COAT Project: Intercomparison of Thermometer Radiation Shields in the Arctic

A metrological field intercomparison of thermometer radiation shields in the Arctic was conducted with the aim of obtaining information to increase the worldwide comparability of air temperature measurements. Air temperature measurements are performed by different combinations of thermometers and sh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Atmosphere
Main Authors: Carmen García Izquierdo, Sonia Hernandez, Marina Parrondo, Alberto Casas, Angelo Viola, Mauro Mazzola, Andrea Merlone, Yves-Alain Roulet
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024
Subjects:
air temperature measurements
thermometer radiation shields
arctic
metrology for climate
uncertainties in air temperature measurements
intercomparison of instruments in the field
Meteorology. Climatology
QC851-999
Arctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15070841
https://doaj.org/article/53f8495d98bf449fafbfacf147156e26
Description
Summary:A metrological field intercomparison of thermometer radiation shields in the Arctic was conducted with the aim of obtaining information to increase the worldwide comparability of air temperature measurements. Air temperature measurements are performed by different combinations of thermometers and shields. The response of each system (thermometer + shield) to local meteorological conditions depends on the system itself, limiting the comparability of air temperature measurements. Ten different models of radiation shields were included in the intercomparison, involving two campaigns: (1) the laboratory campaign, where all the instrumentation was calibrated just before and just after the field campaign, and (2) the field campaign that lasted 14 months where 41 thermometers were sampled every 2 min. All the delivered data were subjected to quality control to assure the robustness of the conclusions. A reference shield was defined, and the other shields were compared to the reference one for the conditions where maximum divergences were expected, solar irradiance being the highest impact factor. A maximum divergence value of 1.29 °C was derived for one of the shields and, for all the shields, the difference from the reference one decreases with wind speed. Finally, the uncertainties associated with the shields intercomparison were calculated.

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