This data set includes 324 high vertical resolution (2-sec) soundings from the San Jose, Costa Rica sounding site (WMO 78762) from 16 June to 30 September 2004. This station is located at 10.00 North latitude and 84.21 West longitude and 921 m elevation. These soundings were provided by the Universidad de Costa Rica-Instituto Meteorologico Nacional (UCR-IMN). During the period from 17 June to 5 September 2004 San Jose typically released four soundings per day at 0000, 0600, 1200, and 1800 UTC each day. For the period from 6 to 30 September 2004 San Jose typically released one sounding per day at 1200 UTC (except on Sundays when no soundings were released).
The IMN home page can be found here: http://www.imn.ac.cr/.
This station used both Vaisala RS80-15G and RS90-AG radiosonde models during NAME.
José Meitín
UCAR/JOSS
meitin@ucar.edu
All upper air soundings were converted to University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/Joint Office for Science Support (UCAR/JOSS) Cross Chain LORAN Atmospheric Sounding System (CLASS) Format (JCF). JCF 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 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 three non-standard header lines.
| Line | Label (padded to 35 char) | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Ascension No: | 30 |
| 7 | Radiosonde Serial Number: | 331312305 |
| 8 | Wind Finding Methodology: | GPS |
| 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 UCAR Joint Office for Science Support (UCAR/JOSS). Any QC information from the original sounding is replaced by the following JOSS 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 San Jose NAME high resolution rawinsonde data in JOSS CLASS 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: San Jose Sounding Project ID: NAME Release Site Type/Site ID: SJS 78762 Alajuela Release Location (lon,lat,alt): 084 12.60'W, 10 0.00'N, -84.210, 10.000, 921.0 UTC Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s): 2004, 06, 16, 01:05:00 Radiosonde Serial Number: 331312305 Wind Finding Methodology: GPS / / / / Nominal Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s):2004, 06, 16, 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 ------ ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ ------ ----- ----- ----- -------- ------- ----- ----- ------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- 0.0 909.0 19.4 18.1 92.0 -2.0 0.0 2.0 90.0 999.0 -84.210 10.000 999.0 999.0 921.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 99.0 99.0 9.0 2.0 908.5 19.6 17.4 87.0 -2.8 0.2 2.8 94.0 2.0 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 925.0 2.0 2.0 2.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 4.0 907.8 19.8 16.1 79.0 -3.1 0.3 3.1 95.0 2.7 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 932.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 6.0 907.1 19.8 16.1 79.0 -3.3 0.3 3.3 96.0 2.8 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 938.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 8.0 906.5 19.9 16.2 79.0 -3.5 0.5 3.5 98.0 2.9 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 944.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 10.0 906.0 19.9 16.2 79.0 -3.8 0.6 3.8 99.0 2.7 9999.000 999.000 999.0 999.0 948.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0
| ID | SITE | Costa Rica | LONG | LAT | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SJS | 78762 | CR | -84.21 | 10.00 | 921.0 |
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 JOSS 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. JOSS conducted the following gross limit checks on the NAME San Jose sounding dataset. 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 Consitency 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 |
The soundings that are labeled at the following times were unable to be verified by San Jose:
17 June at 0000 UTC (there are two conflicting pieces of information in the data file. One has a start time of 16 June at 228 UTC and the other specifies a start time of 17 June at 2338 UTC).
4 August at 1200 UTC (the conflicting time in the data file is 3 August at 1200 UTC but there is already another sounding in the data set at that time).
The soundings that are labeled at the following times were verified by San Jose:
1 July at 0600 UTC (the conflicting time in the data file was 30 June at 0600.
25 July at 0600 UTC (the conflicting time in the data file was 24 July at 0600.
30 July at 0600 UTC (the conflicting time in the data file was 29 July at 0600.
1 August at 0600 UTC (the conflicting time in the data file was 1 July at 0600.
27 August at 0600 UTC (the conflicting time in the data file was 26 August at 0600.
29 August at 0600 UTC (the conflicting time in the data file was 28 August at 0600.
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.