FIRE Cirrus Phase II NOAA Wind Profiler Data

This dataset contains NOAA wind profiler data collected during the second cirrus-focused intensive field observation period of the First ISCCP Regional Experiments. The data, originally stored in Enhanced Binary Universal Form (EBUF), were reformatted into ASCII by the NASA Langley DAAC and cover a specific 25-day period from November 13 to December 7, 1991. The FIRE project was designed to improve cloud and radiation parameterizations for general circulation models.

Use Cases

• Validating and improving wind profile parameterizations in general circulation models (GCMs).
• Analyzing the relationship between atmospheric winds and cirrus cloud life cycles during the 1991 Kansas IFO.
• Studying upper-level and surface wind interactions using the wind profile data.
• Combining satellite, airborne, and surface observations for coordinated studies of cloud systems.

Strengths

• Data originates from a coordinated, multi-platform field experiment (FIRE) designed for model validation.
• Provides high temporal resolution wind profiles from a specific 25-day intensive observation period in late 1991.
• Data has been processed and reformatted from its original EBUF format to ASCII for accessibility.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• Sources conflict on the license status, with one specifying 'other-license-specified' and another listing 'None'.
• The temporal coverage is limited to a single, short field campaign window.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), processed by NASA Langley DAAC.

Collection Method

Collected via NOAA wind profilers during the FIRE Cirrus Phase II intensive field observation.

Time Range

1991-11-13 to 1991-12-07

Freshness

2026-03-13 02:52:16.585445

Geography

Southeastern Kansas, United States.