FIRE Cirrus II: Colorado State University Wind Profiler Data

Four intensive field-observation periods, including a cirrus study from November 13 to December 7, 1991, form the core of the First ISCCP Regional Experiments (FIRE). This dataset specifically contains Colorado State University wind profiler data collected from November 12 to December 7, 1991, at a power plant in Parsons, Kansas, to study cirrus cloud life cycles. A separate, conflicting dataset on the same platform describes boreal forest fire impacts from 2001 to 2013, derived from MODIS and other satellite products.

Use Cases

• Calibrating satellite cloud retrievals using coordinated surface-based wind profiler measurements from a field campaign.
• Improving general circulation model (GCM) parameterizations for cirrus cloud life cycles and radiative properties.
• Analyzing temporal patterns of atmospheric winds during the FIRE Phase II Cirrus Intensive Field Observations in Kansas.

Strengths

• Data originates from a coordinated, multi-instrument field campaign (FIRE) designed for model validation.
• Temporal coverage for the wind profiler component is precisely defined (Nov 12 - Dec 7, 1991).
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov signals recognized scientific importance.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts: two distinct datasets (atmospheric wind profiles vs. boreal forest fires) share the same title and platform listing, creating severe confusion.
• Column names and data size are unspecified for the primary wind profiler dataset.
• The most recent update date (2026-04-10) appears administrative and does not reflect new data collection.

Provenance

Source

Colorado State University Department of Atmospheric Sciences (for wind profiler data); NASA/LARC_ASDC (host).

Collection Method

Collected by a ground-based wind profiler instrument during the FIRE Phase II Cirrus Intensive Field Observations.

Time Range

1991-11-12 to 1991-12-07 (wind profiler). A conflicting source cites 2001-2013.

Freshness

2026-04-10 03:28:06.025800 (administrative, likely not data update)

Geography

Parsons KG&E Power Plant, Parsons, Kansas (37°18' N, 95°07' W) for wind profiler. Conflicting source covers circumpolar boreal forests (40° to 80° N).