This dataset contains upper-air sounding data interpolated to a constant vertical resolution of 5 hPa in the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL) Sounding Composite Format from stations in the following networks:
Data for the North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) 2004 Tier 3 domain (5°N to 50°N latitude and 75°W to 125°W longitude) data are contained in this dataset. The dataset covers the time period of 01 June 2004 through 30 September 2004. This NAME 2004 Sounding Composite 5-mb Upper-Air Dataset contains 21254 soundings from 91 sites.
Most of the soundings have passed through the NCAR/EOL automatic quality control. The tethersondes from the Mexican UNAM R/V El Puma did not run through the quality control performed by the National Center for Atmospheric Research/Earth Observing Laboratory (NCAR/EOL).
On 25 March 2010 a new version of these data were released that included the corrections of Ciesielski, et al (2009). Not all stations in the composite were affected by the correction. The U.S. stations that were affected are: Amarillo, TX (KAMA), El Paso TX/Santa Teresa, NM (KEPZ), Flagstaff, AZ (KFGZ), Midland, TX (KMAF), Phoenix, AZ (KPHX), Tucson, AZ (KTUS), and Yuma Proving Grounds, AZ (KYUM). The Mexican stations affected are: Chihuahua (MMCU), Empalme/Guaymas, MX (MGYM), Guadalajara, MX (MGDL), Kino Bay, MX (MBKN), La Paz (MLAP), Loreto, MX (MNLO), Los Mochis, MX (MIS4), Manzanillo (MZLO), Mazatlan (MMZT), Monterrey (MMAN), Puerto Penasco, MX (MNPP), Torreon (MMTC), Zacatacas (MMZC), and R/V Altair (XCWH).
Section 2.0 contains a detailed description of the source network that collected the data. Section 2.1 contains a detailed description of the format of the composite dataset. See Section 3.0 below for the quality control processing performed by NCAR/EOL on this dataset. Section 4.0 contains references.
The `native' resolution data for every sounding were interpolated to 5 hPa vertical resolution files. The surface data point was kept as the initial level in each sounding. The first interpolated data point was at the next lowest pressure evenly divisible by 5 and then every 5 hPa pressure level beyond that point to either 50 hPa or the lowest pressure level reached by the radiosonde, whichever came first. The first 15 lines of each file (the header information) were kept without change.
For the interpolation, the software searched for two data points around the desired pressure level. The search was conducted by looking for two valid (i.e. non-missing) data points around the desired pressure level, while also paying attention to the time difference between the two data points as well as their quality control flags. There was a search for the two best possible data points to use in the interpolation. If the desired pressure level was within the original dataset, that data point was used without interpolation.
There was first a search for values flagged as good within some time range (50 sec for temperature, humidity, and wind and 100 sec for pressure; hereafter termed the ARANGE) and the interpolated data point was flagged as good. Failing that, it searched for values flagged as estimated within the same time range and the interpolated data point was flagged as estimated. Then the search went for good values within a wider time range (100 sec for temperature, humidity, and wind and 200 sec for pressure; hereafter termed the BRANGE) the flag for the interpolated data point here was then degraded (even though two `good' data points were used there was a significant time difference between them) to questionable. Then, in turn, estimated values within the BRANGE were used (flag set to questionable), questionable values within the BRANGE (flag set to bad), good values greater than the BRANGE apart (flag set to bad), estimated values greater than BRANGE apart (flag set to bad), questionable values greater than BRANGE apart (flag set to bad), finally any bad values (flag set to bad). This search was conducted separately for each interpolated variable (pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and the u and v wind components.
Thus for each interpolated data point, the quality control flag was set to the worst case among the data points used in the interpolation, except, for each time range apart, the quality control flag was degraded one level (i.e. good to questionable, etc).
The quality control flags should be carefully heeded in these files. While
some of the data may look good, it may have been interpolated over large pressure
intervals, and thus be suspect.
For each interpolated data point the dew point was calculated from the temperature
and relative humidity (Bolton 1980) and the total
wind speed and direction were calculated from the interpolated u and v component
values. Also, the altitude and time were interpolated using the same data points
used for the pressure interpolation. The ascension rate was recalculated based
on the time and altitude values from the two data points used to interpolate
the 5 hPa data point. Thus the ascension rate values do not reflect the values
based on the interpolated data. The latitude and longitude values were interpolated
using the same data points used in the wind component interpolation.
