FIRE ASTEX: ECMWF Surface Pressure and Temperature Analysis for the Atlantic, June 1992

A special set of analysis products for the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) region during June 1-28, 1992 was prepared by Ernst Klinker and Tony Hollingsworth of the European Centre for Medium-range Forecasting (ECMWF) and reformatted by Chris Bretherton of the University of Washington. The data incorporate routine global observations and about 650 special soundings from ASTEX research ships and islands, decoded into ASCII files with a horizontal resolution of 1.25 degrees. Fields include surface pressure and sea surface temperature, with base times at 00, 06, 12, or 18Z.

Use Cases

• Validate regional climate model outputs based on the described surface pressure and sea surface temperature fields.
• Study the atmospheric conditions during the ASTEX field campaign period mentioned in the description.
• Analyze spatial patterns of surface variables over the Atlantic region defined as 85W to 15E, 70N to 10N.
• Incorporate analyzed initialization fields into process studies of stratocumulus-to-cumulus transitions.

Strengths

• Incorporates about 650 special soundings from research vessels and islands during the ASTEX experiment.
• Data has a defined horizontal resolution of 1.25 degrees in latitude and longitude.
• Covers a specific and well-documented time period from June 1 to 28, 1992.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Initializations and very short range forecasts using the ECMWF T213L30 operational model, incorporating routine and special ASTEX observations.

Time Range

June 1-28, 1992

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:54:49.727665; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Atlantic region: 85W to 15E longitude, 70N to -10N latitude.