Temperature and horizontal wind measurements on the ER‐2 aircraft during the 1987 Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment

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Abstract
The Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) provides accurate in situ measurements of atmospheric state variables. Since MMS data products (temperature, pressure, and wind) are extensively used by ER‐2 investigators, the accuracy of these parameters is discussed. During the 1987 Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment (AAOE) mission, the ER‐2 aircraft flew over Antarctica on 12 occasions between August 17 and September 22, 1987. The flight plan was to take off at about the same local time, fly southward on an isentropic surface, descend and ascend at the southern terminus over Antarctica, and return northward along the same or a different isentropic surface. MMS data are organized to provide a composite view of the polar atmosphere, which is characterized by frigid temperatures and high zonal winds. Vertical temperature profiles (during aircraft takeoff and landing and during the descent at the southern terminus) and latitudinal variations of the zonal wind are presented. On the basis of observational data, model atmospheres between 0 and 32 km at 70° and 55°S for the August‐September period are proposed. The model atmospheres, representative of the Antarctic environment of the AAOE campaign, are recommended to investigators for the analysis of the AAOE data set.