Abstract

The NCAR Research Dropsonde NRD41 is one of the main instruments for in situ profiling during the Organization of Tropical East Pacific Convection (OTREC) field campaign, which took place in August and September 2019. In total, 648 dropsondes were successfully released from the NCAR G-V research ... Show moreThe NCAR Research Dropsonde NRD41 is one of the main instruments for in situ profiling during the Organization of Tropical East Pacific Convection (OTREC) field campaign, which took place in August and September 2019. In total, 648 dropsondes were successfully released from the NCAR G-V research aircraft over the Eastern Pacific and over the Western Caribbean. OTREC is the first large research campaign, which deployed this newest of NCAR’s line of dropsondes. Here we present an overview of the observations, and discuss the data quality of these unique measurements. With 97 % of all soundings reporting complete profiles of thermodynamic and wind measurements to the surface. Significant improvements have been made in measurements of humidity from dropsondes, which now are possible up to nearly the altitude of the NCAR G-V high altitude research aircraft and temperatures down to -60°C. This confirms earlier reports of the data quality from the larger RD41 dropsonde, used by NOAA and the Air Force in their hurricane missions, which shares the same sensors, GPS receiver, and electronics. Show less