Radiosonde Casts from the Koldewey Ground Station and Research Ship FS Polarstern (Arctic)

These data are collected by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and
Marine Research (AWI), Bremerhaven for the Arctic at the Koldewey
Ground Station (79N,12E) since 1991 and at the research ship FS
Polarstern since 1982.

Upper air soundings are carried out routinely once a day normally
between 10 and 12 UTC. They include profile measurements of pressure,
temperature, relative humidity and wind vector. About once a week an
additional ozone profile is retrieved as well. Usually the profiles
start at the ground and end between 15 and 37 km.

For the routine 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) 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 are carried out by a DigiCora System (VAISALA).

At AWI the upper air soundings are archived together with the routine
synoptic weather observation and surface radiation and mast
measurements in a relational database (SYBASE). Actual soundings
normally reach the database once a month.

Data are accessible via Web network by means of the AWI-Home-Page,
'http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de', and can be obtained from AWI after
prior consultation.