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 140 high vertical resolution (2 second) soundings from the Belize City site in Belize (WMO 78583). Soundings were typically released once per day (1200 UTC) from 01 June to 13 July 2004 and twice per day from 14 July to 02 September 2004. The sites antenna failed on 03 September 2004 so no soundings are available for the remainder of the NAME time period.
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 90 high vertical resolution (2 second) soundings from the Centro de Investigación Cienífica y de Educatció Superior de Ensendada (CICESE) Research Vessel (R/V) Francisco de Ulloa. During NAME the R/V Francisco de Ulloa conducted two cruises (05 June through 21 June 2004 and 06 August through 16 August 2004) through the Gulf of California. Soundings were typically released four times per day.
The R/V Ulloa utilized two different types of radiosondes during NAME.
1. RS-80G - fresh radiosondes that measured temperature, pressure, humidity and winds. They expected small biases in pressure and humidity (3%) with these radiosondes. These soundings were most often released at the 0000 and 1200 UTC release times.
2. RS-80N - older radiosondes that measured temperature, pressure and humidity (these soundings do not include wind measurements). They expected larger biases with these radiosondes. These soundings were most often released at the 0600 and 1800 UTC release times.
More information about the R/V Francisco de Ulloa can be found at http://oceanografia.cicese.mx/fcoulloa/ (CICESE, 2005).
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 153 high vertical resolution (2 second) soundings from the Secretaria de Marina Armada Mexico (SEMAR) Research Vessel (R/V) Altair. During NAME the R/V Altair was located near 23.5°N and 108.0°W for two cruises (07 July through 22 July 2004 and 27 July through 12 August 2004). Soundings were typically released four times per day but they were more frequent during Intensive Observing Periods (IOPs). These data were provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Environmental Technology Laboratory (NOAA/ETL).
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 31 high vertical resolution (approximately 10 second) tethersondes from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) Research Vessel (R/V) El Puma. During NAME the R/V El Puma was conducted during the ECAC-5 cruise (06 August through 17 August 2004). NCAR/EOL did do any quality control on these data.
The release location was determined from a separate navigational parameters file containing one minute data. The nearest minute in the navigational parameters file was used from the release time of the sounding.
An additional document Reporte-ECAC-5.doc (UNAM, 2005) was provided from the ECAC project that describes the methodology used by the UNAM in developing the data set. This document is in Spanish.
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 2468 high vertical resolution (2 second) soundings from 15 stations from the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN) Comisión del Agua (CNA), which forms part of the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (SEMARNAT). Soundings were typically released twice per day, but were released up to 8 per day by selected stations during intensive operations.
The SMN home page contains more information and can be found at http://smn.cna.gob.mx/ (SMN, 2005). It is in Spanish
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 175 high vertical resolution (1 second) soundings from the GPS Loran Atmospheric Sounding System (GLASS) site in Loreto, Mexico between 09 July and 15 August 2004. These data were provided by the National Center of Atmospheric Research/Earth Observing Laboratory (NCAR/EOL).
For more information on the NCAR GLASS System, please visit the following site: http://www.atd.ucar.edu/rtf/facilities/class/class.html (EOL, 2005a).
The variables pressure, temperature, and relative humidity are calibrated values from measurements made by the radiosonde. The dew point is calculated from the relative humidity. The altitude is calculated from the hydrostatic equation using pressure, temperature, and dew point. The rate of ascent is obtained from the altitude difference between two successive time steps. The position (latitude, longitude) are computed by using horizontal winds to integrate location from the initial launch position.
All wind data are computed from GPs navigation signals received from the radiosonde. The raw wind values are calculated at a one-half second data rate by a commercial processing card. These raw values are subjected to a digital filter to remove low frequency oscillations due to the sonde pendulum motion beneath the balloon. The resolution of the data is reduced to one second. This time record is used in the interpolation of the pressure, temperature, and humidity data.
The raw soundings are first run through the Atmospheric Sounding Processing ENvironment (ASPEN), which analyzes the data, performs smoothing, and removes suspect data points. The soundings are then visually evaluated for outliers, or any other obvious problems. Scatter plots of the data are created to check the range in values of pressure, temperature and relative humidity. Lastly, we create profiles of temperature and RH, and wind speed and direction, in order to check for any major inconsistencies.
