Information for MERGED sonde/profiler dataset contains humidity corrected data from NCAR/ATD Last Updated (08/05/02) Previous Update (09/10/96) Lastest update was to add in humidity corrected data generated by NCAR/ATD (Wang et al. 2002) ***************************************************************************** This file describes the organization and details of the merged datasets described in Ciesielski et al. (1996). For additional information on how these datasets were created one should refer to this publication. In cases where a sonde launch was missed but profiler data were available at the usual sonde launch time, profiler winds were entered into the merged dataset at their native resolution (98 m in the low mode which was used up to 1.5 km, and 238 m in the high mode which was used above 1.5 km). The profiler data is recorded as a function of height in meters. An IOP-average height/pressure relationship was determined for each site and then used to identify the pressure level associated with each profiler observation. The number of times profiler data were used to replace a missing sonde launch is listed in the second column of Table 1. In these cases, the sounding contains no thermodynamic information. Table 1 also shows the number of soundings which were generated from both sonde and profiler winds (column 3) and the total number of soundings at each site (column 4). Table 1. Number of soundings in merged dataset File name Station Generated from profiler Generated from name winds in absence both sonde and Total of sonde launches profiler winds Number bia.data.Z Biak 1 145 239 kap.data.Z Kapinga 5 481 496 kav.data.Z Kavieng 11 443 482 man.data.Z Manus 29 464 494 nau.data.Z Nauru 5 107 467 nql.data.Z Nauru (quick-look) 5 338 467 sh1.data.Z R/V Kexue 1 5 343 355 sh3.data.Z R/V Shiyan 3 3 321 352 kap.ndata.gz Kapinga 5 481 496 kav.ndata.gz Kavieng 11 443 482 man.ndata.gz Manus 29 464 494 nau.ndata.gz Nauru 5 107 467 sc1.ndata.gz R/V Kexue 1 5 343 355 xp3.ndata.gz R/V Shiyan 3 3 321 352 fiv.ndata.gz Xian. 5 0 222* 222 wav.ndata.gz Moana Wave 0 261* 261 * - used only sonde data note file extension data.Z - does not contain humidity corrections cited in Wang et al. (2002) ndata.gz - does contain humidity corrections cited in Wang et al. (2002) As described in the text of Ciesielski et al. (1996), the low number of merged profiles in Table 1 at Nauru is due to the frequent absence of post-processed profiler data. While "quick-look" data were available at Nauru for much of the IOP, it was not used in the Ciesielski et al. (1996) study due to deficiencies (e.g., questionable winds, particularly above 5 km) in this dataset. Since the post-processed dataset was so limited at Nauru and "quick-look" dataset still of research value, we performed the merge also with this latter dataset (results contained in nql.data). The only restriction in using the profiler winds in creating this dataset (nql.data) was that quality flag had to be less than 4. The merged datasets are stored as compressed ascii files and should be accessed as binary files. In compressed form they require ~24.3 mbytes of disk space; as uncompressed files they require ~91.4 mbytes of disk space. A simple FORTRAN program for reading these CLASS formatted merged sounding datasets is contained in file "readclass.f'. The format of the merged dataset follows the generic CLASS format developed by NCAR/SSF (Miller 1993) with the exception of some changes to the quality control (QC) flags. The quality control flags for the ISS sites are listed in Table 2. The QC flags for the merged dataset at Biak follow the Joint Office for Science Support (JOSS) convention outlined in Table 2 of Loehrer (1996) except for codes 10-13 which are listed in the Table below. Table 2. Code and description of quality control flags used in merged data for ISS sites Code Description 0-1 sonde data 10 profiler data (low mode) 11 profiler data (high mode) 12 merged sonde/profiler data (low mode) 13 merged sonde/profiler data (high mode) 66 interpolated sonde data (in time) 77 surface data 88 interpolated sonde data (in pressure) 99 missing data Notes for Table 2. - Code 66 indicates that data was interpolated in time between soundings 12 hours apart. For example: f(time, pressure) = 0.5*[f(time+6hr, pressure) + f(time-6hr, pressure)] - Missing datum are set to the value 999 in all fields except time and longitude, in which case the values -999 and 9999 are used, respectively. All the fields that were in the final processed sonde dataset released by NCAR's Atmospheric Technology Division (NCAR/ATD) are included in the merged dataset. Thermodynamic data in the merged dataset are identical to that released by ATD. Only the wind data and associated parameters (i.e., wind quality flags) have changed in the merged dataset. In addition, we have subsituted NOAA's Aeronomy Lab (AL) processed ISS surface winds (Hartten 1996) for the ship-based surface winds provided by ATD in all the work presented here. The ship-based surface winds represent a 5 minute averaged AL processed wind centered at the time of sonde launch. Please report any problems in the merged datasets to Paul Ciesielski at paulc@tornado.atmos.colostate.edu. To keep updated on any problems and/or or changes in this dataset, users are encouraged to register at the above email address. References Ciesielski, P.E., L.M. Hartten, and R.H. Johnson, 1996: Impacts of merging profiler and rawinsonde winds on Toga COARE analyses. J. Atmos. Oceanic Tech., 14, 1264-1279. Hartten, L.M., 1997: Reconciliation of surface and profiler winds at ISS sites. J. Atmos. Oceanic Tech., 15, Loehrer, S.M. T.A. Edmands, and J.A. Moore, 1996: TOGA COARE Upper-Air sounding data archive: development and quality control procedures. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 77, 2651-2671. Miller, E.R., and A.C. Riddle, 1994: TOGA COARE integrated sounding system data report. Volume 1A, Revised Edition. National Center for Atmospheric Research, 61 pp. [Available from the TOGA COARE International Project Office, UCAR, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307-3000]. Wang et al., 2002: Corrections of humidity measurement errors from the Vaisala RS80 Radiosonde - Application to TOGA COARE Data. J. Atmos. Oceanic Tech., 19, 981-1002.