The general concept had been suggested by JPL scientists as early as 1988 but had never been tested. In its first full day of operation, the system successfully profiled the atmosphere above nearly 100 points from Greenland to Australia. But few radiosondes can be deployed above the deep ocean or polar regions. Even now, computer models of the atmosphere are able to benefit from the data. Xiaolei Zou uses NCAR's primary mesoscale model to study midlatitude low-pressure systems and other phenomena.
Tests using actual data are now under way.
There are now more than 200 investigators examining the data at universities and research centers in over a dozen nations. High-altitude researchers may get a special boost. Solar storms inject large numbers of high-energy particles into the upper atmosphere, jeopardizing power grids on earth and communications satellites in space.