TOVS Atmospheric Soundings from 1987 FIFE Experiment

NOAA TOVS data provides atmospheric profiles over the FIFE study area for 1987. Information is derived from three sensors on NOAA-9 and NOAA-10 satellites, measuring upwelling radiation to produce parameters like layer temperatures, water vapor, and tropopause height. The dataset was acquired by NASA from NOAA/NESDIS.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature for selected layers.
• Estimating precipitable water content within three distinct atmospheric layers.
• Studying tropopause characteristics including height and temperature estimates.
• Investigating geopotential thickness variations across defined atmospheric layers.
• Using calibrated and cloud-corrected 'clear' radiance values for radiative transfer studies.

Strengths

• Data originates from two operational satellites, NOAA-9 and NOAA-10, providing multiple observation sources.
• Parameters are derived from three distinct sensors measuring radiation across spectral intervals for broad atmospheric layers.
• Coverage is specific to the well-documented 1987 FIFE (First ISLSCP Field Experiment) study area.

Limitations

• Critical metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• A conflict exists on the last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03-13 (likely a placeholder), while NASA Earthdata lists the end of 1987.
• The dataset's license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without further details.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) / National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), acquired by NASA.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing via the TIROS Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) instrument suite, with data processed into standard sounding product format.

Time Range

1987

Freshness

1987-12-31 23:59:59.999000

Geography

FIFE (First ISLSCP Field Experiment) study area.