GRIP Hurricane Dropsonde Atmospheric Profiles from 16 Flights

328 GPS-located dropsondes deployed from a DC-8 aircraft captured vertical atmospheric profiles during the 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) campaign. Measurements include pressure, dry-bulb and dew point temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, and fall rate. The dataset was created by the GHRC DAAC to study tropical storm formation and hurricane intensification.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical wind shear and thermodynamic profiles to identify conditions favorable for tropical cyclone rapid intensification.
• Validating and improving numerical weather prediction models by comparing simulated atmospheric columns with observed dropsonde data.
• Studying the relationship between dew point temperature, relative humidity, and storm development within the storm environment.
• Calculating derived quantities like lapse rates or humidity gradients from the concurrent pressure and temperature measurements.

Strengths

• Contains 328 individual dropsonde profiles, providing a substantial sample of in-situ atmospheric observations.
• Data collected via the Airborne Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS), known for highly accurate, GPS-located measurements.
• Covers a focused 37-day campaign (August 17 to September 22, 2010) during peak Atlantic hurricane season.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates: one source states 2026-03-13, another states 2010-09 22, casting doubt on maintenance.
• Specific column names and the total row count are not provided by any platform.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without clear terms.

Provenance

Source

GHRC DAAC (Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center)

Collection Method

Measurements collected by dropsondes ejected from a DC-8 aircraft, transmitting data via a 400 MHz telemetry link during 16 research flights.

Time Range

2010-08-17 to 2010-09-22

Freshness

2026-03 13 01:38:37.674190

Geography

Vertical atmospheric columns below the DC-8 aircraft flight paths during the GRIP campaign, location unspecified.