The first data line in each sounding, denoted by a time stamp of -1.0 second, typically represents data collected from an independent surface met station. During the quality control process this data is used as a reference to determine the accuracy of the radiosondes pressure, temperature and relative humidity measurements. The surface met sensors at the Loreto GLASS site failed to work during the project, so in place of the surface met data, pre-launch pressure, temperature and RH measured by the sonde and human estimated winds were entered into the first line of each sounding. A major concern is that if sensor arm heating (which is a common problem during projects where sondes are launched in warm weather without proper ventilation, as was the case at Loreto) occurred, there is either no way to detect it or the extent of it. From looking at the scatter plots, shown in figure 2 below, and visually comparing the GLASS data with that collected at the ISS sites, there seems to be no evidence of sensor arm heating. However, we wanted to make the users were aware of what had been done and to warn them to be skeptical about the accuracy of the GLASS radiosonde data near the surface.
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 460 high vertical resolution (1 second) soundings from 3 Integrated Sounding System (ISS) sites in Mexico; Port Penasco (ISS2), Kino Bay (ISS3), and Los Mochis (ISS4), between 03 July and 15 August 2004. These data were provided by the National Center of Atmospheric Research/Earth Observing Laboratory (NCAR/EOL).
For more information on the NCAR ISS System, please visit the following site: http://www.atd.ucar.edu/rtf/facilities/iss/iss.html (EOL, 2005b).
The variables pressure, temperature, and relative humidity are calibrated values from measurements made by the radiosonde. The dew point is calculated from the relative humidity. The altitude is calculated from the hydrostatic equation using pressure, temperature, and dew point. The rate of ascent is obtained from the altitude difference between two successive time steps. The position (lat, lon) are computed by using horizontal winds to integrate location from the initial launch position.
All wind data are computed from GPs navigation signals received from the radiosonde. The raw wind values are calculated at a one-half second data rate by a commercial processing card. These raw values are subjected to a digital filter to remove low frequency oscillations due to the sonde pendulum motion beneath the balloon. The resolution of the data is reduced to one second. This time record is used in the interpolation of the pressure, temperature, and humidity data.
The raw soundings are first run through the Atmospheric Sounding Processing ENvironment (ASPEN), which analyzes the data, performs smoothing, and removes suspect data points. The soundings are then visually evaluated for outliers, or any other obvious problems. Scatter plots of the data are created to check the range in values of pressure, temperature and relative humidity. Lastly, we create profiles of temperature and RH, and wind speed and direction, in order to check for any major inconsistencies.
The first data line in each sounding, denoted by a time stamp of -1.0 second, typically represents data collected from an independent surface met station. During the quality control process this data is used as a reference to determine the accuracy of the radiosondes pressure, temperature and relative humidity measurements. The surface met sensors at the Loreto GLASS site failed to work during the project, so in place of the surface met data, pre-launch pressure, temperature and RH measured by the sonde and human estimated winds were entered into the first line of each sounding. A major concern is that if sensor arm heating (which is a common problem during projects where sondes are launched in warm weather without proper ventilation, as was the case at Loreto) occurred, there is either no way to detect it or the extent of it. From looking at the scatter plots, shown in figure 2 below, and visually comparing the GLASS data with that collected at the ISS sites, there seems to be no evidence of sensor arm heating. However, we wanted to make the users were aware of what had been done and to warn them to be skeptical about the accuracy of the GLASS radiosonde data near the surface.
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 16079 high vertical resolution (6 second) soundings from 61 National Weather Service (NWS) sites.
The detailed description of NWS sounding collection and instrumentation is located in NWS, 1991.
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 360 high vertical resolution (5 second to 900 seconds after release and 10 second from 900 seconds after release to the end of the sounding) soundings from the Phoenix, Arizona sounding site (WMO 74626) from 08 June to 24 September 2004. These soundings were provided by the Salt River Project (SRP). During the period from 10 June to 06 July 2004, Phoenix typically released two sounding per day at 0000 and 1200 UTC. For the period from 07 July to 29 August 2004, Phoenix typically released between 4 and 6 soundings per day. After 29 August 2004, Phoenix typically released 3 or 4 soundings per day.
More information can be found at the SRP home page at http://www.srpnet.com/ (SRP, 2005).
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 324 high vertical resolution (2 second) soundings from the San Jose, Costa Rica sounding site (WMO 78762) from 16 June to 30 September 2004. These soundings were provided by the Universidad de Costa Rica - Instituto Meteorologico Nacional (UCR-IMN). During the period from 17 June to 05 September 2004, San Jose typically released four soundings per day at 0000, 0600, 1200, and 1800 UTC each day. For the period from 06 September to 30 September 2004, San Jose typically released one sounding per day at 1200 UTC (except on Sundays when no soundings were released).
