Radiation dry bias of the Vaisala RS92 humidity sensor

The comparison of simultaneous humidity measurements by the Vaisala RS92 radiosonde and by the Cryogenic Frostpoint Hygrometer (CFH) launched at Alajuela, Costa Rica, during July 2005 reveals a large solar radiation dry bias of the Vaisala RS92 humidity sensor and a minor temperature-dependent calibration error. For soundings launched at solar zenith angles between 10° and 30°, the average dry bias is on the order of 9% at the surface and increases to 50% at 15 km. A simple pressure- and temperature-dependent correction based on the comparison with the CFH can reduce this error to less than 7% at all altitudes up to 15.2 km, which is 700 m below the tropical tropopause. The correction does not depend on relative humidity, but is able to reproduce the relative humidity distribution observed by the CFH.

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Author Vöemel, H.
Selkirk, H.
Miloshevich, Larry M.
Valverde-Canossa, J.
Valdés, J.
Kyrö, E.
Kivi, R.
Stolz, W.
Peng, G.
Diaz, J.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2007-06-01T00:00:00
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Topic Category geoscientificInformation
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Metadata Date 2025-07-17T17:01:42.309966
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:6742
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Vöemel, H., Selkirk, H., Miloshevich, Larry M., Valverde-Canossa, J., Valdés, J., Kyrö, E., Kivi, R., Stolz, W., Peng, G., Diaz, J.. (2007). Radiation dry bias of the Vaisala RS92 humidity sensor. UCAR/NCAR - Library. https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d78g8kxm. Accessed 12 August 2025.

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