radiosonde (redirected from Rawinsondes)

radiosonde (rā`dēōsŏnd), group of instruments for simultaneous measurement and radio transmission of meteorological data, including temperature, pressure, and humidity of the atmosphere. The instrument package is usually carried into the atmosphere by a balloon (see weather balloon); balloon-borne radiosondes reach altitudes as great as 90,000 ft (27,400 m) above the earth's surface. A radiosonde may also be carried by a rocket, in which case it is known as a rocketsonde, or dropped by parachute (usually from an aircraft), in which case it is known as a dropsonde. Instruments included in a radiosonde are typically transducers for humidity, temperature, and pressure measurements; controls to improve return signals and determine which measurements are to be transmitted to data stations; and a radio transmitter. Radar also has been used to measure and transmit meteorological data from a radiosonde. These radiosonde observations are made as often as four times daily at some meteorological stations around the globe.

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radiosonde

an airborne instrument to send meteorological information back to earth by radio

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radiosonde [′rād·ē·ō‚sänd]

(engineering)

A balloon-borne instrument for the simultaneous measurement and transmission of meteorological data; the instrument consists of transducers for the measurement of pressure, temperature, and humidity, a modulator for the conversion of the output of the transducers to a quantity which controls a property of the radio-frequency signal, a selector switch which determines the sequence in which the parameters are to be transmitted, and a transmitter which generates the radio-frequency carrier.