FIRE ASTEX: Radiosonde Atmospheric Profiles from Santa Maria, June 1992

Radiosonde data collected during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (FIRE ASTEX) from Santa Maria between June 1 and June 28, 1992. The dataset, provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, contains three sets of interpolated sounding data at 5-second, 20-meter, and 2-millibar resolutions. Each record includes measurements of ascent rate, height, pressure, temperature, relative humidity, dew point, mixing ratio, and wind speed and direction.

Use Cases

• Validate and improve cloud life cycle parameterizations in GCMs based on detailed atmospheric profiles.
• Study the interaction of physical processes in marine stratocumulus systems based on temperature, humidity, and wind data.
• Investigate relationships between ISCCP satellite data and higher-resolution in-situ measurements based on the coordinated experiment design.
• Analyze atmospheric stability and moisture transport during cloud transitions based on pressure, dew point, and mixing ratio columns.

Strengths

• Data collected during a coordinated international experiment (FIRE) designed for model validation.
• Provides three complementary interpolated resolutions (5-second, 20-meter, 2-millibar) for the same atmospheric profiles.
• Includes a defined set of 10 physical variables per measurement, such as temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Temporal coverage is limited to a single month (June 1992).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Radiosonde launches from Santa Maria during the FIRE ASTEX field campaign.

Time Range

June 1, 1992 to June 28, 1992

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:47:20.486497; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Santa Maria launch site (latitude and longitude provided per launch).