Abstract
Abstract. In this study, we introduce a newly developed upper-air observational instrument for atmospheric research. The “Storm Tracker” is an ultra-lightweight (about 20 g including battery), multi-channel simultaneous capable radiosonde designed by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at National Taiwan University. Developed in 2016, the Storm Tracker aims to provide an alternative for observing atmospheric vertical profiles with a high temporal resolution, especially the lower-level atmosphere under severe weather conditions such as extreme thunderstorms and tropical cyclones. Field experiments were conducted as trial runs in Wu-Chi, Taichung, Taiwan, to examine the ability of the Storm Tracker to observe the boundary layer, in addition to the intercomparison between the Storm Tracker and the widely used Vaisala RS41-SGP radiosonde. Among the co-launches of the Storm Tracker and Vaisala RS41 radiosondes, the measurements of pressure, wind speed, and wind direction are highly consistent between the measurements of the Storm Tracker and the Vaisala RS41-SGP. However, a significant daytime warm bias in the Storm Tracker was found due to solar heating. A metal shield specifically for the Storm Tracker was thus installed and showed mitigation for the warm biases and the overall variance. With the much lower costs of the radiosondes and the simultaneous multi-channel receiver, the Storm Tracker system has shown great potential for high-frequency observational needs in atmospheric research.
Highlights
With a long history of development, the upper-air radiosonde has been one of the essential and the most reliable methods to measure the atmosphere above us so far
Most radiosonde manufacturers had participated in the field intercomparison program hosted by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) throughout 1984–2010, and there were 11 different types of operational radiosondes processed in the recent intercomparison experiment in Yangjiang, China, in 2011 (Nash et al, 2011)
We introduce a newly developed, smaller, lighter, and cheaper upper-air radiosonde system designed with the capability of simultaneously receiving multiple radiosondes, which is explicitly for high temporal resolution observations on mesoscale weather systems
Summary
With a long history of development, the upper-air radiosonde has been one of the essential and the most reliable methods to measure the atmosphere above us so far. The lighter the radiosonde weighs, the smaller the balloons and the less the helium is needed. We introduce a newly developed, smaller, lighter, and cheaper upper-air radiosonde system designed with the capability of simultaneously receiving multiple radiosondes, which is explicitly for high temporal resolution observations on mesoscale weather systems. This so-called Storm Tracker system, developed at the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at National Taiwan University, has been tested in several field experiments since 2016. 3. Section 4 concludes the current status of the Storm Tracker system and its applications in different field campaigns.
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