FIRE ASTEX SOFIA: Atlantic Ocean Drifting Buoy Measurements for Cloud and Flux Studies

The eastern North Atlantic Ocean was the site of the 1992 ASTEX marine stratocumulus field observation. This dataset contains measurements from five drifting buoys deployed during the SOFIA program, collecting sea surface temperature, pressure, and wind data to study energy transfer between the ocean and atmosphere. The data was produced by French research groups in cooperation with NASA.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite-derived heat and momentum flux estimates based on in-situ buoy measurements mentioned in the description
• Study the spatial inhomogeneity of energy fluxes in the presence of mesoscale structures as described in the SOFIA program objectives
• Improve cloud/radiation parameterizations in GCMs based on coordinated observations of marine stratocumulus life cycles
• Analyze sea surface temperature and wind interactions at scales from local to 50 km as per the nested-box measurement strategy

Strengths

• Data is from a coordinated, multi-instrument field experiment (FIRE ASTEX) designed for model validation
• Includes measurements from five distinct drifting buoy platforms
• Focuses on a specific, scientifically important cloud system (marine stratocumulus) in a defined region

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data files are in specialized formats (BIN, TAR, ISO) which may require specific tools to process

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Field observations from five drifting buoys with bathymetric chains during the ASTEX intensive field observation.

Time Range

Primary data collection likely during the ASTEX IFO (June 1 - June 28, 1992).

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:53:54.881099; freshness should be verified

Geography

Eastern North Atlantic Ocean.