TERMIUM Plus®

The Government of Canada’s terminology and linguistic data bank.

WEATHER BALLOON [7 records]

Record 1 2022-09-26

English

Subject field(s)
  • Weather Stations and Meteorological Instruments and Equipment
  • Special-Language Phraseology
CONT

Researchers often release weather balloons at a variety of points during a storm to record any changes that might be occurring. Once it's released, the helium-filled balloon rises steadily and the instruments transmit data to the scientists’ computers.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Stations, instruments et équipements météorologiques
  • Phraséologie des langues de spécialité
CONT

Le ballon-sonde est lâché au niveau du sol et s'élève dans l'atmosphère grâce au gaz léger qu'il contient (hélium ou hydrogène). Il est équipé d'une radiosonde, un ensemble d'instruments qui enregistrent la température, l'humidité et la pression de l'air à différentes hauteurs.

Spanish

Save record 1

Record 2 - external organization data 2021-03-18

English

Subject field(s)
  • Compartment – Nomenclature 4.0
  • Museums and Heritage (General)
OBS

weather balloon : an item in the "Meteorological Tools and Equipment" class of the "Tools and Equipment for Science and Technology" category.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Tiroir – Nomenclature 4.0
  • Muséologie et patrimoine (Généralités)
OBS

ballon sonde météorologique : objet de la classe «Outils et équipement météorologiques» de la catégorie «Outillage et équipement pour les sciences et la technologie».

Spanish

Save record 2

Record 3 2015-08-27

English

Subject field(s)
  • Air Safety
OBS

Possible airborne hazards could include, but are not limited to, objects such as an uncontrollable weather balloon, unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV) or an aircraft in which the crew has lost control due to incapacitation or an unruly flight crew member jeopardizing the safety of the aircraft. Airborne hazards that consist of decaying satellites or other "space junk" re-entering the earth's atmosphere are included.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Sécurité (Transport aérien)

Spanish

Save record 3

Record 4 2015-03-12

English

Subject field(s)
  • Statistical Graphs and Diagrams
  • Meteorological Forecasting, Data Measurement and Analysis
DEF

A board upon which the horizontal trajectory of a pilot-balloon is plotted and the wind speeds and directions determined.

OBS

Pilot Balloon-Meteorological Plotting Board. Observations of a pilot balloon ascent, made by a theodolite are solved for wind speed and direction by graphical means using a plotting board. This method was used in the United States military and civilian weather services until the wide spread adoption of computer programs for solving the sightings. This board is used with a standard slide rule as opposed to the U. K. Met. Office Pilot Balloon Slide Rule.

Key term(s)
  • pilot balloon meteorological plotting board
  • pilot-balloon plotting board
  • pilot-balloon meteorological plotting board
  • pibal plotting board

French

Domaine(s)
  • Diagrammes et graphiques (Statistique)
  • Prévisions météorologiques et mesure et analyse des données
DEF

Graphique sur lequel on reporte la trajectoire horizontale d'un ballon-pilote et on détermine les directions et les vitesses du vent.

Spanish

Save record 4

Record 5 2010-03-11

English

Subject field(s)
  • Weather Stations and Meteorological Instruments and Equipment
DEF

Special slide-rule used for calculating upper-air winds from pilot-balloon observations.

CONT

Pilot Balloon slide rules... were used by meteorologists in the weather services and military units of the United Kingdom to determine the upper wind velocities from an ascending hydrogen or helium filled Pilot Balloon... The position of the Pilot Balloon is tracked by means of one or two theodolites at one minute intervals. The Pilot Balloon slide rule is used to convert the observed azimuth and elevation readings into wind velocity and direction records. The use of slide rules and plotting boards was abandoned with the wide spread adoption of computers and programs to do the calculations, as well as the decline in the use of optical pilot balloon theodolites.

Key term(s)
  • pilot-balloon slide-rule
  • pilot balloon slide-rule
  • pibal slide-rule
  • pibal slide rule

French

Domaine(s)
  • Stations, instruments et équipements météorologiques
DEF

Règle à calcul spéciale utilisée pour le calcul des vents en altitude à partir d'observations de ballon-pilote.

Spanish

Save record 5

Record 6 2010-03-11

English

Subject field(s)
  • Types of Aircraft
  • Weather Stations and Meteorological Instruments and Equipment
  • Range Measurements (Telecommunications)
DEF

A balloon which can be made to ascend by the use of ballast and to descend by the release of gas but which cannot be guided in flight.

CONT

Balloons can be captive, free-floating, or powered. ... A free-floating balloon travels wherever it is blown by the wind. The balloon pilot can control the vertical movement of a piloted, free-floating balloon but cannot steer it. However, the pilot can control the course of a balloon flight to some degree by rising or descending into a layer of wind that is blowing in the desired direction.

CONT

... a weather balloon is a helium-inflated balloon that is launched several times a day and carries instruments that take critical readings... temperature, dew point and relative humidity, wind speed and direction in the atmosphere. The balloon can be tethered to the ground, or it can be a free-flying balloon.

OBS

free balloon: term standardized by ISO.

Key term(s)
  • free flying balloon
  • free floating balloon

French

Domaine(s)
  • Types d'aéronefs
  • Stations, instruments et équipements météorologiques
  • Mesures à distance (Télécommunications)
CONT

Le ballon libre. [...] En montant, le ballon traverse des couches atmosphériques de masse volumique décroissante; la force ascensionnelle diminue, et il finit par atteindre une position d'équilibre; pour continuer à monter, il faut alléger le ballon: l'aéronaute jette alors du lest. S'il veut descendre, il laisse échapper du gaz en ouvrant la soupape.

CONT

La montgolfière a été le premier moyen de transport inventé par l'homme pour se déplacer dans les airs. [...] Le ballon libre, appelé alors «globe aérostatique» ne trouvait guère d'utilité, car il se contentait de dériver au gré du vent. C'est donc à diriger les ballons, c'est-à-dire les conduire, que l'on va travailler, mais il faudra un siècle pour y parvenir.

CONT

radiosondage [...] L'ensemble de l'équipage est transporté dans l'atmosphère par un ballon libre gonflé à l'hydrogène ou à l'hélium avec une vitesse ascensionnelle voisine de cinq mètres par seconde.

CONT

En 1850, deux Français, Barral et Bixio, quittent le sol en ballon libre [...] et s'élèvent à l'altitude de 7 050 mètres.

OBS

ballon libre : terme normalisé par l'ISO.

Key term(s)
  • montgolfière libre

Spanish

Campo(s) temático(s)
  • Tipos de aeronaves
  • Estaciones, instrumentos y equipos meteorológicos
  • Medidas de distancia (Telecomunicaciones)
Save record 6

Record 7 2010-03-11

English

Subject field(s)
  • Weather Stations and Meteorological Instruments and Equipment
CONT

A radiosonde carried by a balloon rising at a few meters per second does not measure such inversions accurately because the response time of the thermistor is several seconds. To quantify this error, we flew a radiosonde on a tethered kite on several occasions in winter at South Pole Station immediately prior to the routine launch of the same sonde on a weather balloon. In all cases, the equilibrated temperatures measured by the tethered sonde at a given pressure level were higher than those from the balloon-borne sonde throughout most of the inversion layer. Assuming that the tethered sonde data represent the true atmospheric temperature profile, a procedure can be developed to correct the temperature data from routine radiosonde soundings for the finite response time of the thermistor.

French

Domaine(s)
  • Stations, instruments et équipements météorologiques
OBS

Sur le modèle de «ballon captif».

OBS

ballon captif : aérostat retenu par un câble.

Spanish

Save record 7

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