The Upper-Air Radiosonde (Balloon) temperature data set is similar to the MSU data set in that it provides a measure of temperature over a vertical area of the lower troposphere (850-300 mb, or roughly 5000 - 30,000 feet). Most of the radiosonde data values have been calculated as column-mean temperatures, obtained from the differences in height (or thickness) between constant-pressure surfaces in the atmosphere. There are 63 individual radiosonde stations that make up the data, which are presented as latitude-band temperature averages for the following latitude zones: 90°S-60°S, 60°S-30°S, 30°S-10°S, 10°S-10°N, 10°N-30°N, 30°N-60°N and 60°N-90°N. Temperature values are presented as departures from the 1958-1977 mean and the period of coverage is from 1958 to 1998.

When referencing this data set, or any of its output as calculated on our web site, please cite as:

Angell, J.K. 1999. Global, hemispheric, and zonal temperature deviations derived from radiosonde records. In: Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.

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