This data set is a composite of radiosondes collected from 7 sounding platforms (see Section 2.3)
during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Experiment (DC3) with data collected
from 1 May 2012 through 18 July 2012. This project was conducted in the central United States.
This dataset includes a total of 5887 soundings from the following networks:
Scot Loehrer
NCAR/EOL
loehrer@ucar.edu
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.
The header records (15 total records) contain data type, project ID, site ID, site location, release time, sonde type, meteorological and wind data processors. 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 non-standard header lines may contain any label and contents. The labels are padded to 35 characters to match the standard header lines. The records included in this data set vary by network.
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") |
The following is a sample record of DC3 2012 radiosonde data in ESC format. The data portion is much longer than 80 characters and, therefore, may wrap around to a second line. See section 2.1 for an exact format specification
Data Type: National Weather Service Sounding/Ascending Project ID: DC3 Release Site Type/Site ID: KOUN Norman, OK / 72357 Release Location (lon,lat,alt): 097 26.27'W, 35 10.86'N, -97.438, 35.181, 345.0 UTC Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s): 2012, 05, 17, 23:05:02 Ascension Number: 277 Radiosonde Serial Number: 85261529 Balloon Manufacturer/Type: Totex / GP26 Balloon Weight: 0.600 Radiosonde Type/RH Sensor Type: Sippican Mark IIA with chip thermistor, pressure / Sippican Mark IIA Carbon Hygristor Surface Observations: P: 971.0, T: 13.4, RH: 34.0, WS: 3.1, WD: 160.0 Nominal Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s):2012, 05, 18, 00:00:00 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 ------ ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ ------ ----- ----- ----- -------- ------- ----- ----- ------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- 0.0 971.0 29.7 12.2 34.0 -1.4 3.9 4.1 160.3 999.0 -97.438 35.181 999.0 999.0 345.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 9.0 1.0 970.5 29.6 11.6 32.9 -1.4 4.0 4.2 160.7 4.0 -97.438 35.181 999.0 999.0 349.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 2.0 970.1 29.6 11.0 31.7 -1.4 4.1 4.3 161.1 4.0 -97.438 35.181 999.0 999.0 353.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 3.0 969.6 29.5 10.4 30.6 -1.3 4.1 4.3 162.4 4.0 -97.438 35.181 999.0 999.0 357.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 4.0 969.2 29.4 9.8 29.5 -1.3 4.2 4.4 162.8 4.0 -97.438 35.181 999.0 999.0 361.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 5.0 968.7 29.3 9.1 28.4 -1.3 4.3 4.5 163.2 5.0 -97.438 35.181 999.0 999.0 366.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 6.0 968.3 29.3 8.5 27.2 -1.3 4.4 4.6 163.5 4.0 -97.438 35.181 999.0 999.0 370.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 7.0 967.8 29.2 7.8 26.1 -1.3 4.5 4.7 163.9 4.0 -97.438 35.181 999.0 999.0 374.0 3.0 3.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 8.0 967.4 29.1 7.1 25.0 -1.3 4.6 4.8 164.2 4.0 -97.438 35.182 999.0 999.0 378.0 1.0 1.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 9.0 966.8 29.1 6.4 23.8 -1.2 4.7 4.9 165.7 5.0 -97.438 35.182 999.0 999.0 383.0 1.0 1.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 10.0 966.3 29.0 5.6 22.7 -1.2 4.8 4.9 166.0 5.0 -97.438 35.182 999.0 999.0 388.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 11.0 965.8 28.9 5.5 22.7 -1.2 4.9 5.0 166.2 5.0 -97.438 35.182 999.0 999.0 393.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 12.0 965.2 28.9 5.6 22.8 -1.2 5.0 5.1 166.5 5.0 -97.438 35.182 999.0 999.0 398.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 13.0 964.7 28.8 5.5 22.8 -1.2 5.1 5.2 166.8 5.0 -97.438 35.182 999.0 999.0 403.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 14.0 964.2 28.7 5.4 22.8 -1.1 5.2 5.3 168.1 4.0 -97.438 35.182 999.0 999.0 407.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 15.0 963.6 28.7 5.5 23.0 -1.1 5.3 5.4 168.3 5.0 -97.438 35.182 999.0 999.0 412.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 : : :
The data are in files by day, so all soundings from all platforms for a particular day are concatenated into a single file ordered by nominal time first and then latitude (south to north) and then longitude. The file naming convention is: DC3_2012_HiRes_yyyymmdd.cls where yyyy is the year, mm is the month, and dd is the day of the month.
2.3.1 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM)
For more infomation on the DC3 2012 ARM Radiosonde data, see the DC3 dataset titled "ARM Radiosonde Data (ESC Format) [NCAR/EOL]" data set documentation file.
