Dropsonde Design, Calibration, and Testing for Multi-Point Measurement
of Thunderstorm Electrical Structures
Abstract
Electric field measurements are necessary to understand thunderstorm
evolution and lightning initiation. However, most existing measurements
are made with single instruments carried by weather balloons. It is
difficult to interpret such data since a change in observed electric
field could be due either to motion of the instrument or
charging/discharging currents. In order to decouple these behaviors, it
is necessary to make simultaneous measurements at multiple locations. To
avoid the complexity of multiple balloon launches, we describe a single
balloon instrument with multiple, independent dropsondes to be released
at desired time intervals. The dropsondes are designed to rotate and be
self stabilizing, enabling them to measure electric fields as they fall.
The dropsondes are lightweight, robust, and low-cost, and include a
preamplifier, GPS receiver, search coil and accelerometer for
orientation sensing, microcontroller, and a telemetry system to transmit
data to a ground station. Prototype instruments have been drop-tested to
demonstrate aerodynamic stability and rotation and have been calibrated
for electric field measurement. A balloon payload set to release a set
of such dropsondes via hot-wire release mechanisms can thus accomplish
the goal of multi-point measurements of thunderstorm electrical
structures.