Anomalous Difference between Hydrostatically Calculated and Directly Measured Heights Revealed by Echo-Sonde Observation

Abstract

Comparison is made between hydrostatically calculated and directly measured heights which were obtained by echo-sonde observations There exists a large systematic height difference which has the magnitude of order of 200m in the troposphere. The fact that such difference differs station to station seems to suggest that directly measured heights contain systematic error, as pointed out by Nyui and Matsuhashi (1967).
Next, characteristic features of meteorological conditions are examined in the cases where anomalous height difference was observed. It is shown that it occurs in the dry region of low Richardson number. This indicates that anomalous height difference may be associated with a wave-like disturbance in the clear atmosphere revealed by recent radar observations.