This station used G3953511/Vaisala RS92-SGP with GPS windfinding during DC3.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LAT | LONG | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARM_SGP | C1 Lamont, Oklahoma | OK | 36.61 | -97.49 | 315.0 |
2.3.2 National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) EOL Mobile GPS Advanced Upper_Air Sounding (MGAUS)
For more infomation on the DC3 2012 NCAR MGAUS sounding data, see the DC3 dataset titled "EOL MGAUS Colorado Sounding Data (ESC Format)" data set documentation file.
This station used Vaisala RS92-SGP radiosondes with GPS windfinding during DC3.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LAT | LONG | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAR | Mobile | Varied | Varied | Varied | Varied |
2.3.3 National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) EOL Mobile MISS
For more infomation on the DC3 2012 NCAR/EOL MISS sounding data, see the DC3 dataset titled "EOL MISS Colorado Sounding Data (ESC Format)" data set documentation file.
This station used Vaisala RS92-SGP radiosondes with GPS windfinding during DC3.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LAT | LONG | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCAR MISS | Mobile | Varied | Varied | Varied | Varied |
2.3.4 NOAA National Severe Storm Laboratory (NSSL) Mobile GPS Advanced Upper_Air Sounding (MGAUS) Oklahoma-Texas Sounding Data
For more infomation on the DC3 2012 NSSL MGAUS sounding data, see the DC3 dataset titled "NSSL MGAUS Oklahoma-Texas Sounding Data (ESC Format)" data set documentation file.
This station used Vaisala RS92-SGP radiosondes with GPS windfinding during DC3.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LAT | LONG | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSSL MGAUS | Mobile | Varied | Varied | Varied | Varied |
2.3.5 National Weather Service (NWS) High Resolution Radiosonde Data
For more infomation on the DC3 2012 NWS sounding data, see the DC3 dataset titled
"National Weather Service High Resolution Radiosonde Data (ESC Format) [NCAR/EOL]"
data set documentation file. All sites are in the United States.
| ID | SITE, STATE /WMO ID | Latitude | Longitude | ELEV (m) | SONDE TYPE | QC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KABQ | Albuquerque, NM /72365 | 35.03809 | -106.62280 | 1619.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KABR | Aberdeen, SD /72659 | 45.45450 | -98.41416 | 398.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KAMA | Amarillo, TX /72363 | 35.23253 | -101.70874 | 1095.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KAPX | Gaylord, MI /72634 | 44.90826 | -84.71936 | 448.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KBIS | Bismarck, ND /72764 | 46.77166 | -100.76158 | 506.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KBMX | Birmingham, AL /72230 | 33.18010 | -86.78269 | 174.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KBOI | Boise, ID /72681 | 43.56775 | -116.21092 | 873.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KBRO | Brownsville, TX /72250 | 25.91620 | -97.41993 | 7.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KBUF | Buffalo, NY /72528 | 42.94003 | -78.72474 | 218.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KCHS | Charleston, SC /72208 | 32.89473 | -80.02776 | 13.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KCRP | Corpus Christi, TX/72251 | 27.77933 | -97.50495 | 15.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KDDC | Dodge City, KS/72451 | 37.76164 | -99.96936 | 790.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KDNR | Denver, CO /72469 | 39.76749 | -104.86945 | 1611.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KDRT | Del Rio, TX/72261 | 29.37448 | -100.91828 | 314.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KDTX | Detroit/White Lake, MI/72632 | 42.69915 | -83.47160 | 330.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KDVN | Quad Cities, IA/74455 | 41.61238 | -90.58209 | 230.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KEPZ | Santa Teresa/El Paso,NM/72364 | 31.87268 | -106.69709 | 1254.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KFFC | Peachtree City, GA/72215 | 33.35611 | -84.56734 | 245.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KFGZ | Flagstaff, AZ /72376 | 35.23057 | -111.82019 | 2179.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KFWD | Fort Worth, TX/72249 | 32.83508 | -97.29794 | 195.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KGGW | Glasgow, MT /72768 | 48.20600 | -106.62659 | 693.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KGJT | Grand Junction, CO/72476 | 39.11974 | -108.52431 | 1474.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KGRB | Green Bay, WI/72645 | 44.49755 | -88.11171 | 209.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KGSO | Greensboro, NC /72317 | 36.09813 | -79.94300 | 276.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KILX | Lincoln, IL /74560 | 40.15120 | -89.33763 | 179.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KINL | Intl Falls, MN/72747 | 48.56467 | -93.39739 | 357.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KJAN | Jackson, MS /72235 | 32.31999 | -90.08031 | 91.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KJAX | Jacksonville, FL /72206 | 30.48332 | -81.70111 | 10.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KKEY | Key West, FL/72201 | 24.55311 | -81.78872 | 13.