Department of Earth Sciences

Millersville Meteorology Celebrates 30 Years of Research

VALIDATION OF SODAR/RASS MEASUREMENTS WITH RAWINDSONDE RETRIEVALS

Each year since 2018, Millersville faculty and students have conducted a series of rawinsonde launches over the course of 2-3 days for the purpose of validating the wind and virtual temperatures measurements obtained by the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) using a Scintec Acoustic SODAR system with a RASS extension. Typically, three meteorology students from Millersville University assist the ACHD with a research initiative involving Sound Detection and Ranging (SODAR) observations and Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) retrievals with rawinsonde measurements in Clairton, Pennsylvania. Under the direction of faculty members Drs. Greg Blumberg and Richard Clark, as well as Weather Center Director Kyle Elliott, the students launch weather balloons to validate the on-site SODAR measurement - a requirement of the EPA. A radiosonde, or instrument used to transmit pressure, temperature, and relative humidity measurements at various levels of the atmosphere, is attached to each balloon. When a radiosonde is tracked so that wind speed and direction measurements are also provided, it is called a rawinsonde observation. The data is used to better understand the changes in the diurnal transition of the planetary boundary layer in the Monongahela Valley and its impact on the transport of pollutants.