Radiosounding system upgrade and modernization

Elsis ts

UAB Elsis TS in 2020 September 8 signed an agreement with the Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service under the Ministry of Environment (hereinafter – LHMT) on the renewal of radiosonde equipment, acquisition of radiosondes with aerological bladders, renovation of the radiosounding building.

Until now, LHMT has used the radiosonde equipment and probes installed in 2010 by UAB ELSIS TS and the manufacturer of radiosonde systems Vaisala Oyj. During the execution of the contract, the hardware of this system will be upgraded, including the latest version of the software. There will also be a refurbishment of the aerial bladder hydrogenation building, both externally and internally, and the installation of a hydrogen gas supply system and security of gas supply for a period of five years.

The radiosonde system measures atmospheric pressure, air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction with the help of a hydrogen-inflated bladder carried by the probe. Following the upgrade and modernization, LHMT will improve the quality of its services. Aerological observations are used to make LHMT meteorological forecasts. Radiosonde data increase the reliability of meteorological forecasts. The data obtained are thus transmitted to the global / regional network of meteorological stations in accordance with international cooperation agreements.

The need for aerological observations (direct measurements of meteorological conditions in the troposphere and lower stratosphere) is laid down in WMO Technical Regulation no. 1160 Annex, Section 5.7, Sections 5.7.1, 5.7.4 (2019). Radiosounding data are used to make forecasts for both Lithuanian and European digital atmospheric models (field analysis, forecast quality assessment), to forecast environmental pollution, to assess long-range transboundary atmospheric pollutant transport, to study atmospheric processes, for aviation, etc. Without these data, predicting many natural and catastrophic phenomena is very difficult or impossible at all. Based on the 2016 According to a study published in the Journal of the American Meteorological Society, the accuracy of radiosonde information predictions increases by 15 percent.

Main equipment suppliers: Vaisala Oyj (Finland).

The contract was concluded in the framework of the implementation of the project “Renewal of the Hydrological and Meteorological Observation Network” financed by the European Union Structural Funds. 05.1.1-APVA-V-004-01-0007.

The value of the contract is more than 357,000 EUR without VAT, the works are planned to be performed by 31.12.2020.