FIRE ASTEX: ECMWF Cloud Liquid Water and Fraction Data for June 1992

June 1-28, 1992 analysis products for the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) region, prepared by the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF). The data includes cloud liquid water and cloud fraction fields, derived from a T213L30 operational model incorporating routine global observations and about 650 special ASTEX soundings. Data was reformatted into ASCII files by the University of Washington, with a horizontal resolution of 1.25 degrees and initialization times at 00, 06, 12, and 18Z.

Use Cases

• Validate and improve cloud parameterization in climate models based on cloud liquid water and fraction fields.
• Study the stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition in the North Atlantic based on the June 1992 ASTEX campaign data.
• Analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of cloud properties based on the 1.25-degree resolution and four-times-daily initialization.
• Assimilate historical cloud observations into reanalysis projects based on the ECMWF T213L30 model outputs.

Strengths

• Incorporates about 650 special soundings from the ASTEX field campaign, enhancing local accuracy.
• Provides data at four initialization times per day (00, 06, 12, 18Z) for June 1-28, 1992.
• Has a defined spatial domain (35W to 05W, 20N to 45N) and consistent 1.25-degree horizontal resolution.

Limitations

• Aircraft soundings were not included in the analyses, which may limit vertical profile completeness.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF), reformatted by University of Washington.

Collection Method

Initializations and very short-range forecasts from the ECMWF T213L30 operational model, incorporating routine global network observations and special ASTEX soundings.

Time Range

June 1-28, 1992

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:47:48.243373; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North Atlantic region (35W to 05W, 20N to 45N)