The Use of Compensated Aerological No-Lift Balloons to Determine Relatively Long-Term Dry-Air Parcel Trajectories

Abstract

A method to compensate the loss of buoyancy due to gas leakage from aerological no-lift balloons is presented. The method is implemented by means of a double vessel device that supplies a constant liquid outflow at constant temperature. It is shown that the average buoyancy loss rate dependence on temperature is almost perfectly matched by the outflow rate dependence on temperature when soya-bean oil is used. The device is simple, inexpensive and can be easily manufactured using standard laboratory equipment. A simple and safe method to carry no-lift systems to prefixed levels is also presented. It is based on a single 30 g pilot balloon provided with a gas leakage nozzle, inflated with H2 to a calibrated initial free-lift. The balloon is totally emptied at the required level, and remains suspended from the no-lift system. The whole system can be easily prepared under field conditions to be used in long travel-time studies of dry-air parcel trajectories in the atmosphere. An example of the use of the improved method over complex terrain is presented. A no-lift system provided with a 1680 MHz radiosonde transmitter, was tracked by two RD-65 radio-theodolites, to investigate the effects of the topographic structure of the Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) area on the Mediterranean sea breeze summer regime. The system was tracked for at least one hour, following a trajectory with severe vertical variations. This increases our confidence in the ability to track much longer trajectories, if required.