This station used both Vaisala RS80-15G and RS90-AG radiosonde models during NAME.
More information on IMN can be found on the IMN home page at http://www.imn.ac.cr (IMN, 2005).
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 41 high vertical resolution (approximately 10 second) sounndings from the San Cristobal site in Ecuador (WMO 84008). San Cristobal released soundings semi-daily, however, there are days within the time period where rawinsonde data is missing or a rawinsonde was not released. All soundings were made with Vaisala RS-80 sondes which utilized GPS tracking to determine the winds.
This 5-mb dataset was derived from 933 high vertical resolution (5 seconds up to 480 seconds after release and 10 seconds from 480 seconds after the release to the end of the sounding) soundings from 3 sites in Yuma, Arizona. These data were provided by the United States Army Met Team from the Yuma Proving Ground. The 3555 site is the station that is sent over the Global Telecommunications System (GTS) as WMO index 74004.
All upper air soundings were converted to National Center for Atmospheric Research/Earth Observing Laboratory (NCAR/EOL) Sounding Composite Format (ESCF). ESCF 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.
The header records (15 total records) contain data type, project ID, site ID, site location, release time, sonde type, 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 |
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 nonstandard 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 three nonstandard header lines.
| Line | Label (padded to 35 char) | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Nominal Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s): | Nominal time of release, in the format: yyyy, mm, dd, hh:mm:ss |
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 Sounding Composite Format 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") |
The following is a sample record of a NAME 5-mb rawinsonde data from SMN in EOL Sounding Composite 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: National Weather Service Sounding. Project ID: 0 Release Site Type/Site ID: ABQ Albuquerque, NM Release Location (lon,lat,alt): 106 36.00'W, 35 00.00'N, -106.6, 35.0, 1615.0 UTC Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s): 2004, 06, 01, 11:06:00 Ascension No: 1305 Radiosonde Serial Number: 84922940.CSN Radiosonde Manufacturer: VIZ B2 / / / Nominal Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s):2004, 06, 01, 12:00:00 Time Press Temp Dewpt RH Ucmp Vcmp spd dir Wcmp Lon Lat Ele Azi Alt Qp Qt Qrh Qu Q v QdZ sec mb C C % m/s m/s m/s deg m/s deg deg deg deg m code code code code co de code ------ ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ ------ ----- ----- ----- -------- ------- ----- ----- ------- ---- ---- ---- ---- -- -- ---- 0.0 836.6 13.0 -10.8 18.0 -4.4 1.6 4.7 110.0 999.0 -106.600 35.000 999.0 999.0 1615.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 1.0 1 .0 9.0 2.5 835.0 13.8 -10.8 17.1 -4.3 1.4 4.5 107.9 6.4 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 1631.2 2.0 2.0 2.0 4.0 4 .0 99.0 10.4 830.0 16.2 -10.9 14.5 -4.1 0.7 4.2 100.1 6.4 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 1682.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 4.0 4 .0 99.0 18.5 825.0 18.5 -11.6 11.9 -3.9 0.0 3.9 89.4 4.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 1733.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 4.0 4 .0 99.0 30.4 820.0 18.5 -12.0 11.5 -3.6 -1.0 3.7 74.0 5.7 -106.607 35.003 999.0 999.0 1785.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 4.0 4 .0 99.0 40.1 815.0 18.3 -12.3 11.4 -3.3 -1.8 3.7 60.5 5.0 -106.606 35.003 999.0 999.0 1837.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 4.0 4 .0 99.0
