TCSP ER-2 MTP: Atmospheric Temperature Profiles

The TCSP ER-2 Microwave Temperature Profiler dataset contains vertical temperature profiles derived from passive microwave radiometer measurements. It produces an altitude temperature profile every 13 seconds along the flight path of the ER-2 aircraft during the Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes mission. These profiles support research into cyclogenesis and the formation of hurricanes and polar stratospheric clouds.

Use Cases

• Identifying tropopause location based on retrieved altitude temperature profiles.
• Mapping temperature curtains along flight paths to visualize atmospheric structure.
• Locating altitudes conducive to polar stratospheric cloud formation based on condensation thresholds.
• Analyzing cyclogenesis conditions by integrating temperature, humidity, and pressure data.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution vertical profiles generated approximately every 3 km along the flight path.
• Uses a specific modified statistical retrieval procedure with a Bayesian component for data conversion.
• Data is collected by a well-defined instrument with known observing frequencies (55.5, 56.6, 58.8 GHz).

Limitations

• Specific column names and dataset size (rows, file size) are unknown across all sources.
• There is a conflict in reported last updated dates: one source lists 2005-07-27, another lists 2026-04-09.
• License information is incomplete, only specified as 'other-license-specified' without details.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the ER-2 Microwave Temperature Profiler instrument during the TCSP mission.

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:52:03.831966 (from datagov, conflicting with older date)

Geography

Flight paths of the ER-2 aircraft during the TCSP mission, likely over tropical regions.