.9    4.1   8.0 121.1  -9.7   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0    47.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
 551.2 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -6.9    4.2   8.0 121.2 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0
 551.0 1003.5  27.2  22.4  74.5   -6.9    4.2   8.0 121.3  -9.7   82.922  -6.251 999.0 999.0    51.8 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
 550.8 9999.0 999.0 999.0 999.0   -6.8    4.2   8.0 121.4 999.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 99999.0  9.0  9.0  9.0 99.0 99.0  9.0

2.2 Data Remarks

Version 2.0 of this data set was released in December 2016. In this version a dry bias in the RD94 relative humidity measurements was corrected. The dry bias was strongly temperature dependent, being considered quite small at warm temperature and more substantial at cold temperatures. More complete information on the origin, magnitude, and impact of the bias is available in an NCAR Technical Note (Voemel, et al 2016): http://dx.doi.org/10.5065/D6XS5SGX

2.3 Station List

ID	SITE	STATE	LONG	LAT	ELEV (m)
N43RF	NOAA P-3	99	-999.99999	-999.99999	-9999.9

3.0 Quality Control Processing

For information on the quality control processing conducted on the original EOL formatted data set see Young, et al (2012).

4.0 References

Loehrer, S. M., T. A. Edmands, and J. A. Moore, 1996: TOGA COARE upper-air sounding data archive: development and quality control procedures. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 77, 2651-2671.

Loehrer, S. M., S. F. Williams, and J. A. Moore, 1998: Results from UCAR/JOSS quality control of atmospheric soundings from field projects. Preprints, Tenth Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation, Phoenix, AZ, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 1-6.

Young, K., J. Wang, T. Hock, D. Lauritsen and C. Martin: DYNAMO 2011 quality controlled dropsonde data set.

Voemel, H., K. Young, and T. F. Hock, 2016: NCAR GPS Dropsonde Humidity Dry Bias. NCAR Technical Note NCAR/TN-531+STR, 8 pp, doi:10.5065/D6XS5SGX.