Enhancing the Data Coverage in the Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive

Details

• Journal Title:
  Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology
• Personal Author:
  Durre, Imke ; Yin, Xungang ; Vose, Russell S. ; Applequist, Scott ; Arnfield, Jeff
• NOAA Program & Office:
  NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service) ; NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information)
• Description:
  The Integrated Global Radiosonde Archive (IGRA) is a collection of historical and near-real-time radiosonde and pilot balloon observations from around the globe. Consisting of a foundational dataset of individual soundings, a set of sounding-derived parameters, and monthly means, the collection is maintained and distributed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). It has been used in a variety of applications, including reanalysis projects, assessments of tropospheric and stratospheric temperature and moisture trends, a wide range of studies of atmospheric processes and structures, and as validation of observations from other observing platforms. In 2016, NCEI released version 2 of the dataset, IGRA 2, which incorporates data from a considerably greater number of data sources, thus increasing the data volume by 30%, extending the data back in time to as early as 1905, and improving the spatial coverage. To create IGRA 2, 40 data sources were converted into a common data format and merged into one coherent dataset using a newly designed suite of algorithms. Then, an overhauled version of the IGRA 1 quality-assurance system was applied to the integrated data. Last, monthly means and sounding-by-sounding moisture and stability parameters were derived from the new dataset. All of these components are updated on a regular basis and made available for download free of charge on the NCEI website.
• Keywords:
  Data Sets Radiosondes Remote Sensing Data Sets Remote Sensing
• Source:
  Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 35(9), 1753-1770
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-17-0223.1
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Rights Information:
  Other
• Compliance:
  Submitted
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:947f69382284e1a8e406b7f5eef979eb294935124673bf7fb2ba73c1f0cb547a816658a9d115fed84e4f1de76a0b7a2dfb03223f934a323c2311927edd754cb0
• Download URL:
  https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/44682/noaa_44682_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.36 MB ]