FIFE Aerosol Optical Thickness Measurements from Sunphotometers

February 1987 to October 1989 sunphotometer data for aerosol optical thickness, collected during the FIFE experiment. The dataset, produced by NASA, uses the Langley technique to derive aerosol, ozone, and water vapor abundances from three instruments tracking the sun across airmasses. Measurements are intended for correcting aircraft and satellite radiometric data.

Use Cases

• Correcting satellite radiometric data for aerosol effects using derived optical thickness.
• Validating atmospheric models with simultaneous aerosol, ozone, and water vapor measurements.
• Studying temporal trends in atmospheric constituents over a 2.5-year period.
• Applying the Langley technique for sunphotometer data analysis.

Strengths

• Provides a 2.5-year continuous time series from February 1987 to October 1989.
• Data derived using the established Langley analysis technique.
• Simultaneous measurement of aerosol, ozone, and water vapor abundances.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA and government portals indicates recognized importance.

Limitations

• Key metadata conflicts exist: last updated date is listed as both 1989-10-31 and 2026-03 12.
• Specific row counts, column names, and file sizes are not provided by any source.
• Accuracy is noted to be limited by the quality of the ozone data used in retrieval.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Measurements from three sunphotometers tracking the sun through airmasses, analyzed using the Langley technique.

Time Range

1987-02-06 to 1989-10-31

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:42:48.696372

Geography

FIFE experiment site (Konza Prairie, Kansas).