NASA ER-2 Aircraft Lidar Cloud Altitude Measurements from FIRE Campaigns

Four intensive field campaigns between 1986 and 1992 collected coordinated airborne, satellite, and surface observations to study cirrus and marine stratocumulus cloud systems. The Cloud Lidar System aboard the NASA ER-2 airplane recorded cloud altitudes, layer boundaries, and geophysical location. Data was produced by the LARC_ASDC organization.

Use Cases

• Validate cloud altitude and multi-layer structure predictions in GCMs using the recorded heights of boundaries for up to 5 cloud layers.
• Analyze cloud optical properties by correlating parallel and perpendicular plane backscatter at 532 nanometers with cloud type and phase.
• Study cloud spatial distribution and evolution by mapping geo-physical location information and time stamps from the aircraft's flight tracks.
• Compare cloud detection sensitivity across wavelengths using the 532 nm and 1064 nm total backscatter channels from the CLS instrument.

Strengths

• Data originates from four coordinated field experiments spanning from 1986 to 1992, providing focused observational periods.
• Instrument recorded four calibrated and analyzed data channels, including specific wavelengths at 532 nm and 1064 nm.
• Measurements capture detailed vertical cloud structure with the ability to detect up to 5 distinct cloud layers.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to specific, non-continuous field campaigns from over 30 years ago, with the last update in 1991.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to the specific flight paths during the IFOs, such as off the coast of California and the eastern North Atlantic.
• Unknown sample size and row count for the recorded lidar profiles limits assessment of statistical robustness.

Provenance

Source

NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC).

Collection Method

Data gathered by the Cloud Lidar System instrument flown aboard the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft during coordinated field campaigns.

Time Range

Campaigns conducted in 1986, 1987, 1991, and 1992.

Freshness

Data is historical, with the last recorded mission ending on 1991-12-07.

Geography

Specific regions include southeastern Kansas, southwestern coast of California, and the eastern North Atlantic Ocean.