# Presentation: 612448

***Two Summers of Radiosonde Temperatures from  Ticosonde****** ***

**Henry B. Selkirk**
**Bay Area Environmental Research Institute**
**NASA-Ames Research Center**
***with***
***Holger V******ömel***
***CIRES/Univ. of Colorado***

- Aura Validation Meeting - 11 Sept 2005

## Ticosonde-NAME 2004 Observational Program

***Ticosonde-NAME 2004 Observational Program***

**Location: ****	****	**IMN launch site at Juan Santamaria Int. AP, Alajuela
**Dates:****	****	**00 UT (6 PM) 16 June — 00 UT 6 September
**Frequency: ****	**4 times/day:  6 PM, 12 AM, 6 AM and 12 PM
**Measurements:****	**Temperature, RH, winds
**Radiosonde:****	**Vaisala RS80-15G (June, September)
**	****	****	**Vaisala RS90-AG (July, August, September)
**IMN staff:****	****	****Adolfo Alvarado, Octavio Castillo, Victor Hernández, ****	****	****	****	****Alexander Cordoba, Werner Stolz (coordinator)**
**Student teams:****	****UCR/CIGEFI:** Erick Rivera, Gabriela Mora, Gustavo Adolfo Uribe, Ana María Duran, 		Laura Helena Segura, Marcela Ulate, Mario Cubero, **Rebeca Morera**, **Wilkie ****	****	****	****Contreras**, Rebecca Prada, Roy Armando Lopez
- 			**UNA**: **Rocío Alfaro, Rosa Alfaro, Yerling Carranza, Jose Pablo Jiménez**			**UCR/CENAT:** **Kristel Heinrich**

## 225 of 241 ascents to tropopause or above 
Median ceiling (300-g balloons):		23 km / 30 hPa					
Mean trop P, T and Theta:	 	114.8 hPa, -78.0°C, 363.3
•	Range of ptrop :			145 to 88.9 hPa
•	Range of Ttrop :			-72.8 to -82.8°C	
•	Range of Thetatrop :			348.9  to 386.9 K			

47 soundings with second coded tropopause (1 in 5)
Mean 2nd trop P, T and Theta:	84.6 hPa, -76.1°C, 17.7 km

(SLIDE CORRECTED post-presentation)

- Median ceiling (300-g balloons):		23 km / 30 hPa
- Mean trop P, T and Theta:	 	114.8 hPa, -78.0°C, 363.3
- •	Range of ptrop :			145 to 88.9 hPa
- •	Range of Ttrop :			-72.8 to -82.8°C
- •	Range of Thetatrop :			348.9  to 386.9 K
- 47 soundings with second coded tropopause (1 in 5)
- Mean 2nd trop P, T and Theta:	84.6 hPa, -76.1°C, 17.7 km
*(SLIDE CORRECTED post-presentation)*

- Ticosonde-NAME 2004RS-80 and RS-90 launch statistics(16 June through 24 August)

## Ticosonde-Aura/TCSP 2005 observational programs

***Ticosonde-Aura/TCSP 2005 observational programs***

***NASA-Ames/BAER Institute - Henry Selkirk, PI***
**4x daily Vaisala RS92-SGP ascents to 26±5 km - T, RH and winds**
**16 June  –  24 August **
**Launch and data support by IMN and met students from UCR**
***University of Colorado – Holger Vömel, PI***
**24 CFH/ozonesondes soundings at 18 and 06 UT to ~30 km during July**
**coincidence with Aura ascending/descending nodes**
**Launch support by IMN**
**Sonde prep and launches by atmos. chemistry students from UNA**
***MayComm Instruments, LLC – Randy May, PI***
**2 ascents with new TDL water vapor sonde**
***The Aerospace Corporation - Grace Peng, PI***
**28 soundings for coincidence with DMSP F16 SSMIS instrument**
**Coincidence with ascending and descending nodes @ ~02 and 14 LT**
**Launch and data support by IMN**

## Victor demonstrates for Gustavo and  Marcial Garbanzo the safe release of the radiosonde balloon.

- Rebeca Morera unpacks a fresh RS92 under the supervision of IMN radiosondista Victor Hernández.

