Vertical profiling of the troposphere: Innovation, optimization and application, Part I (VITAL I)

Abstract. Within VITAL I, a two-week data-set of novel types of Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) profilers, that are being considered for the next-generation German Meteorological Service DWD observational network is made available. The data set is thoroughly tested and evaluated in the context of the WMO Rolling Requirements Review for short-term / high-resolution weather forecasting. VITAL I took place in August 2024 at the Jülich Observatory for Cloud Evolution JOYCE, which is a National Facility of the ACTRIS European Research Infrastructure Consortium. VITAL I is a core activity of the Hans Ertel Centre for Weather Research, a joint research initiative between German atmospheric research institutions and the German Meteorological Service DWD. Vertical profiling data sets of temperature, humidity and wind using multi-copter uncrewed aerial systems and the ground-based remote sensing profilers Doppler lidar, water vapor lidar and microwave radiometer were created and evaluated against radiosondes and data from a 120 m meteorological tower. Comparisons were also carried out against satellite sounders. Most tested ground-based systems are shown to fulfill the WMO RRR breakthrough requirements and are suited for capturing the diurnal cycle of the ABL. VITAL I also encompassed an international summer school that was simultaneously held at JOYCE to educate students from the Bachelor to PhD level in Modern Methods in Atmospheric Profiling. Data measured during VITAL I is available via https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22960530, (Löhnert et al., 2026).