FIRE Cirrus Phase II Infrared Radiometer Measurements

November 18 to December 7, 1991 data from the Colorado State University PRT-6 radiometer, collected during the First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Phase II Cirrus Intensive Field Observations in Kansas. The dataset contains measurements of infrared radiation in the atmospheric window region, sampled every 5 seconds with a 2-degree field of view. It was produced by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at Colorado State University to support cloud and radiation studies for general circulation models.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal variability of infrared radiance in the 885-945 cm⁻¹ spectral band to characterize cirrus cloud properties.
• Correlate PRT-6 radiometer measurements with other FIRE IFO observations (e.g., satellite, airborne) to validate multi-instrument cloud retrievals.
• Use the 5-second sampled vertical-pointing data to study short-term fluctuations in atmospheric infrared emission.
• Investigate the impact of cirrus clouds on the Earth's radiation budget using the infrared window region measurements.

Strengths

• High temporal resolution with data sampled every 5 seconds during operation.
• Specific spectral band coverage from 885 to 945 cm⁻¹ in the infrared window region.
• Data collected during a coordinated, intensive field observation campaign (FIRE IFO).

Limitations

• Contains temporal gaps as the PRT-6 instrument was not run in continuous mode.
• Limited spatial coverage to a single ground site in Parsons, Kansas.
• Dataset is temporally stale, with collection ending on December 7, 1991.

Provenance

Source

Colorado State University Department of Atmospheric Sciences, via NASA's LARC_ASDC.

Collection Method

Ground-based measurements from a PRT-6 chopped bolometer radiometer pointing vertically upward.

Time Range

1991-11-18 to 1991-12-07

Geography

Parsons KG&E Power Plant, Parsons, Kansas, USA (37°18' N, 95°07' W).