The First ISCCP Regional Experiments have been designed to improve data products and cloud/radiation parameterizations used in general circulation models (GCMs). Specifically, the goals of FIRE are (1) to improve the basic understanding of the interaction of physical processes in determining life cycles of cirrus and marine stratocumulus systems and the radiative properties of these clouds during their life cycles and (2) to investigate the interrelationships between the ISCCP data, GCM parameterizations, and higher space and time resolution cloud data. To-date, four intensive field-observation periods were planned and executed: a cirrus IFO (October 13 - November 2, 1986); a marine stratocumulus IFO off the southwestern coast of California (June 29 - July 20, 1987); a second cirrus IFO in southeastern Kansas (November 13 - December 7, 1991); and a second marine stratocumulus IFO in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean (June 1 - June 28, 1992). Each mission combined coordinated satellite, airborne, and surface observations with modeling studies to investigate the cloud properties and physical processes of the cloud systems.These data were collected by the University of Utrecht (The Netherlands) during ASTEX experimental campaign, June 1992, at the surface site of Santa Maria (36.99 N; 25.17W; ASL=50M).Every file contains the following variables:-time (UTC): Universal Time Coordinated time.Data were taken every 2 minutes.-T6(C): Temperature at 6 meters.Accuracy of the temperature sensor 0.2 C-T2(C): Temperature at 2 meters.Accuracy of the temperature sensor 0.2 C-rh6(%): Relative humidity at 6 meters.Accuracy of the relative humidity sensor 2 %.Above 90% the measurements are less accurate.Highest value measured by the sensor: 95%.-rh2(%): Relative humidity at 2 meters. Accuracy of the relative humidity sensor 2 %.Above 90% the measurements lose accuracy.Highest value measured by the sensor: 99%.-ff6(m/s) Wind speed at 6 meters.Accuracy of the sensor 0.2 m/s.-dd(deg) Wind direction at 6 meters.Accuracy of the sensor 4 deg.-fsin(W/m2) Incoming shortwave radiation at 1.5 meters.Pyranometer measures the irradiance between 305 to 2800 nm with a precision 2 W/m2.-fsou(W/m2) Outcoming shortwave radiation at 1.5 meters.Pyranometer measures the irradiance between 305 to 2800 nm with a precision 2 W/m2.

A special set of analysis products for the Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) region during June 1-28, 1992 was prepared by Ernst Klinker and Tony Hollingsworth of the European Centre for Medium-range Forecasting (ECMWF), and reformatted by Chris Bretherton of Univ. of Washington. These analyses, or more correctly initializations and very short range forecasts using the ECMWF T213L30 operational model, incorporate routine observations from the global network and special soundings from ASTEX that were sent to ECMWFduring ASTEX via the GTS telecommunication system. About 650 special soundings were incorporated, including nearly all soundings from Santa Maria, Porto Santo, and the French ship Le Suroit, most of the soundings taken on the Valdivia and Malcolm Baldridge, and almost none of the soundings from the Oceanus. Surface reports from the research ships were also incorporated into the analyses after the first week of the experiment. Aircraft soundings were not included in the analyses. ECMWF has requested that anyone making use of this data set acknowledge them, and that those investigators publishing researchthat makes more than casual use of this data set contact Ernst Klinker or Tony Hollingsworth.The data have been decoded by Chris Bretherton into ASCII files, one for each horizontal field at a given level and base time. All data have the same horizontal resolution of 1.25 degrees in latitude and longitude and correspond to base (initialization) times of 00, 06, 12, or 18Z. Different fields have different lat/lon ranges and sets of available vertical levels, as tabulated below. Also, some fields are instantaneous (I) while others are accumulated (A) over the first 6 hours of a forecast initialized at the base time. This is tabulated in the 'time range' column below. Instantaneous fields are bestcompared with data at the base time, while accumulated fields are bestcompared with data three hours after the base time.Data Set Name ECMWF ECMWF Time Field Units field ID# range abbrev.----------- ------ ----- ----- ----- -----SURFACE DIAG LSP 142 A Large scale precipitation m/(6 hr) CP 143 A Convective precipitation m/(6 hr) BLD 145 A Boundary layer dissipation W/m^2 SSHF 146 A Surface sensible heat flux W/m^2 SLHF 147 A Surface latent heat flux W/m^2 TCC 164 I Total cloud cover 0-1 10U 165 I 10 meter u m/s 10V 166 I 10 meter v m/s 2T 167 I 2 meter temperature K 2D 168 I 2 meter dewpoint temperature K SSR 176 A Surface solar radiation W/m^2 STR 177 A Surface thermal radiation W/m^2 TSR 178 A Top solar radiation W/m^2 TTR 179 A Top thermal radiation W/m^2 EWSS 180 A U-stress N/m^2 NSSS 181 A V-stress N/m^2 E 182 A Evaporation m (H2O) CCC 185 I Convective cloud cover 0-1 LCC 186 I Low cloud cover 0-1 MCC 187 I Medium cloud cover 0-1 HCC 188 I High cloud cover 0-1 TSRU 208 I Top solar radiation upward W/m^2 TTRU 209 I Top thermal radiation upward W/m^2 TSUC 210 I Top solar radiation upward clear sky(lat/lon range: 35W to 05W, 20N to 45N; at surface pressure)The ECMWF field abbreviation, ID#, field description and units are taken directly from ECMWF Code Table 2, in case you ever need to consult with ECMWF about this data set.

