Data from the First ISCCP Regional Experiment's Arctic Cloud Experiment collected via a tethered balloon operated by Utrecht University. The experiment aimed to improve cloud parameterizations in climate models by linking satellite data with high-resolution cloud observations. The dataset was last updated by NASA's LARC_ASDC in May 1998.
Use Cases
- Validate ISCCP satellite cloud data products against in-situ balloon measurements of cloud properties.
- Analyze time-series of cloud microphysical features like optical depth or particle size from the tethered balloon instruments.
- Study the life cycles of Arctic cloud systems using high-resolution temporal and spatial observation data.
- Improve General Circulation Model parameterizations for cirrus and stratocumulus clouds using empirical radiation and cloud interaction data.
Strengths
- Data originates from a designed experiment (FIRE) with specific goals for model improvement.
- Provides a direct link between satellite climatology (ISCCP) and higher-resolution cloud observations.
Limitations
- Dataset is temporally stale, with last update in 1998, limiting relevance for contemporary climate studies.
- Specific sample size, geographic coverage, and data completeness are unknown from the description.
Provenance
- Source
- NASA Langley Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC).
- Collection Method
- Collected via a tethered balloon instrument platform during the Arctic Cloud Experiment.
- Time Range
- null
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Arctic region.