FIFE Wind Profile Data from Radiosonde Balloons

Wind profile data derived from raw radiosonde measurements collected during the FIFE field experiment. The dataset contains atmospheric profiles of wind velocity and direction, corrected for sensor delays and interpolated to standard pressure levels. Data was collected by Dr. Wilfred H. Brutsaert during the summer and fall of 1987 and the late summer of 1989.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical wind speed profiles for boundary layer research.
• Studying wind direction changes with altitude over a grassland site.
• Validating remote sensing or model-derived wind data against in-situ balloon measurements.
• Investigating seasonal wind patterns from summer to fall measurement campaigns.

Strengths

• Data is corrected for sensor delays, improving accuracy.
• Measurements are interpolated to a set of standard pressure levels for consistency.
• Derived from the focused FIFE experiment, providing context for land-atmosphere interaction studies.

Limitations

• Exact row count, column names, and dataset size are unknown across all sources.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date (1989-08-12 vs. 2026-03-12).

Provenance

Source

Dr. Wilfred H. Brutsaert, derived from raw FIFE Radiosonde Data.

Collection Method

Calculated from successive horizontal positions of radiosonde balloons, with balloon height adjusted by adding 10 meters.

Time Range

Summer and fall of 1987, and late summer of 1989.

Freshness

2026-03 12 19:53:02.212103

Geography

FIFE experimental site (likely Konza Prairie, Kansas).