| ID | NETWORK | SITE | STATE | COUNTRY | LONG | LAT | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3555 | Yuma | 00000 Yuma Proving Ground | AZ | US | -114.33 | 32.87 | 131.0 |
| ABQ | NWS | Albuquerque | NM | US | -106.6 | 35.0 | 1615.0 |
| ABR | NWS | Aberdeen | SD | US | -98.4 | 45.5 | 397.0 |
| AMA | NWS | Amarillo | TX | US | -101.7 | 35.2 | 1094.0 |
| APX | NWS | Gaylord | MI | US | -84.7 | 44.9 | 448.0 |
| BIS | NWS | Bismarck | ND | US | -100.7 | 46.8 | 505.0 |
| BKN | ISS | Kino Bay | MX | -111.927 | 28.814 | 2.0 | |
| BMX | NWS | Shelby County | AL | US | -86.8 | 33.2 | 178.0 |
| BNA | NWS | Nashville | TN | US | -86.6 | 36.2 | 180.0 |
| BOI | NWS | Boise | ID | US | -116.2 | 43.6 | 871.0 |
| BRO | NWS | Brownsville | TX | US | -97.4 | 25.9 | 7.0 |
| BUF | NWS | Buffalo | NY | US | -78.7 | 42.9 | 218.0 |
| CRP | NWS | Corpus Christi | TX | US | -97.5 | 27.8 | 14.0 |
| DDC | NWS | Dodge City | KS | US | -100.0 | 37.8 | 788.0 |
| DNR | NWS | Denver INT APT | CO | US | -104.9 | 39.8 | 1611.0 |
| DRA | NWS | Desert Rock | NV | US | -116.0 | 36.6 | 1007.0 |
| DRT | NWS | Del Rio | TX | US | -100.9 | 29.4 | 314.0 |
| DTX | NWS | White Lake | MI | US | -83.5 | 42.7 | 329.0 |
| EPZ | NWS | Santa Teresa | NM | US | -106.7 | 31.9 | 1252.0 |
| EYW | NWS | Key West | FL | US | -81.8 | 24.5 | 2.0 |
| FFC | NWS | Peachtree City | GA | US | -84.6 | 33.4 | 245.0 |
| FGZ | NWS | Flagstaff | AZ | US | -111.8 | 35.2 | 2180.0 |
| FWD | NWS | Fort Worth | TX | US | -97.3 | 32.8 | 198.0 |
| GGW | NWS | Glasgow | MT | US | -106.6 | 48.2 | 693.0 |
| GJT | NWS | Grand Junction | CO | US | -108.5 | 39.1 | 1472.0 |
| GRB | NWS | Green Bay | WI | US | -88.1 | 44.5 | 214.0 |
| GSO | NWS | Greensboro | NC | US | -79.9 | 36.1 | 277.0 |
| IAD | NWS | Sterling | VA | US | -77.5 | 39.0 | 86.0 |
| ILN | NWS | Wilmington | OH | US | -83.7 | 39.4 | 323.0 |
| ILX | NWS | Central Illinois | IL | US | -89.3 | 40.2 | 178.0 |
| INL | NWS | International Falls | MN | US | -93.4 | 48.5 | 361.0 |
| IS4 | ISS | Los Mochis | MX | -109.082 | 25.689 | 3.0 | |
| JAN | NWS | Jackson | MS | US | -90.1 | 32.3 | 91.0 |
| JAX | NWS | Jacksonville | FL | US | -81.7 | 30.5 | 9.0 |
| LBF | NWS | North Platte | NE | US | -100.7 | 41.1 | 849.0 |
| LCH | NWS | Lake Charles | LA | US | -93.2 | 30.1 | 9.0 |
| LIT | NWS | Little Rock | AR | US | -92.3 | 34.8 | 172.0 |
| LKN | NWS | Elko | NV | US | -115.7 | 40.9 | 1592.0 |
| MACA | SMN | 76805 Acapulco | MX | -99.93 | 16.83 | 3.0 | |
| MAF | NWS | Midland | TX | US | -102.2 | 32.0 | 873.0 |
| MCUN | SMN | 76595 Cancun | MX | -86.85 | 21.02 | 10.0 | |
| MFL | NWS | Miami | FL | US | -80.4 | 25.8 | 5.0 |
| MFR | NWS | Medford | OR | US | -122.9 | 42.9 | 397.0 |
| MGDL | SMN | 76612 Guadalajara | MX | -103.3405 | 20.4989 | 1551.0 | |
