A brief introduction to radiosondes covered the measurement techniques, processing and their uncertainties. Almost 40% of radiosonde stations now provide high vertical resolution reports in BUFR format along with the position of each level. Accounting for the radiosonde drift in NWP systems improves the upper level fit between radiosondes and model fields. Radiosonde descent data (after balloon burst) looks useful but will need extra quality control. ECMWF observation-minus-background statistics show some variations in quality between different radiosonde types and also clear variations with latitude. Larger differences in the tropical stratosphere are probably related to gravity wave activity.
Webinar speaker
Bruce Ingleby, ECMWF Senior Scientist
Bruce Ingleby works on the processing and assimilation of in situ observations. He has over 30 years experience in many different aspects of data assimilation. He worked at the UK Met Office and has been at ECMWF for the last five years.