Development of balloon-borne reel-down and -up winch system

Matsuzaka, Y.; Yamagami, T.; Yamanaka, Manabu D.; Nishimura, J.

doi:10.1016/0273-1177(85)90421-1

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The battery pack is charged from the Zephyr while docked. Lithium batteries can be damaged through lithium plating when charged at temperature below 0 • C (Petzl et al, 2015); thus the battery pack is temperature controlled at 0 • C, while the rest of the profiler is controlled to −20 • C.…”

Section: Profilermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ing zero-pressure balloon at an altitude of 39 km over Palestine, Texas. At about the same time, a smaller winch system was developed in Japan to deploy a 22 kg payload 3 km below a zero-pressure balloon in flight (Matsuzaka et al, 1985). Miniaturized instruments, advanced manufacturing and materials, and improvements in battery technology have made smaller, lighter, and less expensive reel-down systems a reality for use on constellations of small balloons without the prospect of instrument recovery.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A reel-down instrument system for profile measurements of water vapor, temperature, clouds, and aerosol beneath constant-altitude scientific balloons

et al. 2021

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Abstract. The tropical tropopause layer (TTL; 14–18.5 km) is the gateway for most air entering the stratosphere, and therefore processes within this layer have an outsized influence in determining global stratospheric ozone and water vapor concentrations. Despite the importance of this layer there are few in situ measurements with the necessary detail to resolve the fine-scale processes within this region. Here, we introduce a novel platform for high-resolution in situ profiling that lowers and retracts a suspended instrument package beneath drifting long-duration balloons in the tropics. During a 100 d circumtropical flight, the instrument collected over a hundred 2 km profiles of temperature, water vapor, and aerosol at 1 m resolution, yielding unprecedented geographic sampling and vertical resolution. The instrument system integrates proven sensors for water vapor, temperature, pressure, and cloud and aerosol particles with an innovative mechanical reeling and control system. A technical evaluation of the system performance demonstrated the feasibility of this new measurement platform for future missions with minor modifications. Six instruments planned for two upcoming field campaigns are expected to provide over 4000 profiles through the TTL, quadrupling the number of high-resolution aircraft and balloon profiles collected to date. These and future measurements will provide the necessary resolution to diagnose the importance of competing mechanisms for the transport of water vapor across the TTL.

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Section: Profilermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A reel-down instrument system for profile measurements of water vapor, temperature, clouds, and aerosol beneath constant-altitude scientific balloons

et al. 2021

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“…Hazen and Anderson (1985) describe a large winch system that was deployed on a zero pressure balloon on at least two occasions, deploying a 62 kg payload 12 km below a drifting zero pressure balloon at an altitude of 39 km over Palestine, Texas. At about the same time, a smaller winch system was developed in Japan to deploy a 22 kg payload 3 km below a zero pressure balloon in flight (Matsuzaka et al, 1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Reel-Down Instrument System for Profile Measurements of Water Vapor, Temperature, Clouds and Aerosol Beneath Constant Altitude Scientific Balloons

Kalnajs¹,

Davis²,

Goetz³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Abstract. The Tropical Tropopause Layer (14–18.5 km) is the gateway for most air entering the stratosphere, and therefore processes within this layer have an outsized influence in determining global stratospheric ozone and water vapor concentrations. Despite the importance of this layer there are few in situ measurements with the necessary detail to resolve the fine scale processes within this region. Here, we introduce a novel platform for high resolution in situ profiling that lowers and retracts a suspended instrument package beneath drifting long duration balloons in the tropics. During a 100-day circumtropical flight, the instrument collected over 100 two-kilometer profiles of temperature, water vapor and aerosol at one-meter resolution, yielding unprecedented geographic sampling and vertical resolution. The instrument system integrates proven sensors for water vapor, temperature, pressure and cloud and aerosol particles with an innovative mechanical reeling and control system. A technical evaluation of the system performance demonstrated the feasibility of this new measurement platform for future missions with minor modifications. Six instruments planned for two upcoming field campaigns are expected to provide over 4000 profiles through the TTL, quadrupling the number of high-resolution aircraft and balloon profiles collected to date. These and future measurements will provide the necessary resolution to diagnose the importance of competing mechanisms for the transport of water vapor across the TTL.

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