LASE Validation: Lidar Water Vapor Profiles from 1995 Aircraft Campaign

Ten high-altitude aircraft missions totaling 60 flight hours in September 1995 validated the Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) system. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration conducted the experiment from Wallops Island, Virginia, comparing LASE water vapor profiles against in-situ balloon, aircraft, and ground-based measurements. The data includes case studies of Hurricane Luis, a coastal sea breeze, cold fronts, and cirrus clouds.

Use Cases

• Validate lidar-derived water vapor profiles based on comparisons with in-situ hygrometers and radiosondes mentioned in the description
• Study atmospheric phenomena like hurricanes and frontal systems based on the case studies described
• Assess instrument performance under varying solar background conditions as referenced in the experiment goals
• Contribute to international radiosonde intercomparison efforts as noted in the campaign description

Strengths

• Validation involved ten distinct aircraft missions for a total of 60 flight hours
• Multiple independent measurement sources were used, including two aircraft with in-situ hygrometers and a ground-based Raman lidar
• Data collection targeted a wide range of atmospheric conditions, including specific case studies like Hurricane Luis

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Data is from a focused campaign in September 1995; temporal coverage is limited
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data gathered from a field experiment involving aircraft-mounted lidar and coordinated in-situ measurements.

Time Range

September 1995

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 00:56:30.921321; freshness should be verified

Geography

Campaign based from Wallops Island, Virginia; measurements taken along flight paths.