| MGYM | SMN | 76256 Empalme/Guaymas | MX | -110.8251 | 27.9418 | 12.0 | |
| MHX | NWS | Newport | NC | US | -76.9 | 34.8 | 11.0 |
| MLAP | SMN | 76405 La Paz | MX | -110.3873 | 24.0431 | 18.0 | |
| MMAN | SMN | 76394 Monterrey | MX | -100.2341 | 25.8986 | 450.0 | |
| MMCU | SMN | 76225 Chihuahua | MX | -106.1167 | 28.70 | 1482.0 | |
| MMEX | SMN | 76679 Mexico City | MX | -99.20 | 19.40 | 2308.0 | |
| MMMD | SMN | 76644 Merida | MX | -89.65 | 20.98 | 11.0 | |
| MMTC | SMN | 76382 Torreon | MX | -103.4031 | 25.5442 | 1123.0 | |
| MMZC | SMN | 76526 Zacatecas | MX | -103.7568 | 22.7714 | 2265.0 | |
| MMZT | SMN | 76458 Mazatlan | MX | -106.3010 | 23.1466 | 4.0 | |
| MPX | NWS | Chanhassen | MN | US | -93.6 | 44.8 | 290.0 |
| MRS | RV_Ulloa | NPS Ship Francisco de Ulloa | MX | 9999.0 | 999.0 | 99999.0 | |
| MVER | SMN | 76692 Vera Cruz | MX | -96.12 | 19.15 | 16.0 | |
| MZBZ | Belize | 78583 Belize City, Belize | BZ | -88.30 | 17.483 | 5.0 | |
| MZLO | SMN | 76654 Mananillo | MX | -104.32 | 19.05 | 3.0 | |
| NKX | NWS | San Diego | CA | US | -117.1 | 32.8 | 134.0 |
| NLO | GLASS | Loreto | MX | -111.344 | 26.019 | 2.0 | |
| NPP | ISS | Puerto Penasco | MX | -113.509 | 31.344 | 2.0 | |
| OAK | NWS | Oakland | CA | US | -122.2 | 37.7 | 6.0 |
| OAX | NWS | Valley | NE | US | -96.4 | 41.3 | 350.0 |
| OKX | NWS | Brookhaven | NY | US | -72.9 | 40.9 | 20.0 |
| OTX | NWS | Spokane | WA | US | -117.6 | 47.7 | 728.0 |
| OUN | NWS | Norman | OK | US | -97.4 | 35.2 | 357.0 |
| PIT | NWS | Pittsburgh | PA | US | -80.2 | 40.5 | 360.0 |
| PSR | Phoenix | 74626 SRP/PSR | AZ | US | -111.95 | 33.45 | 379.0 |
| REV | NWS | Reno | NV | US | -119.8 | 69.6 | 1516.0 |
| RIW | NWS | Riverton | WY | US | -108.05 | 43.1 | 1699.0 |
| RNK | NWS | Blacksburg | VA | US | -80.4 | 37.2 | 640.0 |
| SGF | NWS | Springfield | MO | US | -93.4 | 37.2 | 391.0 |
| SHV | NWS | Shreveport | LA | US | -93.8 | 32.5 | 85.0 |
| SIL | NWS | Slidell | LA | US | -89.8 | 30.4 | 10.0 |
| SJS | San_Jose | 78762 | CR | -84.21 | 10.00 | 921.0 | |
| SLC | NWS | Salt Lake City | UT | US | -111.9 | 40.8 | 1288.0 |
| SLE | NWS | Salem | OR | US | -123.0 | 44.9 | 61.0 |
| SNCR | Galapagos | San Cristobal SNCR 84008 | Ecuador | -89.610 | -.900 | 8.0 | |
| T31 | Yuma | 02999 Yuma Proving Ground | AZ | US | -114.03 | 32.86 | 231.0 |
| TBW | NWS | Tampa Bay Area | FL | US | -82.3 | 27.7 | 13.0 |
| TFX | NWS | Great Falls | MT | US | -111.4 | 47.5 | 1132.0 |
| TLH | NWS | Tallahassee | FL | US | -84.3 | 30.5 | 53.0 |
| TOP | NWS | Topeka | KS | US | -95.6 | 39.1 | 270.0 |
| TUS | NWS | Tucson | AZ | US | -110.0 | 23.1 | 787.0 |
| TWR_M | Yuma | 07000 Yuma Proving Ground | AZ | US | -113.80 | 32.92 | 145.0 |
| UIL | NWS | Quillayute | WA | US | -124.6 | 48.0 | 56.0 |
| UNR | NWS | Rapid City | SD | US | -103.2 | 44.1 | 1029.0 |
| XCUM | RV_El_Puma | R/V El Puma: Cruise ECAC-5 | MX | 9999.0 | 999.0 | 99999.0 | |
| XCWH | RV_Altair | R/V Altair | MX | 9999.0 | 999.0 | 99999.0 |
This dataset underwent an automated QC process. The dataset underwent internal consistency checks which included two types of checks, gross limit checks on all parameters and rate-of-change checks on temperature, pressure and ascension rate. Some further information on the QC processing conducted by EOL can be found in Loehrer et al. (1996) and Loehrer et al. (1998).
