Balloon launch

You might think by now, reading through the previous blog entries, that I am here at the South Pole on holiday. You couldn't be farther from the truth! I am actually working here.

To prove that, I thought I post some pictures of the ozonesonde balloon launch we did yesterday. Well, I did not really do much, lend a hand here or there, since Kelli and Ross are perfectly capable of doing a launch by themselves, but I took lots of pictures.  :)
I have just analysed the ozonesonde time series from South Pole last year. And it was just fantastic to be here and experience one of those launches myself. You get a totally different appreciation of long-term measurements that way!

This one shows Kelli handling the gas for the balloon filling.

Here Kelli puts the parachute underneath the balloon. That parachute will slow down the descent of the ozonesonde, after it reached its maximum altitude and the balloon bursts.

This is the balloon filling facility from the outside.

And here is Ross, releasing the whole package, balloon, parachute, and ozonesonde coupled with a radio sonde, into the air.

The air is so clear here that we could see the balloon in the air without help of binoculars at least up to 25 kilometer. That was incredible!