A Viable Alternative for Conducting Cost-Effective Daily Atmospheric Soundings in Developing Countries

Abstract

e-collected data are of vital importance to a wide variety of studies that aim at understanding the interaction between land surface and the atmosphere, among others. However, atmospheric measurements in developing countries, some of which encompass areas critical to the regulation of global climate, are sparse due to the lack of funding allocated toward collecting such data, and therefore fail to meet the standards set by the World Meteorological Organization. We review current radiosonde technologies and an alternative that aims at lowering sounding costs by recovering the sondes: the glidersonde. Two major issues currently hamper future development and commercialization of this technology: 1) how to have reusable radiosondes while keeping the market viable for the sonde manufacturers, and 2) the need for consistent and effective governmental aviation regulations for developing and flying glidersondes. We conclude this review with an alternative consideration as an incentive for cooperation in the development and implementation of cost-effective sounding equipment.