Weather Balloon Lab Day One: 1. What is a radiosonde?

Name: _________________

Introduction to Atmospheric Soundings and the Skew T Diagram

Since the late 1930s, upper air observations have been made by the NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) with radiosondes. The radiosonde is a small, expendable instrument package that is suspended 25 meters (about 80 feet) or more below a large balloon inflated with hydrogen or helium gas. As the radiosonde rises at about 1,000 feet/minute multiple sensors measure a profile of pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. These sensors are linked to a battery powered, 300 milliwatt or less radio transmitter that sends the sensor measurements to a sensitive ground tracking antenna. By tracking the position of the radiosonde in flight using GPS or a radio direction finding antenna, data on wind speed and direction aloft are also obtained (observations where winds aloft are also obtained from radiosondes are called "rawinsonde" observations). The radio signals received by the tracking antenna are converted to meteorological values and from these data significant levels are selected by a computer, put into a special code form, and then transmitted to data users. High vertical resolution flight data, among other data, are also archived and sent to the NOAA National Climatic Data Center. The radiosonde flight can last in excess of two hours, and during this time the radiosonde can ascend to over 115,000 feet and drift more than 180 miles from the release point. During the flight, the radiosonde is exposed to temperatures as cold as -90oC (-130oF) and an air pressure only few thousandths of what is found on the Earth's surface. If the radiosonde enters a strong jet stream it can travel at speeds exceeding 400 km/hr (250 mph). When released, the balloon is 2 meters (about 6 feet) in diameter and gradually expands as it rises. When the balloon reaches a diameter of 6 to 8 meters (20 to 25 feet) in diameter, it bursts. A small, orange colored parachute slows the descent of the radiosonde, minimizing the danger to lives and property. At the present time, data are not collected while the radiosonde descends. Worldwide, there are over 800 upper-air observation stations and through international agreements data are exchanged between countries. Most upper air stations are located in the Northern Hemisphere and all observations are usually taken at the same time each day (00:00 and/or 12:00 UTC), 365 days a year. When severe weather is expected additional soundings may be taken during the day at a select number of stations. There are currently more than 800 radiosonde sites worldwide, with the United States/National Weather Service running or supporting 92 sites in North America and the Pacific region, and another 10 sites in the Caribbean. Less than 20 percent of the approximately 75,000 radiosondes released by the NWS each year are found and returned to the NWS for reconditioning. These rebuilt radiosondes are used again, saving the NWS the cost of a new instrument.

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2. Preliminary Observations: Obtaining NWS Data BISHOP INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT,

FLINT MI (KFNT) 42-58N 83-45W http://weather.noaa.gov/weather/current/KFNT.html

Date:

Time:

Relative Humidity:

Wind direction:

Wind speed:

knots

Outside Temperature:

Visibility:

miles Pressure Trend:

Outside Dew Point:

Pressure:

mb

3. Direct Observations:
Cloud Types Percent Coverage Low Middle High

Current Weather:

4. Prepare to Launch
Review the Radiosonde and its instruments What are three types of data we can obtain by sending up pilot balloons similar to the ones we use in class?

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5. Launch Weather Balloons (with imaginary Radiosonde)

6. Launch Balloons
Time Balloon Remains Visible vs. Color of Balloon

Balloon Color
White Red Black

Morning: time visible

Afternoon: time visible

1. Describe the color of the balloon which was visible the longest time: 2. List three variables that could have contributed to the difference in the time the balloons were visible:

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Skew-T Plot of Temperature, Pressure and Dewpoint from KDTX (Detroit Weather Station)

http://www.arl.noaa.gov/READYcmet.php

The Green Line is the dew point The Red Line is the temperature Blue numbers on left are pressure Red numbers on top and down right side are air temperature
Local Time Eastern Standard Eastern Daylight Savings Subtract from UTC: Zulu - Five hours Zulu - Four hours

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Calculate Lifting Condensation Level

As a mass of air rises, particularly on warm and humid days, it expands as the air pressure decreases, causing the air mass to cool, which greatly reduces the air's ability to hold moisture. This is called _________________________ cooling At some point, the moisture in the air exceeds the value which that air mass can hold, forcing the water vapor to condense, forming clouds. The point at which when air is cooled to the temperature that it can no longer hold its moisture is called the _____________ _______________________. The rate at which air cools as it rises is averaged at 5.5F per 1000 feet. The dew point also decreases at about 1.0F over the same distance. The spread between the air temperature and dew point decreases by 4.5F per 1000 feet. The altitude at which this spread becomes zero can be calculated using the formula below: Temp Dew Point x 1000 = height of the cloud base = ____________________ 4.5

Questions
1. What happens when the dew point and temperature are close together?

2. The Tropopause is at an elevation of about 10 Km. This corresponds to a pressure of about 250 millibars. What do you expect the temperature line to do above the Tropopause?