CLAMS Chesapeake Lighthouse Vaisala RS-80 Radiosonde Atmospheric Measurements

Chesapeake Lighthouse, a Coast Guard platform 25 km east of Virginia near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, served as the collection site for this radiosonde data. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration gathered these measurements during the Chesapeake Lighthouse and Aircraft Measurements for Satellites (CLAMS) experiment. The data likely contains atmospheric profiles of pressure, water vapor, and temperature, intended for validating satellite retrievals of cloud and aerosol microphysics.

Use Cases

• Validate space-borne retrievals of cloud microphysics based on the description's focus on satellite validation.
• Study the impact of anthropogenic aerosols on cloud properties (the indirect effect) as described.
• Analyze aerosol climatology at a coastal site influenced by both polluted urban and marine air masses.
• Compare atmospheric profiles from a platform described as having negligible island effects for oceanic studies.

Strengths

• Data collected from a site specifically chosen for its excellent validation characteristics for satellite retrievals.
• Platform location minimizes typical island effects associated with oceanic measurement sites.
• Site experiences both polluted urban and marine aerosol sources, providing a range of conditions for study.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data formats include BIN and ISO, which may require specialized tools for processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by Vaisala RS-80 Radiosonde during the CLAMS experiment.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 04:34:17.744322; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Chesapeake Lighthouse, 25 km East of Virginia near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay.