TWP/C2/Sonde Missing Data

There were no sondes launced during this period because there was
no helium on site and the hydrogen generator was not working.  The
hydrogen generator was repaired and launches resumed.

• Raw data stream - documentation not supported(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Wind Direction(deg)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)

• Raw data stream - documentation not supported(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• Wind Direction(deg)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - Missing Winds

About half of the soundings in November-December exhibited drop-outs
in the winds.  These dropouts were typically over a depth of 1-2 km.
Sometimes the dropout occurred at the surface, sometimes at the top of
the sounding and sometimes in the middle.  These gaps occurred on:

19981126
19981129
19981206
19981209
19981210
19981211
19981212
19981221
19981222

• surface wind speed(wspd)

• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)

TWP/C2/Balloon Soundings: Missing Flights

No sondes were launched during this period for reasons unknown.

• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Wind Direction(deg)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)

• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• Wind Direction(deg)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)

TWP/C1 - Incorrect elevation reported in Manus Data

(From Bill Clements) We have been using 6m MSL as the station
elevation of Momote (Manus).  This was based on information
posted near the station barometer in the Momote Weather Service
Office.  It turns out that the official WMO station elevation
for Momote is 4m MSL and the upper air elevation is 5m MSL.

All Manus instruments except the sonde station are at 4m MSL.
The sonde launching station is at 5m MSL.

• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)

TWP/C1/Balloon Soundings Maximum Altitude

Only surface data included in this data file.

• surface wind speed(wspd)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Wind Direction(deg)

• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Wind Direction(deg)

TWP/C1/Balloon Soundings Maximum Altitude

Only surface data included in this data file.

• surface wind speed(wspd)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Wind Direction(deg)

• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Wind Direction(deg)

TWP/C1/Balloon Soundings Maximum Altitude

Only surface data included in this data file.

• surface wind speed(wspd)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Wind Direction(deg)

• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Wind Direction(deg)

TWP/C1/Balloon Soundings Maximum Altitude

Only surface data included in this data file.

• surface wind speed(wspd)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Wind Direction(deg)

• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Wind Direction(deg)

TWP/C1/Balloon Soundings Maximum Altitude

This sonde only reached a height of 0.3 km.

• surface wind speed(wspd)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Wind Direction(deg)

• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Wind Direction(deg)

TWP/C1 - Generator Problem

On November 18 the generator was turned off due to a fault in the oil
pressure sensor. It had been having trouble for at least a day prior
to the manual shut-down. ADaM, the MPL, and the WSI were also shut
down to prevent an unscheduled power cycle. As a result, there is a block 
of missing data from November 20-27 for all of the instruments except 
those connected to the Zeno loggers (SKYRAD, GNDRAD, SMET).

• Background signal(background_signal)
• Detector temperature(detector_temp)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• GPS raw data filename(filename)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Voltage level which operates the thermistor(voltage_10)
• Average cloud base height used in the retrieval(cbh)
• Repetition rate, or Trigger Frequency of the laser(pulse_rep)
• Voltage level which operates the energy monitor(voltage_15)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Laser temperature(laser_temp)
• Filter temperature(filter_temp)
• Number of laser pulses summed during measurement interval(shots_summed)
• Instrument temperature(instrument_temp)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Aerosol volume backscattering coefficient at 355 nm(backscatter)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Voltage level which operates the A_D card and the detector(voltage_5)
• Energy output per pulse of transmitted laser beam at 532 nm (Doubled Nd-YLF)(energy_monitor)

• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Wind Direction(deg)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)

• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Diffuse Hemispheric Broadband Irradiance, offset subtracted, cosine corrected,
  broadband scale applied(diffuse_hemisp_broadband)
• Direct Normal Irradiance, NIMFR(direct_norm_narrowband)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Diffuse Hemispheric Irradiance, MFRSR(diffuse_hemisp_narrowband)
• Cosine of Apparent Solar Zenith Angle(cosine_solar_zenith_angle)
• Hemispheric Irradiance, MFRSR(hemisp_narrowband)
• Hemispheric Broadband Irradiance, offset and cosine corrected, broadband scale
  factor applied(hemisp_broadband)
• Fields flagged by callang: 0 = no flag\n,(callang_flags)
• MFRSR Detector Temperature(mfrsr_temp)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Direct Normal Irradiance, Uncalibrated Silicon Detector, NIMFR(direct_norm_broadband)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Data Logger Supply Voltage(logger_volt)

• distance to center of range bin after correcting for offset in sync(range)
• Degrees from vertical (-15 to +90)(tilt_angle)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Third cloud base height(third_cbh)
• Aerosol volume backscattering coefficient at 355 nm(backscatter)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Percentage of nominal factory setting (0 to 999%)(laser_pulse_energy)
• Flag indicating aeri retrieval status(status_flag)
• Warning and alarm status bits(status_string)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Lowest cloud base height detected.(first_cbh)
• Percentage of nominal factory setting (0 to 999%)(receiver_sensitivity)
• Laser temperature(laser_temperature)
• Millivolts at internal ADC input(window_contamination)
• SUM of detected and normalized backscatter(sum_backscatter)
• Vertical visibility(vertical_visibility)
• GPS raw data filename(filename)
• Detection status. See details(detection_status)
• Altitude of highest signal(alt_highest_signal)
• 6 character string describing instrument measurement parameters(measurement_parameters)
• Millivolts at internal ADC input (0 to 2500)(background_light)
• Second lowest cloud base height(second_cbh)

• Hemispheric Broadband Irradiance (Approximate), MFRSR(total_hemisp_broadband)
• MFRSR Detector Temperature(mfrsr_temp)
• Data Logger Supply Voltage(logger_volt)
• Fields flagged by callang: 0 = no flag\n,(callang_flags)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Hemispheric Irradiance, MFRSR(hemisp_narrowband)
• Diffuse Hemispheric Irradiance, MFRSR(diffuse_hemisp_narrowband)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Diffuse Hemispheric Broadband Irradiance, offset subtracted, cosine corrected,
  broadband scale applied(diffuse_hemisp_broadband)
• Cosine of Apparent Solar Zenith Angle(cosine_solar_zenith_angle)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Direct Normal Irradiance, NIMFR(direct_norm_narrowband)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Direct Normal Irradiance, Uncalibrated Silicon Detector, NIMFR(direct_norm_broadband)

• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance, 610 nm(dif4)
• Total Horizontal Irradiance, 500 nm(tot3)
• Direct-normal Irradiance, 665 nm(dirn5)
• Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance, 665 nm(dif5)
• Total Horizontal Irradiance, 610 nm(tot4)
• Direct-normal Irradiance, 610 nm(dirn4)
• Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance, 500 nm(dif3)
• Total Horizontal Irradiance, 940 nm(tot7)
• Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance, 415 nm(dif2)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Direct-normal Irradiance, Broadband Solar(dirn1)
• Direct-normal Irradiance, 415 nm(dirn2)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Total Horizontal Irradiance, 862 nm(tot6)
• Total Horizontal Irradiance, 665 nm(tot5)
• Direct-normal Irradiance, 500 nm(dirn3)
• Datalogger supply voltage(supply_voltage)
• Detector temperature(detector_temp)
• Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance, 940 nm(dif7)
• Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance, 862 nm(dif6)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance, Broadband Solar(dif1)
• Total Horizontal Irradiance, 415 nm(tot2)
• Direct-normal Irradiance, 862 nm(dirn6)
• Total Horizontal Irradiance, Broadband Solar(tot1)
• Direct-normal Irradiance, 940 nm(dirn7)

• Raw data stream - documentation not supported(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Wind Direction(deg)

