Radio-Meteorological Station, Automatic

a meteorological station that provides automatic collection and radio transmission of information on meteorological conditions at the station. Such stations are often set up in uninhabited regions. The station is programmed to transmit information at predetermined times; certain types of radio-meteorological stations also transmit information in response to radio inquiries. The information includes data on air and water temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind velocity and direction, visibility, sunlight, cloudiness, and precipitation. Specialized stations supply information on only one or two of the above; for instance, a radio wind gauge supplies data on wind velocity and direction, and a radio precipitation gage supplies data on the amount of precipitation.

The components of a radio-meteorological station depend on the station’s function. They may include sensors, converters, and units for programming, measuring, coding, transmitting and receiving radio signals, and supplying power. Stations scheduled for long-term operation (about one year) are equipped with wind-powered electric generators or isotopic thermoelectric generators for recharging the storage batteries.

Automatic radio-meteorological stations are classified according to their location as ground stations, water stations (installed on anchored buoys), and drifting stations (used in arctic ice fields). Self-contained radio oceanographic stations are used to study seas and oceans. Such stations yield data concerning the surface waves spectrum and the velocity and direction of currents that flow at various depths. Various types of stations can send radio information within a radius of 10 to 1,000 km.