Reducing the Environmental Impact of Radiosonde Observations

Radiosondes are used to obtain crucial information about the atmosphere for the purposes of
weather forecasting, including public safety, critical severe weather forecasting, medium range numerical weather prediction, as well as climatological and other atmospheric research. The societal value of radiosondes is significant in that they provide backbone data for numerical models and weather forecasting to help to prevent loss of life and property.

After the flight, some of the radiosondes together with a latex balloon, a cord, and a parachute, remain in the nature. The full recovery of radiosondes is not feasible from an environmental or economic perspective. Therefore, it is important to work consistently with a long-term perspective to find means to reduce the environmental footprint of sounding operations.

During the last decades battery technology has evolved to a smaller size and weight reducing the environmental impact of radiosondes. In addition, the amount of electronic hardware as well as plastic material has been reduced significantly since the 1990s.

One of the ways to reduce the environmental impact of radiosondes is to use biodegradable and microplastic-free materials. The use of a biodegradable and microplastic-free twine with Vaisala Radiosonde RS41 was introduced in 2022. This twine is made of natural fibers that decompose in soil and water within a few months, unlike the conventional polypropylene twine that can last for years.

This presentation will include the next step to further reduce the environmental impact with the use of innovative materials in radiosondes. We will go through the testing and performance verification during the presentation. Our results suggest that the environmental footprint of radiosondes can indeed be reduced through research and development and that technological advancements in instrumentation can enable more sustainable meteorological observations.