Dataset
Met Office Cardington: vertical profile measurements from Vaisala radiosonde ascents, 1996-2024
Abstract
This repository provides data from all radiosondes launched at Cardington between 1996-2024.
The sonde unit was operated by the Met Office Observation-based research Boundary Layer Facility, at the semi-rural field site (18 Ha) of Cardington (52° 06′ N, 00° 25′ W, 29 m ± 1 m amsl) in central-southern England.
Sonde launches were performed with a mean ascent rate of 2.5 m s-1. The slower ascent rate compared to an operational sonde ascent rate enables improved vertical sampling resolution in the atmospheric boundary layer whilst maintaining a sufficient ventilation rate over the sensors. From 1996-2002, a RS80 device was used with ThermoCap, HumiCap, BaroCap sensors, and between 2006-2014 a RS92-SGPB device was used with ThermoCap, HumiCap, capacitive pressure sensors. Sonde launches from 2014-2024 used an RS41-SG(P) device with PRT, silicon capacitive pressure (SGP), and HumiCap sensors.
The launches of radiosondes were performed on a project related basis only and all available ascent data has been provided from the Cardington facility. Please note that there were no ascents in 2022.
A full list of NetCDF variables can be found in "Continuous meteorological surface and soil records (2004-2024) at the Met Office surface site of Cardington, UK." Osborne et al. ESSD (2025). This paper should be referenced in any research/publications pertaining to this dataset.
To ensure optimal traceability and transparency of data, comprehensive metadata is included.
Details
| Previous Info: |
No news update for this record
|
|---|---|
| Previously used record identifiers: |
No related previous identifiers.
|
| Access rules: |
Public data: access to these data is available to both registered and non-registered users.
Use of these data is covered by the following licence(s): http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ When using these data you must cite them correctly using the citation given on the CEDA Data Catalogue record. |
| Data lineage: |
Data were collected by the Met Office Meteorological Research Unit, Cardington, during its operational period. These data have been standardised for the production of this dataset, following similar file metadata conventions for all associated datasets within the continuous hydro-meteorological record (2004-2024) at the Met Office surface site of Cardington, UK Dataset Collection, as described more fully within Osborne et al., (2025). This standardisation approach addressed, where possible, any known data and metadata issues. Data were then deposited at the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) for long-term archival. |
| Data Quality: |
Data are as given by the data provider. Please see Osborne et al., (2025) for a description of quality control and assurance applied (see online resources). No quality control has been performed by the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA).
|
| File Format: |
Data are NetCDF formatted
|
Related Documents
Process overview
Instrument/Platform pairings
| Output Description | None |
- units: hPa
- var_id: air_pressure
- long_name: Air pressure
- units: K
- var_id: air_temperature
- long_name: Air temperature
- var_id: CAPE
- units: J/kg
- long_name: Convective Available Potential Energy
- units: J/kg
- var_id: CINH
- long_name: Convective Inhibition
- units: m s-1
- var_id: wind_east
- long_name: Easterly wind component
- units: s
- var_id: elapsed_time
- long_name: Elapsed time
- units: m
- standard_name: altitude
- var_id: height
- long_name: Geopotential height above mean sea level
- units: m
- var_id: CCL_Z
- long_name: Height of Convective Condensation Level
- units: m
- var_id: EL_Z
- long_name: Height of Equilibrium Level
- units: m
- var_id: FreezingLevel_2
- long_name: Height of Freezing Level
- units: m
- var_id: LFC_Z
- long_name: Height of Level of Free Convection
- units: m
- var_id: LCL_Z
- long_name: Height of Lifting Condensation Level
- units: K
- var_id: K_index
- long_name: K Index
- units: K
- var_id: Ko_index
- long_name: KO Index
- units: K
- var_id: LI
- long_name: Lifted Index
- units: m s-1
- var_id: mean_ascent_rate
- long_name: Mean sonde ascent rate
- units: m s-1
- var_id: mean_ascent_rate_400_to_termination
- long_name: Mean sonde ascent rate from 400hPa level to termination
- units: m s-1
- var_id: mean_ascent_rate_to_400
- long_name: Mean sonde ascent rate from surface to 400hPa level
- units: m s-1
- var_id: wind_north
- long_name: Northerly wind component
- units: 1
- var_id: ptu_status
- long_name: PTU status flag
- units: K
- long_name: Potential temperature
- var_id: potential_temperature
- units: hPa
- var_id: CCL_P
- long_name: Pressure at Convective Condensation Level
- units: hPa
- var_id: EL_P
- long_name: Pressure at Equilibrium Level
- units: hPa
- var_id: LFC_P
- long_name: Pressure at Level of Free Convection
- units: hPa
- var_id: LCL_P
- long_name: Pressure at Lifting Condensation Level
- units: m
- var_id: east
- long_name: Radiosonde distance east from launch site
- units: m
- var_id: north
- long_name: Radiosonde distance north from launch site
- var_id: relative_humidity
- units: %
- long_name: Relative humidity
- units: K
- var_id: S_index
- long_name: S Index
- units: K
- var_id: SI
- long_name: Showalter Stability Index
- units: m s-1
- var_id: ascent_rate
- long_name: Sonde ascent rate
- units: K
- var_id: CCL_T
- long_name: Temperature at Convective Condensation Level
- units: K
- var_id: EL_T
- long_name: Temperature at Equilibrium Level
- units: K
- var_id: LFC_T
- long_name: Temperature at Level of Free Convection
- units: K
- var_id: LCL_T
- long_name: Temperature at Lifting Condensation Level
- units: K
- var_id: TT_index
- long_name: Total totals Index
- units: degrees
- var_id: wind_direction
- long_name: Wind direction
- units: 1
- var_id: wind_interpolation
- long_name: Wind interpolation flag (0=not interpolated, 1= interpolated)
- units: degrees
- var_id: azimuth
- long_name: bearing of balloon from launch site
- units: K
- var_id: dewpoint
- long_name: dewpoint
- units: g kg-1
- long_name: mixing ratio
- var_id: mixr
- units: m
- var_id: range
- long_name: range of balloon from launch site
- units: m s-1
- var_id: wind_speed
- long_name: wind speed
Co-ordinate Variables
- units: degrees_north
- standard_name: latitude
- var_id: latitude
- long_name: sonde latitude
- units: degrees_east
- standard_name: longitude
- var_id: longitude
- long_name: sonde longitude
- standard_name: time
- var_id: time
- units: hours
Temporal Range
1996-05-22T07:56:00
2024-09-21T14:00:19
Geographic Extent
52.1047° |
||
-0.4216° |
-0.4216° |
|
52.1047° |