Correcting Air Temperature Measurements from a Radiation-Exposed Sensor

Despite seeming simplicity, air temperature is one of the most difficult environmental parameters to measure accurately. Current best practice includes housing the air temperature sensor in a radiation shield that is either passively ventilated or actively aspirated. Due to design constraints, the air temperature sensor in the new ATMOS 41 Compact Weather Station cannot be fully shielded from solar radiation. However, since the ATMOS 41 measures wind speed and solar radiation, both of which are primary factors affecting the accuracy of the air temperature measurement, correction is possible. Uncorrected measurements showed errors ranging to 3 °C when compared to measurements made in a state-of-the-art aspirated radiation shield. After correction, error decreased to < 0.5 °C, and yielded better accuracy than commonly-used passive ventilation radiation shields.