Upper-Air Analysis over Ocean Areas

From the results of a test of numerical analyses of 500-mb charts over an ocean area it is concluded that the number of ocean station vessels is a minimum and that supplementary upper air data is required to ensure continuously reliable upper air analyses. A method of determining the mean lapse rate by interpolation is presented by means of which heights of upper pressure surfaces can be extrapolated from observed values of surface pressure and temperature. An attempt is made to determine statistically the true mean error in the numerical analysis of upper-air charts. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1957.tb01872.x