Measurement systems

Methods to monitor the atmosphere are of two typesin situ measurements and remote sensing
observations.
In situ measurements require that the instrumentation be located directly at the point of
interest and in contact with the subject of interest.
In contrast, remote sensors are located some distance away from the subject of interest.
Remote sensors include passive systems (instruments that receive information naturally
emitted from a region in the atmosphere) and active systems (instruments that emit either
acoustic or electromagnetic energy and record the characteristics of this energy after it
reflects off an object or surface and returns back to the sensor).
Within the planetary boundary layer, in situ instrumentation includes towers, tethered
balloons, and surface data collection platforms.
A wide range of meteorological measurements are made from this equipment, including
temperature, dew-point temperature, pressure, wind velocity, long-wave and shortwave
radiative fluxes, and air chemistry.
Active remote-sensing observations are made, using Doppler and non-Doppler radars,
lidars (a type of laser that measures backscattered light), and acoustic sounders.
Radars measure the backscattering of electromagnetic microwave radiation with
wavelengths on the order of 3 to 10 cm (1 to 4 inches).
The non-Doppler radars provide estimates of precipitation intensity, while Doppler radars
can also provide estimates of wind speed and direction by detecting a shift in the frequency
of an echo produced by a moving target.
Shorter-wavelength Doppler radars are often able to measure winds even in clear air.
Carbon dioxide lidars provide estimates of wind structure and turbulence within a few tens
of kilometres of the instrument.
Acoustic sounders are used primarily to monitor boundary layer depth and structure, using
echo-return characteristics.
Passive instrumentation includes the pyranometer, which measures direct and diffuse solar
radiation, and the pyrheliometer, which samples only direct radiation from the Sun.
Above the boundary layer, but within the troposphere, the primary standard observation
platform is the radiosonde.
Tethered to helium balloons, radiosondes are released twice daily (simultaneously at 0000
hours and 1200 hours Greenwich Mean Time) around the world.

 As a result of their use, a long-period data archive of the status of the atmosphere has been
achieved.
Meteorological observations from radiosondes are also applied to benchmark the numerical
weather prediction models used to forecast day-to-day weather.
Radiosondes measure temperature, dew-point temperature, and pressure.
The position of the radiosonde can be monitored by radar tracking so that wind speed and
direction as a function of height are routinely availablefor this reason radiosondes are also
referred to as rawinsondes.
Since the 1990s, the global positioning system (GPS) has been used to track the balloons and
calculate wind speed and direction. The radiosondes are designed to have a rise rate of about
200 metres (650 feet) per minute.
Remote-sensing systems called profilers have been developed to provide almost continuous
measurements of wind and, somewhat less accurately, of moisture and temperature
throughout the lowest 10 km (6 miles) of the atmosphere.
Winds are estimated by using an upward-looking Doppler radar, while temperature and
moisture profiles are evaluated by using a vertically pointing radiometer that measures
electromagnetic emissions of selected wavelengths at various heights in the troposphere.
Used in conjunction with Earth-orbiting satellite-based passive temperature and moisture
radiometric soundings, as well as active lidar wind measurements, profilers complement the
data collected from radiosondes.
Aircraft also provide detailed information concerning the structure of the atmosphere.
Airplanes used in field experiments, such as the Lockheed P-3 aircraft employed by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the United States, are heavily
instrumented and often carry Doppler radar, turbulence sensors, and in situ measurement
devices for cloud water, cloud ice content, and structure.
The NOAA P-3 has been used to fly through hurricanes and other types of deep precipitating
cloud systems.
Commercial aircraft are used routinely to collect atmospheric data temperature and wind
data. This information is communicated to weather forecasters and used in the preparation of
weather map analyses.
Lightning occurrences are monitored by using ground-based detectors. Such systems
measure time, location, flash polarity, and stroke count of lightning strikes.
When the observations from systems at different locations are combined, distribution maps
of lightning strikes, and hence thunderstorm occurrences, can be made.
Above the routine maximum height of the radiosonde data (above levels where atmospheric
pressure drops below 100 millibars, at about 17 km [10.5 miles]), rocketsondes, rocket-

borne grenades, and falling sphere experiments have been used to monitor the thermal
structure of the upper atmosphere.
Since these measurements occur much less frequently than radiosonde observations,
however, less is known about the meteorology above the tropopause.
Satellite radiometric soundings have also been used to provide temperature readings in
layers in the atmosphere from near the surface up to about 25 km (16 miles) or so, although
these measurements offer less vertical and spatial resolution than in situ measurements.
Similarly, ground-based radar and lidars have been used to measure atmospheric
characteristics in the upper atmosphere.