Vertical air motion from t-rex radiosonde and dropsonde data

Comparisons among radiosonde, dropsonde, aircraft, and profiling radar vertical velocities show that the sonde-estimated VV is able to capture and describe events with strong vertical motions (larger than Superscript Minus - ⁻ Tilde ∼1 m s⁻¹) observed during T-REX. The VV below Superscript Minus - ⁻ Tilde ∼5 km above ground, however, is overestimated by the radiosonde data. The analysis of derived VVs shows interesting features of gravity waves, rotors, and turbulence.

Periodic variations of vertical velocity in the stratosphere, as indicated by the radiosonde data, correspond to the horizontal wavelength of gravity waves with an averaged horizontal wavelength of Superscript Minus - ⁻ Tilde ∼15 km. Two-dimensional VV structure is described in detail by successive dropsonde deployment.