• Aerosol volume backscattering coefficient at 355 nm(backscatter)
• Lowest cloud base height detected.(first_cbh)
• Millivolts at internal ADC input(window_contamination)
• SUM of detected and normalized backscatter(sum_backscatter)
• GPS raw data filename(filename)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• 6 character string describing instrument measurement parameters(measurement_parameters)
• Altitude of highest signal(alt_highest_signal)
• Warning and alarm status bits(status_string)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Laser temperature(laser_temperature)
• Second lowest cloud base height(second_cbh)
• distance to center of range bin after correcting for offset in sync(range)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Percentage of nominal factory setting (0 to 999%)(receiver_sensitivity)
• Detection status. See details(detection_status)
• Percentage of nominal factory setting (0 to 999%)(laser_pulse_energy)
• Vertical visibility(vertical_visibility)
• Degrees from vertical (-15 to +90)(tilt_angle)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• Millivolts at internal ADC input (0 to 2500)(background_light)
• Flag indicating aeri retrieval status(status_flag)
• Third cloud base height(third_cbh)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)

TWP/C2  Installation

The Nauru ARCS was installed during the period September-November
1998.  Data were being collected by the end of October, but for the
first several weeks of November, the site was undergoing considerable
change, so data from that period should be used with caution.  The
official site dedication occured on November 20.  Most on-site
activity ended following the dedication so we will consider November
20 to be the beginning of the Nauru operations.  The last members of
the installation team left Nauru on November 24.

• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• Wind Direction(deg)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)

• Raw data stream - documentation not supported(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• Wind Direction(deg)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)

TWP/C1 - Incorrect elevation reported in Manus Data

(From Bill Clements) We have been using 6m MSL as the station
elevation of Momote (Manus).  This was based on information
posted near the station barometer in the Momote Weather Service
Office.  It turns out that the official WMO station elevation
for Momote is 4m MSL and the upper air elevation is 5m MSL.

All Manus instruments except the sonde station are at 4m MSL.
The sonde launching station is at 5m MSL.

• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - Broken Temperature Sensor

The temperature sensors on these radiosondes broke at launch.  All
the temperature-related data are incorrect.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C1  - Broken Temperature Sensor

The temperature sensor on these radiosondes broke after launch.
All the temperature related data are incorrect.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/Sonde/C1 - Bad RH Values

The RH values from the surface to approximately 11.5 km oscillate between reasonable 
values and zero.  This is apparently caused by a failure in the RH sensor heating process.  
Although the oscillation stops when the heating stops (at temperatures below ~ -45degC) I 
think the values must be viewed as suspect.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - Bad RH Data (AIRS Validation Sonde)

The RH sensor heating circuit failed on this sonde.  This results in
oscillation of reported RH between reasonable values and values near zero.
This was an AIRS validation sounding.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Questionable RH

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this portion of the sounding 
(approximately between 5km and 10km).  The RH oscillates rapidly between low (~5 %RH) and 
not so low (~50 %RH) and the oscillation seems to stop when the temperature is below ~35 
degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms of failure in the ASIC (application 
specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Bad RH

The RH sensor heating circuit failed on this radiosonde.  The RH-related values obtained 
between 0 and 10000 meters oscillate between near-zero and reasonable ambient values.  
Above 10000 the RH values are likely correct.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Broken temperature sensor

The temperature sensor on this radiosonde broke after launch.  All the temperature-related 
data are incorrect.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - Failure of RH sensor

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this sounding.  The RH 
oscillates rapidly between low (~0 %RH) and not so low (ambient %RH) and the oscillation seems 
to stop when the temperature is below ~35 degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms 
of failure in the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - Strange problem with data -

This is very strange.  The data has what appears to be a pressure jump at launch (from 
1007.2 to 956.5 hPa) but the sounding temperature and RH data clearly look to be 
interpolated between the surface and tropopause.  By examining the absolutely raw data, I found that 
the system assigned an elapsed time of 408 seconds (since system start up) to the launch 
point, but there is no raw data between 410 and 532 seconds.  The raw pressure value at 
410 seconds is 1007.6 hPa and that at 532 seconds is 40.9 hPa!  Unless this sounding was 
done by using a rocket-powered balloon (maybe even then), it would be impossible for the 
sonde to get to 40.9 hPa in 2 minutes.  Because the apparent gap is only two minutes, the 
system was able to interpolate but is not sophisticated enough to understand that the 
limits of the interpolation are unreasonable.

