Research using high (and higher) resolution radiosonde data

Abstract

High vertical resolution radiosonde data (HVRRD), which began to become available in the early 1990s, have had value in gravity wave and tropical wave studies [Hamilton and Vincent, 1995]. For example, routine analysis of upper troposphere-lower stratosphere temperature and wind has led to better understanding of seasonal and geographic variations in gravity wave activity and spectral characteristics. Since then, HVRRD have been exploited for much broader research applications in fields where HVRRD provide the highest resolution available for observational parameters. With recent upgrades to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) network of U.S. upper air stations providing yet higher vertical resolution, new research applications of operational sounding data are emerging. A repository of long-term, routine, very high resolution in situ observations of fundamental atmospheric parameters, including temperature, water vapor, and wind velocity, is now available, for which the full research potential has yet to be realized. © 2012. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.