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Radionsonde Data

Measurements are provided by Väisälä RS80 radiosondes launched at the La Reunion Island since September 1992. Radiosondes are equipped with RS80 Electrochemical Concentration Cell (ECC) ozonesonde. The precision is less than 0.2 °C in temperature and 1.5 nb in ozone partial pressure up to the lower stratosphere (Komhyr et al., 1995). A precision of ± 3 % in the ozone mixing ratio is obtained in the stratosphere below 10 mb. Vertical profiles of temperature and partial pressure of ozone are sampled every 150m.

The observational site is located in the vicinity of the subtropical barrier on both sides depending on the season. The island is under tropical conditions during summer (December-February) and under subtropical conditions during winter (June-August). This enables us to study gravity waves produced by convection and the subtropical jet during summer and winter respectively, in addition to possible transport of air masses across the subtropical barrier.