I can't imagine what went wrong - I've not seen anything like this before.

• Raw data stream - documentation not supported(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• Wind Direction(deg)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)

• Raw data stream - documentation not supported(Raw data stream - documentation not supported)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - RH sensor bad

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuits failed during these
soundings.  The RH oscillates rapidly between low (~0 %RH) and not
so low (ambient %RH) and the oscillation seems to stop when the
temperature is below ~35 degC.  According to Vaisala these are
symptoms of failure in the ASIC (application specific integrated
circuit) that controls the heating.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - Broken temperature sensors

The temperature sensors on these radiosondes broke after launch.  All
temperature-related data are incorrect.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - Questionable rH data

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this sounding.  The RH 
oscillates rapidly between low (~0 %RH) and not so low (ambient %RH) and the oscillation seems 
to stop when the temperature is below ~35 degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms 
of failure in the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - Bad RH sensor

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this sounding.  The RH 
oscillates rapidly between low (~0 %RH) and not so low (ambient %RH) and the oscillation seems 
to stop when the temperature is below ~35 degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms 
of failure in the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Broken temperature sensor

The temperature sensor on these radiosondes broke after launch
All the temperature-related data are incorrect.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Bad RH sensors

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this portion of the sounding 
(approximately between 0km and 12km).  The RH oscillates rapidly in a 20% range and the 
oscillation seems to stop when the temperature is below ~45 degC.  These are symptoms of 
failure in the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - Bad RH values aloft

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit on this sonde failed about 24 minutes into 
the flight.  The RH values look reasonable, though somewhat noisy, from the surface to 
approximately 6.9 km (439 hPa) at which point they begin to oscillate between 0 and 100 %.  
This behavior stops when the sonde reaches approximately 11.5km (232 hPa) when the air 
temperature drops below -40 degC.  The oscillation stops at that point, though the RH 
remains higher than might be expected even under supersaturated conditions.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Bad RH sensor

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this portion of the sounding 
(approximately between the surface and 11km).  The RH oscillates rapidly between low (~0 
%RH) and high (~80 %RH) and the oscillation seems to stop when the temperature is below 
~40 degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms of failure in the ASIC (application 
specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Bad RH at beginning of sounding

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this portion of the sounding 
(approximately between 0km and 11km).  The RH oscillates rapidly between low (~15 %RH) and 
not so low (~50 %RH) and the oscillation seems to stop when the temperature is below ~40 
degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms of failure in the ASIC (application 
specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Bad RH at beginning of sounding

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this portion of the sounding 
(approximately between 0km and 11km).  The RH oscillates rapidly between low (~0 %RH) and 
not so low (~80 %RH) and the oscillation seems to stop when the temperature is below ~40 
degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms of failure in the ASIC (application 
specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C1  - Bad RH in short interval aloft

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit on this sonde failed about 31 minutes into 
the flight.  The RH values look reasonable from the surface to approximately 8.25 km at 
which point they begin to oscillate between 0 and 40%.  This behavior stops when the sonde 
reaches approximately 11.0km when the air temperature drops below -40 degC.  The 
oscillation stops at that point, though the RH remains higher than might be expected even under 
supersaturated conditions.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Bad RH at beginning of sounding

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this portion of the sounding 
(approximately between 0km and 11km).  The RH oscillates rapidly between low (~2 %RH) and 
not so low (~90 %RH) and the oscillation seems to stop when the temperature is below ~40 
degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms of failure in the ASIC (application 
specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - RH sensor failure near surface