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KLBF | North Platte, NE/72562 | 41.13395 | -100.69991 | 849.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KLCH | Lake Charles, LA/72240 | 30.12551 | -93.21709 | 5.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KLIX | Slidell, LA /72233 | 30.33763 | -89.82507 | 10.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KLKN | Elko, NV /72582 | 40.86018 | -115.74146 | 1593.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KLZK | Little Rock, AR/72340 | 34.83640 | -92.25976 | 173.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KMAF | Midland, TX /72265 | 31.94267 | -102.18986 | 874.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KMFL | Miami, FL /72202 | 25.75547 | -80.38355 | 4.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KMPX | Chanhassen/Minneapolis, MN /72649 | 44.84900 | -93.56431 | 290.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KOAX | Omaha/Valley, NE /72558 | 41.31950 | -96.36633 | 351.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KOHX | Old Hickory/Nashville, TN/72327 | 36.24694 | -86.56178 | 180.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KOUN | Norman, OK /72357 | 35.18095 | -97.43787 | 345.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KPBZ | Pittsburgh, PA /72520 | 40.53156 | -80.21748 | 360.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KRIW | Riverton, WY /72672 | 43.06485 | -108.47667 | 1699.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KRNK | Blacksburg, VA /72318 | 37.20589 | -80.41436 | 639.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KSGF | Springfield, MO /72440 | 37.23583 | -93.40216 | 391.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KSHV | Shreveport, LA /72248 | 32.45176 | -93.84169 | 85.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KSLC | Salt Lake City,UT/72572 | 40.77244 | -111.95470 | 1289.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KTAE | Tallahassee, FL /72214 | 30.44630 | -84.29963 | 53.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KTBW | Tampa Bay, FL/72210 | 27.70529 | -82.40127 | 13.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | *QC |
| KTFX | Great Falls, MT/72776 | 47.46056 | -111.38533 | 1134.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KTOP | Topeka, KS /72456 | 39.07297 | -95.62983 | 268.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KTWC | Tucson, AZ /72274 | 32.22794 | -110.95601 | 741.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KUNR | Rapid City, SD/72662 | 44.07301 | -103.21027 | 1029.0 | Sippican Mark IIA | |
| KVEF | Las Vegas, NV/72388 | 36.04714 | -115.18464 | 697.0 | Sippican Mark IIA |
The stations with the "*QC" in the QC column are in or within 100km of the three DC3 subregions (Colorado, Oklahoma, and Alabama) and underwent visual quality control in addition to the automated quality control that all soundings included in this data set underwent.
We have utilized the processed PTU and GPS data from the RRS sounding systems to generate these files. The raw position, temperature and RH data are normalized by linear interpolation into 1 second processed data. The raw pressure data are normalized by least square interpolation into 1 second processed data. The pressure data are smoothed over 11 seconds of corrected pressure and the result is applied to the 6th corrected pressure within the 11 second spread. The temperature data are smoothed over 9 seconds of uncorrected temperature and the result is applied to the 5th uncorrected temperature within the 9 second spread. There must be at least 2 good raw temperature elements with the 9 second spread.
The following corrections were applied by the RRS sounding system.
Pressure correction - pressure correction is used to compensate for offsets of the radiosonde pressure sensor as compared to the station's pressure sensor. The pressure offset is determined during the radiosonde baseline operations. The correction is applied to the uncorrected pressure prior to pressure smoothing.
This correction is defined as Pc = Pu * (Pstn/Psonde), where
Pc is the corrected pressure
Pu is the uncorrected pressure
Pstn is the station pressure
Psonde is the radiosonde surface pressure
Temperature correction - temperature correction is used to compensate for solar radiation. The correction is applied to the smoothed temperature. These corrections are proprietary to Sippican.
2.3.6 Redstone Arsenal Radiosonde Data
For more infomation on the DC3 2012 Redstone Arsenal sounding data, see the DC3 dataset titled "Redstone Arsenal Radiosonde Data (ESC Format)" data set documentation file.
This station used Vaisala RS92-SGPD radiosondes with GPS windfinding during DC3.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LAT | LONG | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 74001 | Redstone | AL | 34.603 | -86.632 | 174.0 |
2.3.7 University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH) Mobile Radiosondes
For more infomation on the DC3 2012 UAH sounding data, see the DC3 dataset titled "UAH Mobile Alabama Sounding Data (ESC Format)" data set documentation file.
This station used the International Met Systems or iMet-3150 radiosonde package. The iMet-1-AB radiosonde was capable of measuring temperature, relative humidity, pressure, and derived wind speeds based on GPS.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LAT | LONG | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAH Mobile | UAH Mobile | Varied | Varied | Varied | Varied |