Surface Meteorological

Instruments
Weather Element to be measured
Atmospheric Pressure
Wind Speed and Direction
Atmospheric Temperature
Atmospheric Humidity
Precipitation (Rain and Snow)
Evaporation
Soil temperature
Sunshine and Solar Radiation
Instruments used for the purpose
Barometer
Anemometer
Thermometer
Psychrometer and Hygrograph
Precipitation Gauge with rain measure
Glass, Snow Gauge and self recording rain
gauge or precipitation gauge
Evaporimeter
Soil Thermometer
Sunshine recorder and radiometer
• In addition to the appropriate surface instruments,
some Visual observations are also made at observation
stations
– Type and amount of clouds
– Height of cloud base
– Atmospheric visibility
– Present and Past weather
At Aviation weather stations, visibility and height of cloud
base is of vital importance for aircraft operations (special
type of more complex surface based instruments like
Transmissometers, visibility meters and ceilometers for
more precise measurements are used)
Measurement of Surface Atmospheric
Pressure
• MerCury Barometer
• Kew Pattern Barometers
• Fortin Barometer
• Aneroid Barometers
• Digital Barometers
– that produces electrical output proportional to the
variations in atmospheric pressure
– and with associated electronics, displayed digitally or
incorporated into any other data acquisition and
processing system
– or for recording or telemetering data as required in
automatic weather stations
Measurement of Surface Atmospheric
Pressure
• Basic sensing elements of a Digital barometer
– Aneroid capsule,
– LVDT,
– Capacitive type ,
– Piezo electric solid state silicon device
– Miniature strain gauges cemented to a pressure
sensitive diaphragm
– Microtorque potentiometers with wiper contacts
suitable linked to aneroid capsule
Measurement of Surface Temperature
• Meteorological investigations require
information on
– air temperature from near earth’s surface to the
highest levels in the upper atmosphere
– Temperature over ocean surfaces
– Agro meteorologist measures soil temperature at
various depths below the earth’s surface
Measurement of Surface Temperature
• Meteriological Thermometers for air temperature
– Liquid-in glass thermometers
– Liquid –in metal thermometers
– Bimetallic thermometers
– Electrical thermometers
• Thrmistor
• Thermocouples
– Sonic Thermometers (Variations in the speed of sound
with changes in temperature give a measure of air
temperature)
Measurement of Surface Temperature
• Measurement of Soil Temperature
– specially designed thermometers sunk in to the earth to
the desired depths
– Standard depths are 5,10,20,50 and 100cm below the
surface
• Measurement of Sea surface Temperature
– Temperature of the mixed layer of water nearest to the
sea surface, just underlying the top skin of the surface
– For Meteorologists to study various air-sea interaction
processes and also generally carried out by
oceonographic vessels and large number of commercial
ships
Measurement of Surface Atmospheric
Humidity
• Atmospheric humidity refers to the presence of
moisture or water vapour in the atmosphere
• Measurement and control of humidity is an
essential requirement in process industries,
electronics and various branches of physics,
chemistry, biology and agriculture.
• Instruments used are Hygrometers
Measurement of Surface Atmospheric
Humidity
• Wet and dry bulb thermometer hygrometer
(Psychrometers) widely used instruments in routine
surface meteorological practices.
• Mechanical hygrometers
• Electrical hygrometers (make use of specially prepared
films of materials as sensing element)
• Dew point hygrometers
• Spectroscopic hygrometers
• Gravimetric hygrometers
Measurement of Surface Atmospheric
Humidity
• Electrical hygrometers
– Instruments designed make use of characteristics of
certain materials which exhibits changes in their
electrical properties like resistance/capacitance or
dielectric constant due to moisture absorption,
there by changes in relative humidity is proportional
to changes in electric properties.
– Lithium chloride hygrometer, solid state thin film
capacitor, carbon humidity sensor and aluminum
oxide sensor.
 Measurement of Surface Wind
• Wind flow is horizontal flow of air past a given point
in any direction. It is a 3-D vector quantity having
both magnitude and direction.
• For routine meteriological purposes, wind is
characterised by horizontal wind flow (vertical
component disregarded) and considered as 2-D
vector quantity.
• Sensors for measurement of wind direction are
known as Wind vanes while those used for
measuring wind speed are called as anemometers
 Measurement of Surface Wind
• Ordinary wind vanes and cup anemometers
– Win vanes( Flat plate, aerofoil, splayed vane and double
vane)
• Propeller cum vane combination sensor
• Pressure tube tube wind sensor
• Hotwire anemometer
• Sonic anemometer
Most common type of anemometers in meteriological
network of stations or routine wind observations are i)
cup type anemometers ii) Propeller/vane
anemometers
 Measurement of Precipitation
• Precipitation reaches the ground in many forms like
rain, snow,hail etc.
• The total amount of precipitation includes the
rainfall and the liquid water equivalent of snow/hail
etc. when melted.
• Measurement are made carefully with established
network of rain gauges in an area/region so as to
ensure that it provides a truly representative sample
of precipitation falling in the area around the gauge.
 Measurement of Precipitation
• Ordinary non recording rain gauge.
– Simon’s pattern rain gauge (collector made of
copper sheeet). Now made of Fibre glass
reinforced plastic (FRP) material
– Modern IMD (India meteorological Department)
essentially consists of a collector with a deep set
funnel made from FRP material with sharp upper
edged gun metal rim
• Recording rain gauges
Measurement of Precipitation
Measurement of Precipitation
Measurement of Precipitation