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this sounding.  The RH 
oscillates rapidly between low (~0 %RH) and not so low (ambient %RH) and the oscillation seems 
to stop when the temperature is below ~35 degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms 
of failure in the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - Operator used wrong calibration tape

It appears as though the opperator used the wrong calibration tape for this sounding.  The 
primary symptom is a jump in temperature from a surface value of 30.1 degC to the first 
value aloft of 61.0 degC.  Secondly, the recorded serial number for this sounding is 
Z1430179 which is the same serial number recorded for the previous sounding.

This problem points to three failures of procedure (I have notified TWP site ops by 
e-mail).  The first failure is using the wrong tape. The second failure is not checking the 
radiosonde values before launch which relates to the third failure of not entering the 
radiosonde values as the surface values of the sounding.

• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Ascent Rate(asc)
• east longitude for all the input platforms.(lon)
• north latitude for all the input platforms.(lat)
• Wind Status(wstat)
• surface wind speed(wspd)
• model meridional wind velocity(v_wind)
• pressure at constant pressure surface(pres)
• Time offset of tweaks from base_time(time_offset)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Time offset from base_time(base_time)
• model zonal wind velocity(u_wind)
• Wind Direction(deg)
• altitude above sea levelaltunits(alt)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - RH sensor failure below 9km

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this sounding.  The RH 
oscillates rapidly between low (~0 %RH) and not so low (ambient %RH) and the oscillation seems 
to stop when the temperature is below ~35 degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms 
of failure in the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - Bad RH values aloft

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit on these sondes failed after launch but 
resume proper operation when the ambient temperature dropped below ~40 degC.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Bad RH at beginning of sounding

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this portion of the sounding 
(approximately between 0km and 11km).  The RH oscillates rapidly between low (~1 %RH) and 
high (~80 %RH).  According to Vaisala these are symptoms of failure in the ASIC 
(application specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Bad RH at beginning of sounding

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this portion of the sounding 
(approximately between 0km and 11km).  The RH oscillates rapidly between low (~5 %RH) and 
not so low (~70 %RH) and the oscillation seems to stop when the temperature is below ~40 
degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms of failure in the ASIC (application 
specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C1 - Bad RH at beginning of sounding

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this portion of the sounding 
(approximately between 0km and 12km).  The RH oscillates rapidly between low (~2 %RH) and 
not so low (~80 %RH) and the oscillation seems to stop when the temperature is below ~40 
degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms of failure in the ASIC (application 
specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Surface dew point temperature(dp)
• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - Bad RH sensor

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this sounding.  The RH 
oscillates rapidly between low (~0 %RH) and not so low (ambient %RH) and the oscillation seems 
to stop when the temperature is below -50 degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms 
of failure in the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2 - Broken temperature sensor

The temperature sensor on this radiosonde broke after launch.  All the temperature-related 
data are incorrect.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - Broken temperature sensor

The temperature sensor on this radiosonde broke after launch.  All the temperature-related 
data are incorrect.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - Broken temperature sensor

The temperature sensor on this radiosonde broke after launch.  All the temperature-related 
data are incorrect.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - Broken temperature sensor

The temperature sensor on this radiosonde broke after launch.  All the temperature-related 
data are incorrect.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Dry-Bulb Temperature(tdry)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)

TWP/SONDE/C2  - Bad RH in lower 8km

It appears that the RH sensor heating circuit failed during this sounding.  The RH 
oscillates rapidly between low (~0 %RH) and not so low (ambient %RH) and the oscillation seems 
to stop when the temperature is below ~35 degC.  According to Vaisala these are symptoms 
of failure in the ASIC (application specific integrated circuit) that controls the heating.

• Relative humidity scaled, by total column amount from MWR(rh)
• Surface dew point temperature(dp)