SOFIA program measurements collected during the 1992 ASTEX field experiment study energy transfer between the sea surface and the atmospheric boundary layer. French research groups including CRPE, LA, CMM, IFREMER, Service d'Aeronomie, and LMD, with CNRM cooperation, gathered the data. The intensive observation period occurred from June 1 to June 28, 1992.
Use Cases
- Validate satellite-derived heat flux estimates using in-situ tethered balloon measurements from the ASTEX experiment.
- Analyze humidity flux variability across mesoscale (50 km) oceanic structures observed during the June 1992 campaign.
- Study momentum flux interactions between the sea surface and the atmospheric boundary layer at local and mesoscale ranges.
- Improve GCM parameterizations for marine stratocumulus life cycles using coordinated surface observations from the FIRE program.
- Quantify spatial inhomogeneity of energy fluxes in the presence of mesoscale atmospheric structures using nested instrumentation strategy data.
Strengths
- Data originates from a coordinated, multi-instrument intensive field observation period lasting 28 days.
- Collection involved nested measurement strategies designed to estimate fluxes at different scales from local to 50 km.
- Part of the FIRE program designed specifically to improve cloud/radiation models using satellite, airborne, and surface observations.
Limitations
- Data is temporally stale, with the last update recorded in June 1992.
- Specific data volume, row count, column names, and file formats are unknown.
- Geographic coverage is limited to the eastern North Atlantic Ocean during a single month.
Provenance
- Source
- LARC_ASDC
- Collection Method
- Coordinated surface observations using tethered balloons and other instruments during the ASTEX field experiment.
- Time Range
- June 1 to June 28, 1992
- Geography
- Eastern North Atlantic Ocean