FIRE ACE: Arctic Cloud Radiance Measurements from NASA ER2 MAS

Radiance measurements from the NASA ER2 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Airborne Simulator (MAS) during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Arctic Cloud Experiment (ACE). The data were collected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to improve understanding of cloud life cycles and their radiative properties for general circulation models. The dataset was last updated on 2026.03.13.

Use Cases

• Validate and improve cloud parameterizations in general circulation models based on high-resolution radiance data.
• Study the life cycles and radiative properties of Arctic clouds based on airborne spectral measurements.
• Investigate relationships between satellite-derived cloud data and higher-resolution airborne observations as mentioned in the experiment goals.

Strengths

• Data originates from a NASA airborne instrument, suggesting authoritative collection methods.
• Designed for a specific, high-impact scientific goal to improve climate model parameterizations.
• Last updated on 2026-03-13, indicating recent metadata maintenance.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the specific Arctic campaign.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Airborne radiance measurements collected by the MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) on the ER2 aircraft.

Time Range

During the FIRE Arctic Cloud Experiment (ACE).

Freshness

2026-03-13

Geography

Arctic region.