"Atmospheric sounding or atmospheric profiling is a measurement of vertical distribution of physical properties of the atmospheric column such as pressure, temperature, wind speed and wind ...
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direction (thus deriving wind shear), liquid water content, ozone concentration, pollution, and other properties. Such measurements are performed in a variety of ways including remote sensing and in situ observations.
The most common in situ sounding is a radiosonde, which usually is a weather balloon, but can also be a rocketsonde.
Remote sensing soundings generally use passive infrared and microwave radiometers:" - (en.wikipedia.org 09.01.2021)