NASA TCI Hurricane Radiometer Data from 2015 Campaign

NASA's Tropical Cyclone Intensity Hurricane Imaging Radiometer dataset was collected during the 2015 field campaign from August 30 to October 23. The data originate from the HIRAD instrument onboard the NASA WB-57 aircraft, aiming to improve predictions of tropical cyclone intensity and structure. It provides estimates of brightness temperature, rain rate, wind speed, and sea surface temperature in netCDF format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the relationship between brightness temperature and tropical cyclone structure.
• Modeling sea surface temperature's influence on hurricane intensity changes.
• Studying wind speed and rain rate correlations within the upper-level outflow layer of cyclones.
• Validating satellite-derived precipitation estimates with aircraft-based radiometer data.
• Investigating spatial patterns of atmospheric variables during specific hurricane events in 2015.

Strengths

• Data collected from a dedicated NASA WB-57 aircraft campaign, ensuring controlled measurement conditions.
• Covers a focused temporal period of nearly two months during the 2015 hurricane season.
• Provides multiple key atmospheric variables (brightness temperature, rain rate, wind speed, SST) in a single dataset.
• Available on multiple authoritative platforms (Data.gov and NASA Earthdata), indicating vetting and importance.

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and complete column list are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03 12, while NASA Earthdata lists 2015-10-23.
• The license is specified as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov but is 'None' on NASA Earthdata, creating ambiguity.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Data obtained from the Hurricane Imaging Radiometer (HIRAD) instrument onboard the NASA WB-57 aircraft.

Time Range

August 30, 2015 through October 23, 2015

Freshness

2026-03-12 20:52:59.023206

Geography

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