FIRE Cirrus 1 Surface Radiation Budget Data Over Canada

Four intensive field-observation periods from 1986 to 1992 collected coordinated satellite, airborne, and surface observations to study cirrus and marine stratocumulus cloud systems. The dataset contains spatially sampled imaging data from the First ISCCP Regional Experiments, designed to improve cloud and radiation parameterizations in general circulation models. It was produced by the LARC_ASDC organization.

Use Cases

• Validate general circulation model (GCM) cloud parameterizations using pixel-level Earth location (latitude, longitude) and algorithm decision data.
• Analyze the interaction between cloud life cycles and radiative properties using time-series data from the 1986 and 1991 cirrus intensive field observations.
• Study spatial patterns of surface radiation budget (SRB) over the 40°N to 90°N, 70°W to 110°W region using data at the original 4 km pixel field of view.
• Compare ISCCP B3 radiance data sampled to 25 km nominal resolution against other cloud observation datasets for specific geographic regions.

Strengths

• Data combines coordinated observations from satellite, airborne, and surface platforms across four distinct field campaigns.
• Provides detailed algorithm decision information and data at original pixel resolution, unlike standard ISCCP products.
• Covers a specific geographic region (40°N to 90°N, 70°W to 110°W) with a nominal spatial resolution of 25 km.

Limitations

• Primary data collection ended in 1992, making the dataset temporally stale for analyzing contemporary climate conditions.
• Specific row counts, column details, and file sizes are unknown, limiting assessment of dataset scale and structure.
• Spatial coverage is limited to specific field campaign regions and does not provide global continuous coverage.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Coordinated satellite (ISCCP B3 radiance), airborne, and surface observations combined with modeling studies during intensive field-observation periods.

Time Range

Field campaigns from October 13-November 2, 1986 to June 1-28, 1992.

Freshness

Data last updated 1986-10-31, with field campaigns through 1992; no ongoing updates indicated.

Geography

Region from 40°N to 90°N, 70°W to 110°W (covering Canada); specific campaigns also occurred off California, Kansas, and the eastern North Atlantic.