Pre-LBA RBLE: Atmospheric Boundary Layer Measurements in Amazonia

Pre-LBA Rondonia Boundary Layer Experiment (RBLE) data contains atmospheric measurements from three campaigns in Ji-Parana, Brazil. The data likely contains temperature, humidity, and wind profiles from radiosondes, focusing on differences between forested and deforested (pasture) areas during the dry season. This dataset supports research into land-atmosphere interactions and climate modeling for the Amazon region.

Use Cases

• Modeling local atmospheric circulations based on surface type differences at a scale of 10 km or more.
• Studying the impact of Amazon deforestation on boundary layer properties like temperature, humidity, and depth.
• Validating climate model representations of the atmospheric boundary layer using in-situ radiosonde measurements.
• Analyzing diurnal and seasonal variations in boundary layer depth, which ranges from 1-3 km during the day to much shallower at night.

Strengths

• Data is processed, quality controlled, and integrated from three distinct measurement campaigns (RBLE 1, 2, and 3).
• Focuses on a scientifically critical period (dry season) when evaporation differences between forest and pasture are greatest.
• Cross-platform presence on datagov and nasa_earthdata signals its importance and archival stability.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: last updated date differs significantly between sources (1994 vs. 2026).
• Column names and exact row counts are unknown, limiting precise understanding of data structure.
• Original data format (a set of three CD-ROMs) may pose accessibility challenges.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Measurements from free-flying radiosondes during field campaigns.

Time Range

Campaigns conducted during the dry season(s); specific years not stated.

Freshness

Conflicting: nasa_earthdata lists 1994-08-25, while datagov lists 2026-04-09.

Geography

Ji-Parana, Rondonia, Brazil (Amazon region).