MACPEX: Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (2011)

MACPEX_Water_AircraftInSitu_WB57_Data is part of a suite of datasets from the 2011 Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment. The data includes in-situ measurements of water vapor, aerosols, meteorology, and satellite-derived cloud properties, collected to investigate cirrus cloud microphysics and their radiative impact. The campaign was a joint effort by NASA, NOAA ESRL, NCAR, and U.S. universities, using the NASA WB-57 aircraft based in Texas.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the relationship between cirrus microphysical properties and aerosol loading using Particle Analysis by Laser Mass Spectroscopy (PALMS) and Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) data.
• Investigating water vapor profiles and mixing ratios in cirrus clouds using data from the Harvard Water Vapor (HWV) and Closed-path Laser Hygrometer (CLH).
• Studying the dynamical forcing on cloud formation by correlating meteorological data from the Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) with ice crystal habit and size distribution.
• Validating satellite cloud property retrievals from GOES-13 against in-situ aircraft measurements of cloud top height and temperature.
• Examining the vertical structure of ozone and humidity using complementary balloon-borne frost point hygrometer and ozonesonde data.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for a focused, six-week airborne campaign from March 18 to April 26, 2011.
• Includes measurements from a specific, high-altitude NASA WB-57 aircraft platform, providing detailed in-situ profiles.
• Integrates data from multiple instrument suites (e.g., HWV, PALMS, MMS, VISST) to address four defined science questions.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: no column names, row counts, or file sizes are provided for any dataset component.
• A conflict exists in the 'last updated' metadata, with dates ranging from 2011-04-27 to a future date of 2026-04-10.
• Documentation gaps exist; the specific license is listed only as 'other-license-specified' without details.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), with contributions from NOAA ESRL, NCAR, and U.S. universities.

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected by instrument payloads aboard the NASA WB-57 aircraft, supplemented by balloon sondes and GOES-13 satellite retrievals.

Time Range

March 18, 2011 to April 26, 2011

Freshness

2026-04-10 01:25:14.734375 (Note: This is a future date, indicating a potential metadata error)

Geography

Central North America, with emphasis on the Southern Great Plains atmospheric observatory in Oklahoma, USA.