radiosonde with measuring instruments

A radiosonde (Sonde is German for probe) is a unit for use in weather balloons that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them to a fixed receiver. Radiosondes may operate at a radio frequency of 403 MHz or 1680 MHz and both types may be adjusted slightly higher or lower as required. A rawinsonde is a simpler device intended for measuring wind speeds only. These measurements are taken by tracking the rawinsonde's position, so it does not need a radio link. Image File history File links Radiosonde_f. ... Image File history File links Radiosonde_f. ... Probe is a generic term used to refer to a device used to gather information. ... Rawinsonde weather balloon just after launch. ... Layers of Atmosphere (NOAA) Air redirects here. ... Rough plot of Earths atmospheric transmittance (or opacity) to various wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, including radio waves. ... MegaHertz (MHz) is the name given to one million (106) Hertz, a measure of frequency. ...

The device is tied to a helium or hydrogen filled balloon, which lifts the device up through the atmosphere. The maximum altitude the balloon ascends to is determined by the size of the balloon, or weight of the balloon material. Balloon sizes can range from 150 grams to 3000 grams. An 800 gram balloon will burst at about 30,000 meters (about 100,000 feet) due to lack of external air pressure at that altitude. The modern radiosonde communicates via radio with a computer that stores all the variables in real time. The first rawinsondes were observed from the ground with a theodolite, and gave only a wind estimation by the position. Modern radiosondes can use a variety of mechanisms for determining wind speed and direction, such as Loran, radio direction finder, GPS and (in Canada only) Very low frequency. The most important variables measured by a modern radiosonde are: General Name, Symbol, Number helium, He, 2 Chemical series noble gases Group, Period, Block 18, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 4. ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... metre or meter, see meter (disambiguation) The metre is the basic unit of length in the International System of Units. ... The use of water pressure - the Captain Cook Memorial Jet in Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra. ... Diagram of an Optical Theodolite. ... LORAN (LOng RAnge Navigation) is a terrestrial navigation system using low frequency radio transmitters that use the time interval between radio signals received from three or more stations to determine the position of a ship or aircraft. ... A radio direction finder, or RDF, is a device for finding the direction to a radio source. ... Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ... Very low frequency or VLF refers to radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 3 to 30 kHz. ...

• Pressure
• Altitude
• Geographical position (Latitude/Longitude)
• Temperature
• Relative humidity
• Wind speed and direction
• Some also give ozone concentration.

With the data, it is possible to draw a Stüve diagram or a Skew-T log-P diagram; both of which are useful for the interpretation of phenomena such as thermal inversion. The use of water pressure - the Captain Cook Memorial Jet in Lake Burley Griffin, Canberra. ... Altitude is the elevation of an object from a known level or datum. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter φ, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the Equator. ... Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. ... In thermodynamics, temperature is the physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold —something that is hotter has the greater temperature. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Wind is the roughly horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earths surface. ... Speed (symbol: v) is the rate of motion, or equivalently the rate of change of position, expressed as distance d moved per unit of time t. ... For other uses, see Ozone (disambiguation). ... A Stüve diagram is one of four thermodynamic diagrams commonly used in weather analysis and forecasting. ... A Skew-T Log-P diagram is a thermodynamic diagram commonly used in weather analysis and forecasting. ... A temperature inversion is a meteorological phenomenon where air temperature increases with height. ...

Radiosonde data are an important component of numerical weather prediction. Because a sonde may drift several hundred km during the hour and a half of flight there may be concern that this could introduce problems into the analysis; however, this appears not to be so except perhaps locally in jetstream regions in the stratosphere [1]. Numerical weather prediction is the science of predicting the weather using models of the atmosphere and computational techniques. ...

The weight of a radiosonde is typically 250 grams. BIC pen cap, about 1 gram. ...

In 1985 the Soviet Venus probes Vega 1 and Vega 2 each dropped a radiosonde into the atmosphere of Venus. The sondes could be tracked for two days. 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Soviet redirects here. ... The Vega mission was a Venus mission which also took advantage of the appearance of Comet Halley in 1986. ... (*min temperature refers to cloud tops only) Atmospheric characteristics Atmospheric pressure 9. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Radiosonde

• Current raw upper air data for most of Canada and the United States
• WMO spreadsheet of all Upper Air stations around the world
• Interpreting radiosonde data Tephigrams and Skew-T log P diagrams.
• Radiosonde Sounding System at webmet.com
• NOAA National Weather Service Radiosonde Factsheet