Radiosonde Casts from the Neumayer Ground Station and Research Ship FS Polarstern (Antarctic)

These data are collected by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and
Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven for the Antarctic at the Neumayer
Ground Station (70S,8W) and at the research ship FS Polarstern since
1983.

Upper air soundings are carried out routinely once a day between 10
and 12 UTC. They include profile measurements of pressure,
temperature, relative humidity and wind vector. Since 1992 ozone
measurements have also been performed about once a week. Usually the
profiles start at ground level and end between 15 and 37 km.

For the soundings VAISALA RS80 radiosondes, carried by helium-filled
balloons (TOTEX 350, 600, 1200) are used. The data is coded
(FM35-Temp) and transferred directly to the Global Telecommunication
System (GTS) by a Data Collecting Platform (DCP) where they contribute
to weather forecasting.

To obtain the ozone profiles an additional ozone sensor (VAISALA,
ECC5A) has been attached to the radiosonde. The wind vector is
determined with the aid of the OMEGA navigation system. Data reception
and evaluation were originally carried out by a MicroCora System
(VAISALA), however in March 1992 the MicroCora was replaced by the
DigiCora (VAISALA).

At AWI the upper air soundings are archived together with the routine
3-hourly weather observation and surface radiation and mast
measurements in a relational database (SYBASE). Upper air soundings
are available since 1983. Actual soundings normally reach the database
once a year.

The data in the database can be retrieved directly in two different
forms: At mean pressure levels (up to one month at a time),