A term used to describe a sensor (or sensors), the associated transducer(s), and the data readout or recording device.

An elongated area of relatively high pressure. Usually associated with and most clearly identified as an area of maximum anticyclonic curvature of the wind flow. The opposite of a trough.

The outer, solid portion of the earth: the crust of the earth.

A feeble oscillatory disturbance of the earth's crust, detectable only by very sensitive seismographs. Certain types of microseisms seem to be closely correlated with pressure disturbances. See microbarm.

A rocket designed primarily for routine upper air observations in the lower 250,000 feet of the atmosphere, especially that portion inaccessible to balloons (above 100,000 feet).

Of or pertaining to rain.

A unit of luminous flux. The lumen is equal to the luminous flux radiated into a unit solid angle (steradian) from a small source having a luminous intensity of one candle. An ideal source possessing an intensity of one candle in every direction would rad ...

A type of wind vane having a split or V-shaped tail. The apex orients itself to the direction of the wind.

Particle on which the freezing of water occurs.

Any horizontal wind velocity tangent to the contour line of a constant pressure surface (or to the isobar of a geopotential surface) at the point in question.

Apparatus designed to measure and record the size distribution of raindrops as they occur in the atmosphere.

A balloon having a detachable tail which is released when the balloon has undergone a predetermined expansion. It thus serves to measure approximately the density of the atmosphere at the point of release.

Root Mean Square. This notation is used frequently with error analysis. In that context, it is the square root of the arithmetic mean of the squares of the deviations of the individual calibration points from the theoretical or ideal response.

A hydrometeor consisting of an aggregate of microscopic and more-or-less hygroscopic water droplets suspended in the atmosphere. It reduces visibility to a lesser extent than fog. The relative humidity of mist is often less than 95 percent.

A photoelectric spectrophotometer which is used in the determination of the ozone content of the atmosphere.

A measure, proposed by Angstrom, of the precipitation effectiveness of a region.

A colorless and odorless gaseous element. The lightest and apparently the most abundant chemical element in the universe. However, it is found only in trace quantities in the observable portion of our atmosphere, only about 0.00005 percent by volume of dr ...

Same as atmometer.

One of several constant-pressure levels in the atmosphere for which a complete evaluation of data derived from upper air observations is required.

The closeness of agreement among measurements of the same value of the same quantity where the individual measurements are made under different defined conditions, i.e. by different methods or with different measuring instruments.