El Niño Rapid Response Radiosonde Data from NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown

February 16 to March 16, 2016 radiosonde data was collected from NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown during the El Niño Rapid Response Field Campaign. The Level 2 dataset contains high-resolution, 1-second vertical profiles of atmospheric variables like temperature, humidity, pressure, and wind, reprocessed with corrected surface observations and automatic quality control. NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory led the campaign to document the 2015-2016 El Niño event in detail.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of air_temperature and dew_point_temperature to study atmospheric stability and moisture transport during a strong El Niño.
• Validating numerical weather prediction models using high-resolution, quality-controlled wind vectors (eastward_wind, northward_wind) and air_pressure data.
• Studying the spatial evolution of the El Niño event by correlating atmospheric conditions (relative_humidity, geopotential_height) with ship-track location data (latitude, longitude).
• Investigating data quality and sensor performance by examining the suite of status_flag columns for each measured variable.

Strengths

• Data has undergone reprocessing with corrected surface observations and automatic, objective quality control checks.
• High temporal resolution of 1-second measurements within each atmospheric sounding provides detailed vertical profiles.
• Collection occurred during the intensive El Niño Rapid Response Field Campaign, targeting a scientifically significant event.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates exist between sources (2016-03-16 vs. 2026-03-05), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Key metadata such as row count, total size, specific license, and author are unknown across all platforms.

Provenance

Source

NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory's Physical Sciences Division

Collection Method

Radiosondes launched 4 to 8 times per day from NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown.

Time Range

2016-02-16 to 2016-03-16

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:45:49.074545

Geography

Central and Eastern Pacific Ocean, along a ship track from Honolulu, Hawaii, to TAO buoys at 140°W and 125°W, to San Diego, California.