*Beginning 16 June, radiosondes were launched at 00, 06, 12 and 18 UT each day by the IMN at Antiguo Radar located at Juan Santamaria Intl. AP.*
*UCR meteorology students processed the data and were trained by the IMN staff in the preparation of the sondes and operation of the DigiCORA receiving equipment.*

- The Ames/UCR RS92 launch program

## 225 of 241 ascents to tropopause or above 
Median ceiling:			26. km / 21.1 hPa				
Mean trop P, T and Theta:		110.1 hPa, -79.5°C, 364.3 K
•	Range of ptrop :			137 to 85.4 hPa, 18% above 100 hPa
•	Range of Ttrop :			-73.7 to -85.1°C	
•	Range of Thetatrop :		349.5 to 389.9 K			

45 sounding with second coded tropopause (1 in 5)
Mean 2nd trop P, T and Theta:	74.6 hPa, 75.1°C, 421 K

Preliminary 2-sec RS92 p,T,rh and wind data exchange files available
Submission of hdf files to AVDC this fall
Plots and text files of low-res data at <http://bocachica.arc.nasa.gov/TICOSONDE/>				

- Median ceiling:			26. km / 21.1 hPa
- Mean trop P, T and Theta:		110.1 hPa, -79.5°C, 364.3 K
- •	Range of ptrop :			137 to 85.4 hPa, 18% above 100 hPa
- •	Range of Ttrop :			-73.7 to -85.1°C
- •	Range of Thetatrop :		349.5 to 389.9 K
- 45 sounding with second coded tropopause (1 in 5)
- Mean 2nd trop P, T and Theta:	74.6 hPa, 75.1°C, 421 K
- Preliminary 2-sec RS92 p,T,rh and wind data exchange files available
- Submission of hdf files to AVDC this fall
- Plots and text files of low-res data at <http://bocachica.arc.nasa.gov/TICOSONDE/>

- Ticosonde-Aura/TCSP 2005RS-92 hi-frequency launch statistics(16 June through 24 August)

- July 2004 mean T/Td profile

- July 2005 mean T/Td profile

## Interpreting T variability

**Lamination in lower stratosphere a constant feature **
**	****    ****=> high incidence of second coded tropopause**
**Possible sources for UT/LS variability:**
**Local: pronounced daily cycle in convection - both years **
**Regional: tropical waves in UT/LT - 4-5 day wave maximizing at tropopause**

## Diurnal cycle in 2004

-           Diurnal cycle of convection peaked at 00 UT/6 PM in*** both ***2004 and 2005

*Ticosonde-Aura/TCSP 2005 RS92 data*

##                  Details of TTL T-profile varied through the day in 2004, but NOT in 2005.

*Ticosonde-NAME 2004 RS90 data*

- 00Z

- 06Z

- 12Z

- 18Z

## This sounding on July 19, 2005 at 18UT was not atypical for either year

- Remarkably similar structure in simultaneous GPS RO sounding 13° farther east

- Lower stratospheric vertical structure

- Downward phase propagation of 4-5 day waves in temperature to tropopause level

*Ticosonde-Aura/TCSP 2005 RS92 data*

## Coherent regional variations

- Hovmöller diagram of fractional high cloudiness (Tbrt <235 K) between 8 and 12°N across Caribbean and eastern Pacific region  in July 2004.

- San José

- 7/1

- 7/31

## Summary

**Horizontal and vertical structures of waves in tropical LS present potential sampling problem for satellite T measurements - and choice of validation data! **
**Local convective cycle does not seem dominant in control in TTL temperatures - complex regional-scale forcings at a variety of time and space scales**

**Ticosonde-Aura/TCSP 2005 Rev. 1.0 data currently available as Ames ASCII exchange files - encourage others to test-drive before submit to AVDC - see me or email to ****hselkirk@mail.arc.nasa.gov**