This data set is a composite of radiosondes collected from 5 sounding platforms (see Section 2.3)
during the Variability of the American MOnsoonS (VAMOS)
Ocean-Cloud-Atmosphere-Land Study (VOCALS) 2008 project with
data collected from 30 September 2008 through 1 December 2008.
This project was conducted off and along the coast of northern Chile,
South America in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This composite
contains a total of 678 high resolution soundings.
The data includes 678 soundings with 91 10-sec resolution soundings from the
lower site at Paposo, Chile, 215 1-sec soundings from R/V Ron Brown, 47 0.5 second
dropsondes from the United Kingdom Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM)
BAe-146 aircraft, 192 1-sec soundings from
the GPS Advanced Upper_Air Sounding (GAUS) system located at Iquique, Chile, and 133
1-sec soundings from the R/V Jose Olaya GAUS system.
Users are strongly encouraged to contact FAAM BAe for guidance on using their
dropsonde data. Please contact Grant Allen at grant dot allen at manchester.ac.uk.
All soundings are provided at the highest possible resolution (i.e. the 'native' resolution).
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. Records for this dataset include the following non-standard header lines.
| Line | Label (padded to 35 char) | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Sonde Id/Sonde Type: | W4342264/Vaisala Loran-C |
| 7 | ||
| 8 | ||
| 9 | ||
| 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 |
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 VOCALS 2008 radiosonde 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: GAUS SOUNDING DATA/Ascending Project ID: VOCALS_2008 Release Site Type/Site ID: Iquique, Chile Release Location (lon,lat,alt): 070 07.85'W, 20 16.25'S, -70.131, -20.271, 32.9 UTC Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s): 2008, 10, 06, 21:20:09 Sonde Id/Sonde Type: 082033591/Vaisala RS92-SGP (ccGPS) Reference Launch Data Source/Time: Vaisala WXT510/21:20:08.16 System Operator/Comments: daniel/jan, Good Sounding Post Processing Comments: Aspen Version / / Nominal Release Time (y,m,d,h,m,s):2008, 10, 06, 21:20:09 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 ------ ------ ----- ----- ----- ------ ------ ----- ----- ----- -------- ------- ----- ----- ------- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- -1.0 1012.2 17.4 9.2 58.5 0.1 -0.1 0.1 339.5 999.0 -70.131 -20.271 999.0 999.0 32.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 9.0 0.0 9999.0 17.2 9.4 59.5 1.2 1.8 2.1 212.9 999.0 -70.131 -20.271 999.0 999.0 99999.0 9.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 99.0 9.0 1.0 1011.6 16.9 9.4 61.0 1.3 1.9 2.3 215.1 3.2 -70.131 -20.271 999.0 999.0 34.9 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 2.0 1011.1 16.5 9.5 62.8 1.5 1.9 2.4 217.1 4.4 -70.131 -20.271 999.0 999.0 39.2 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 3.0 1010.4 16.2 9.5 64.3 1.6 2.0 2.5 219.0 5.3 -70.131 -20.271 999.0 999.0 44.7 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 4.0 1009.7 15.9 9.6 65.8 1.7 2.0 2.6 220.8 6.0 -70.131 -20.271 999.0 999.0 50.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 5.0 1008.9 15.8 9.8 67.1 1.9 2.0 2.7 222.8 6.4 -70.131 -20.271 999.0 999.0 57.1 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0 6.0 1008.2 15.7 9.9 68.1 2.0 2.0 2.8 224.8 6.5 -70.131 -20.271 999.0 999.0 63.5 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 99.0
2.3.1 FAAM BAe-146
For more information on the VOCALS 2008 FAAM BAe-146 dropsonde data, see the VOCALS dataset titled "FAAM BAe-146 Dropsonde Data (ESC Format)". Data set documentation file.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LONG | LAT | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FAAM | BAe-146 | Chile | Mobile | Mobile | -9999.9 |
2.3.2 Iquique
For more information on the VOCALS 2008 Iquique GAUS radiosonde data, see the VOCALS dataset titled "Iquique GAUS Radiosonde Data (ESC Format) [NCAR/EOL]". Data set documentation file. The station deployed two GPS Advanced Upper-Air Sounding (GAUS) systems.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LONG | LAT | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iquique_GAUS | Iquique | Chile | -70.13100 | -20.27100 | 32.9 |
2.3.3 R/V Jose Olaya
For more information on the VOCALS 2008 R/V Jose Olaya GAUS radiosonde data, see the VOCALS dataset titled "IMARPE R/V Jose Olaya GAUS Radiosonde Data (ESC Format) [NCAR/EOL]". Data set documentation file. The station deployed two GPS Advanced Upper-Air Sounding (GAUS) systems.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LONG | LAT | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olaya_GAUS | R/V Olaya | Peru | Mobile | Mobile | 0.0 |
2.3.4 Paposo Lower Site
For more information on the VOCALS 2008 Paposo Lower Site radiosonde data, see the VOCALS dataset titled "Paposo Lower Site Radiosondes (RAOBS) Data (ESC Format)". Data set documentation file. The station used Vaisala RS80-15G radiosondes with GPS windfinding.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LONG | LAT | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCQN 85575 | Paposo | Chile | -70.46000 | -25.00000 | 22.0 |
2.3.5 R/V Ron Brown
For more information on the VOCALS 2008 R/V Ron Brown sounding data, see the VOCALS dataset titled "NOAA R/V Ron Brown Soundings (ESC Format)". Data set documentation file.
| ID | SITE | STATE | LONG | LAT | ELEV (m) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WTEC | R/V Ron Brown | Mobile | Mobile | Mobile | Mobile |
See the documentation files above for information on the quality control processing conducted on each network.
None.