These checks were conducted on each sounding and data were automatically flagged as appropriate. Only the data point under examination was flagged. EOL conducted the following gross limit checks on the NAME sounding datasets. In the table P = pressure, T = temperature, RH = relative humidity, U = U wind component, V = V wind component, B = bad, and Q = questionable.
| Parameter | Gross Limit Check | Parameter(s) Flagged | Flag Applied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure | < 0 mb or > 1050 Mb | P | B |
| Altitude | < 0 m or > 40000 m | P, T, RH | Q |
| Temperature | < -90 °C or > 45 °C | T | T |
| Dew Point | < -99.9 °C or > 33 °C > Temperature |
RH T, RH | Q Q |
| Relative Humidity | < 0% or > 100% | RH | B |
| Wind Speed | < 0 m/s or > 100 m/s > 150 m/s |
U, V U, V | Q B |
| U Wind Component | < 0 m/s or > 100 m/s > 150 m/s |
U U | Q B |
| V Wind Component | < 0 m/s or > 100 m/s > 150 m/s |
V V | Q B |
| Wind Direction | < 0° or > 360° | U, V | B |
| Ascent Rate | < -10 m/s or > 10 m/s | P, T, RH | Q |
These checks were conducted on each sounding and data were automatically flagged as appropriate. These checks were started at the lowest level of the sounding and compared neighboring 2-sec data points (except at pressures less than 100 Mb where 30-sec average values were used. In the case of checks ensuring that the values increased/decreased as expected, only the data point under examination was flagged. However, for the other checks, all of the data points used in the examination were flagged. All items within the table are as previously defined.
| Parameter | Vertical Consistency Check | Parameter(s) Flagged | Flag Applied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | decreasing / equal | None | None |
| Altitude | decreasing / equal | P, T, RH | Q |
| Pressure | increasing / equal > 1 Mb/s or < -1 Mb/s > 2 Mb/s or < -2 Mb/s |
P, T, RH P, T, RH P, T, RH | Q Q B |
| Temperature | < -15 °C/km < -30 °C/km > 50 °C/km (not applied at p < 250 Mb) >100 °C/km (not applied at p < 250 Mb) |
P, T, RH P, T, RH P, T, RH P, T, RH |
Q B Q B |
| Ascent Rate | change of > 3 m/s or & lt; -3 m/s change of > 5 m/s or < -5 m/s |
P P | Q B |
Belize is one of the Caribbean upper air sites that has had a known problem with erratic and inconsistent meteorological parameter reports in the high resolution data from the B-2 sondes used in conjunction with the 1500C.
To alleviate this known problem, the data were rederived from the raw data using a seven point traveling average to smooth these fluctuations that appeared in the raw data. The averaging used the previous three points, the current point, and the following three points to make the averaged record for the new current point. The first three points of the record were assumed correct since there were not three previous points to use in the average.
The measurements of pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and the U and V wind components were averaged. The remaining parameters were derived from the new averaged values. In the cases where there were missing values in the average, the average was not calculated and was set to the corresponding missing value instead.
The older Vaisala RS80-N radiosondes (typically released at the 0600 and 1800 UTC release times) have a substantial dry bias in the measured humidity values evident in the data. The raw data set included over 16000 negative relative humidity values. These have been set to missing in this processed data set. No corrections have been applied to these data.
The amount of noise in the high resolution data was substantially more significant in the first cruise (7-22 July 2004) than in the second cruise (26 July - 18 August 2004).
NWS soundings during NAME utilized either the VIZ type radiosonde produced by Sippican Inc. (http://www.sippican.com/meteorological.html) or the Vaisala RS-80 radiosonde (http://www.vaisala.com, under "Product and Systems/Radiosonde,dropsondes,rockectsondes").
The use of the raw 6-sec resolution elevation and azimuth angle data to derive the winds sometimes led to large oscillations in wind speed, due to the presence of oscillations in the elevation angle data, particularly at low elevation angles. The general approach to correct this problem was to remove the out-lier radiosonde position data before computing the wind components (Williams et al. 1993). For both the azimuth and elevation angles from 360 sec to the end of the sounding, a ninth order polynomial was fit to the curve. The residuals were calculated and compared to the observed values. The outliers of the residuals were then removed.
