Simultaneous Balloon Launches to Investigate Wake Effects on Thermosonde Results

摘要

The thermosonde is a balloon borne instrument used by the Air Force and other organizations to measure optical turbulence in the atmosphere. A continuing uncertainty has been the effect of the balloon wake on the output of the instrument. Previous attempts to compare the results from a descending instrument to those of a nominal thermosonde have proven difficult and inconclusive. Over the years, the length of the line connecting the thermosonde to the balloon was lengthened until it did not seem to change the results. Since those results were never documented, a study was performed to determine the effect of different line lengths. Simultaneous launches were made with different length lines, and the impact on the thermosonde output was determined. while this experiment provided additional information about the effect of balloon wake, definitive quantification of the wake effects was not possible.