FIRE ASTEX: Daily Sea Surface Temperature from NOAA Satellites

Four intensive field-observation periods were conducted between 1986 and 1992 to study cloud systems. Daily sea surface temperature fields were derived from observations by the NOAA 11 and 12 polar orbiting satellites. The dataset was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to support the First ISCCP Regional Experiments.

Use Cases

• Validating sea surface temperature inputs for climate models based on the satellite observation source.
• Analyzing daily temperature variability in marine stratocumulus regions based on the described field experiments.
• Studying cloud-sea surface interactions for model parameterization improvement as mentioned in the FIRE goals.
• Correlating satellite-derived temperature data with coordinated airborne and surface observations from the described missions.

Strengths

• Data originates from coordinated satellite, airborne, and surface observations across four intensive field campaigns.
• Specific observation periods are documented, including a marine stratocumulus IFO from June 1 to June 28, 1992.
• Dataset is provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, an authoritative source.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale ML tasks.
• Data may reflect temporal bias inherent to the specific field campaigns between 1986 and 1992.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Observations made by NOAA 11 and 12 polar orbiting satellites, combined with coordinated field campaigns.

Time Range

Observations from specific field periods, including 1986, 1987, 1991, and 1992.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:56:20.850283; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Includes the eastern North Atlantic Ocean and the southwestern coast of California.