Then to help correct the more extensive problems at low elevation angles within 10 degrees of the limiting angles (LA) some additional smoothing was applied. If the elevation angle was between (LA + 7.5) and (LA + 10), the new elevation angle was computed with a 2 min linear fit. If the elevation angle was between (LA + 5) and (LA + 7.5), the new elevation angle was computed with a 3 min linear fit. If the elevation angle was less than (LA + 5), the new elevation angle was computed with a 4 min linear fit. If the number of observations with low elevation angles was greater than 20% of the total number of observations for the sounding no frequency smoothing occurred.
Then, for the elevation angle only, a finite Fourier analysis was performed on the residuals. Periods from 90-190 sec were removed and those below 30 sec were flattened.
Finally, a 2 min second order polynomial was then fit to the position to derive the u and v wind components, except for the beginning and end minute (or 1.5 minutes if over 50 Mb) which used a 3 min fit. If there were less than 15% of the total number of points, not counting the beginning or end of the flight, on one side of the point for which the wind value was being computed, a linear fit was used.
For further information on this methodology and its changes since Williams et al. (1993) please see Williams, et al. (1998).
A common problem in near surface wind speed values calculated from the 6-second position data is that the first radiosonde wind speed is much higher than the independently measured surface value. The calculated radiosonde winds then decrease rapidly so that within about 60 s (20-30 Mb) after release the wind speeds are more realistic. The cause of this appears to be the acceptance of radiosonde position data prior to a "good lock" being achieved on the radiosonde by the tracking system. Thus there appear to be rapid positional shifts of the radiosonde while the tracking system "searches" for the radiosonde.
Despite the extensive efforts to remove oscillations in wind speeds caused by oscillations in elevation angles (see Section 2.2) there are occasional cases with remaining oscillations. Most of the remaining oscillations have periods just slightly longer than the 190 s maximum point of our notch filter.
There were a number of cases where there was conflicting date and time information in the provided data files. Contacts at San Jose were able to verify some of the information, but not all.
The soundings that are labeled at the following times were unable to be verified by San Jose:
The soundings that are labeled at the following times were verified by San Jose:
Ciesielski, P. E., R. H. Johnson, and J. Wang, 2009: Correction of Humidity Biases in Vaisala RS80-H Sondes during NAME. J. Atmos. Oceanic Technol., 26, 1763-1780.
Bolton, D., 1980: The Computation of Equivalent Potential Temperature. Mon. Wea. Rev., 108, 171-180.
CICESE, cited 2005: Página del Barco Oceanográfico Francisco de Ulloa [Available online from http://oceanografia.cicese.mx/fcoulloa/].
Douglas, M., Fernandez, W., and Pena, M., 1996: "The Design And Evolution of the PACS-SONET Observing System in Latin America", PACS-SONET Preprint
EOL, cited 2005a: NCAR/ATD/SSSF - Facility Descriptions - CLASS [Available online from http://www.atd.ucar.edu/rtf/facilities/class/class.html].
EOL, cited 2005b: NCAR/ATD Facility Description - ISS [Available online from http://www.atd.ucar.edu/rtf/facilities/iss/iss.html].
IMN, cited 2005: Instituto Meteorológico Nacional [Available online from http://www.imn.ac.cr].
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.
NWS, 1991: Micro-ART Observation and Rework Programs Technical Document, National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C., March 1991.
PACS-SONET, cited 2005: PACS SOunding NETwork [Available online from http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/projects/pacs/].
SMN, cited 2005: CNA, Servicio Meteorológico Nacional [Available online from http://smn.cna.gob.mx/].
SRP, cited 2005: The Salt River Project Home Page [Available online from http://www.srpnet.com/].
UNAM, cited 2005: [Available online from http://data.eol.ucar.edu/datafile/nph-get/82.157/Reporte-ECAC-5.doc].
Wade, C. G., 1995: Calibration and data reduction problems affecting National Weather Service radiosonde humidity measurements. Preprints, Ninth Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation, Charlotte, NC, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 37-42.
Williams, S. F., C. G. Wade, and C. Morel, 1993: A comparison of high resolution radiosonde winds: 6-second Micro-ART winds versus 10-second CLASS LORAN winds. Preprints, Eighth Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation, Anaheim, California, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 60-65.
Williams, S. F., S. M. Loehrer, and D. R. Gallant, 1998: Computation of high-resolution National Weather Service rawinsonde winds. Preprints, Tenth Symposium on Meteorological Observations and Instrumentation, Phoenix, AZ, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 387-391.