ATTREX_Sondes_Data is the balloonsonde and ozonesonde data collected during the during the Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment (ATTREX) campaign. Data from ozonesondes, radiosondes, and the NOAA Frostpoint Hygrometer (FPH) are featured in this collection. Data collection for this product is complete.
Even though it is typically found in low concentrations, stratospheric water vapor has large impacts on the Earth’s climate and energy budget. Studies have suggested that even relatively small changes in stratospheric humidity may have significant climate impacts and future changes in stratospheric humidity and ozone concentration in response to a changing climate are significant climate feedbacks. Tropospheric water vapor climate feedback is typically well represented in global models. However, predictions of future changes in stratospheric humidity are highly uncertain due to gaps in our understanding of physical processes occurring in the region of the atmosphere that controls the composition of the stratosphere, the Tropical Tropopause Layer (TTL, ~13-18 km). The ability to predict future changes in stratospheric ozone are also limited due to uncertainties in the chemical composition of the TTL. In order to address these uncertainties, the Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX) was completed. Instruments during ATTREX provided measurements to trace the movement of reactive halogen-containing compounds and other important chemical species, the size and shape of cirrus cloud particles, water vapor, and winds in three dimensions through the TTL. Bromine-containing gases were measured to improve understanding of stratospheric ozone. ATTREX consisted of four NASA Global Hawk Uninhabited Aerial System (UAS) campaigns deployed from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center (formally Dryden Flight Research Center). Campaigns were deployed over Edwards, CA, Guam, Hawaii, and Darwin, Australia in Boreal summer, winter, fall, and summer, respectively.