MOSAiC Expedition Radiosonde Profiles from 2019-10 to 2020-09

The MOSAiC expedition collected balloon-borne radiosonde profiles from the R/V Polarstern in the Arctic. The Level 2 dataset contains measurements of temperature, pressure, relative humidity, and wind up to approximately 30 km altitude, typically four times daily. Author Marion Maturilli processed the data with quality control for physical ranges, noting it as a usable product before final processing.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical atmospheric profiles based on temperature, pressure, and humidity measurements.
• Studying polar wind patterns based on wind direction and speed data.
• Validating climate and weather models for the Arctic region based on high-frequency observational data.
• Investigating boundary layer processes based on data from the lowermost part of the profiles.

Strengths

• Data covers a full annual cycle from October 2019 to September 2020.
• Profiles extend to approximately 30 km altitude with four daily launches.
• Quality control for appropriate physical ranges has been applied.

Limitations

• Potential inconsistencies in physical data, particularly in the lowermost profiles, are not corrected.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Marion Maturilli

Collection Method

Balloon-borne radiosondes launched from the R/V Polarstern.

Time Range

2019-10 to 2020-09

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Arctic Ocean, latitudes >89° N