COAT Project: Intercomparison of Thermometer Radiation Shields in the Arctic

Abstract

A metrological field intercomparison of thermometer radiation shields in the Arctic was conducted with the aim of obtaining information to increase the worldwide comparability of air temperature measurements. Air temperature measurements are performed by different combinations of thermometers and shields. The response of each system (thermometer + shield) to local meteorological conditions depends on the system itself, limiting the comparability of air temperature measurements. Ten different models of radiation shields were included in the intercomparison, involving two campaigns: (1) the laboratory campaign, where all the instrumentation was calibrated just before and just after the field campaign, and (2) the field campaign that lasted 14 months where 41 thermometers were sampled every 2 min. All the delivered data were subjected to quality control to assure the robustness of the conclusions. A reference shield was defined, and the other shields were compared to the reference one for the conditions where maximum divergences were expected, solar irradiance being the highest impact factor. A maximum divergence value of 1.29 °C was derived for one of the shields and, for all the shields, the difference from the reference one decreases with wind speed. Finally, the uncertainties associated with the shields intercomparison were calculated.

Keywords

• air temperature measurements
• thermometer radiation shields
• arctic
• metrology for climate
• uncertainties in air temperature measurements
• intercomparison of instruments in the field