The First ISCCP Regional Experiments have been designed to improve data products and cloud/radiation parameterizations used in general circulation models (GCMs). Specifically, the goals of FIRE are (1) to improve basic understanding of the interaction of physical processes in determining life cycles of cirrus and marine stratocumulus systems and the radiative properties of these clouds during their life cycles and (2) to investigate the interrelationships between the ISCCP data, GCM parameterizations, and higher space and time resolution cloud data.Radiosonde data were collected during the FIRE ASTEX for time period June 1, 1992 through June 20, 1992 from the Le Suroit (ship). There are 3 sets of interpolated sounding data. They are 5-second, 20-meter, and 2-millibar.Each file contains a 5-line header. The first line is the site name (up to 16 characters), the next line is the latitude and longitude at the time of launch, the third contains the date-time group at launch in YYMMDDHHMM format. Lines 4 and 5 describe the data to follow, which comprise no more that 1500 additional lines. The data are: minutes, seconds past launch, ascent rate, height, pressure, temperature, relative humidity, dew point, mixing ratio and wind speedand direction.

The First ISCCP Regional Experiments (FIRE) have been designed to improve data products and cloud/radiation parameterizations used in general circulation models (GCMs). Specifically, the goals of FIRE are (1) to improve the basic understanding of the interaction of physical processes in determining life cycles of cirrus and marine stratocumulus systems and the radiative properties of these clouds during their life cycles and (2) to investigate the interrelationships between the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) data, GCM parameterizations, and higher space and time resolution cloud data. Radiosonde data were collected during the FIRE Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) for time period June 3, 1992 through June 23, 1992 from the Oceanus (ship). There are 3 sets of interpolated sounding data. They are 5-second, 20-meter, and 2-millibar. Each file contains a 5-line header. The first line is the site name (up to 16 characters), the next line is the latitude and longitude at the time of launch, the third contains the date-time group at launch in YYMMDDHHMM format. Lines 4 and 5 describe the data to follow, which comprise no more than 1500 additional lines. The data are: minutes, seconds past launch, ascent rate, height, pressure, temperature, relative humidity, dew point, mixing ratio and wind speed and direction.

The First ISCCP Regional Experiments have been designed to improve data products and cloud/radiation parameterizations used in general circulation models (GCMs). Specifically, the goals of FIRE are (1) to improve basic understanding of the interaction of physical processes in determining life cycles of cirrus and marine stratocumulus systems and the radiative properties of these clouds during their life cycles and (2) to investigate the interrelationships between the ISCCP data, GCM parameterizations, and higher space and time resolution cloud data.To-date, four intensive field-observation periods were planned and executed: a cirrus IFO (October 13-November 2, 1986); a marine stratocumulus IFO off the southwestern coast of California (June 29-July 20, 1987); a second cirrus IFO in southeastern Kansas (November 13-December 7, 1991); and a second marine stratocumulus IFO in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean (June 1-June 28, 1992). Each mission combined coordinated satellite, airborne, and surface observations with modeling studies to investigate the cloud properties and physical processes of the cloud systems.SOFIA (Surface of the Ocean, Fluxes and Interaction with the Atmosphere) is a research program carried out by French groups from the Centre de Recherches en Physique de l'Environnement (CRPE), Laboratoire l'Aerologie (LA)-Toulouse, Centre de Meteorologie Marine (CMM)-Brest, Institut Francais de Rechercher sur la Mer (IFREMER)-Brest, Service d'Aeronomie-Paris, and Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique (LMD)-Palaiseau with cooperation from Centre National de Recherche Meteorologique (CNRM)-Toulouse.The scientific objective of SOFIA during ASTEX was the study of energy transfer (heat, humidity and momentum fluxes) between the sea surface and the atmospheric boundary layer at scales ranging from the local scale to the mesoscale (50 km). The general concept of the program was to develop a measurement strategy based on nested boxes in which instrumentation would be used to estimate and quantify fluxes. These instruments, from which flux estimates at different scales would be measured, were used in connection with satellite measurements to understand and, hence, to validate the satellite integration of fluxes, particularly in the presence of mesoscale oceanic andatmospheric structures responsible for spatial inhomogeneity of fluxes.This data set contains radiosounding measurements of pressure, temperature and humidity at selected points (B) and radiosounding measurements of wind at selected points (C).

The First ISCCP Regional Experiments have been designed to improve data products and cloud/radiation parameterizations used in general circulation models (GCMs). Specifically, the goals of FIRE are (1) to improve the basic understanding of the interaction of physical processes in determining life cycles of cirrus and marine stratocumulus systems and the radiative properties of these clouds during their life cycles and (2) to investigate the interrelationships between the ISCCP data, GCM parameterizations, and higher space and time resolution cloud data.Radiosonde data were collected during the FIRE ASTEX for time period June 1, 1992 through June 28, 1992 from the Santa Maria. There are 3 sets of interpolated sounding data. They are 5-second, 20-meter, and 2-millibar.Each file contains a 5-line header. The first line is the site name (up to 16 characters), the next line is the latitude and longitude at the time of launch, the third contains the date-time group at launch in YYMMDDHHMM format. Lines 4 and 5 describe the data to follow, which comprise no more that 1500 additional lines. The data are: minutes, seconds past launch, ascent rate, height, pressure, temperature, relative humidity, dew point, mixing ratio and wind speedand direction.

The First ISCCP Regional Experiments (FIRE) have been designed to improve data products and cloud/radiation parameterizations used in general circulation models (GCMs). Specifically, the goals of FIRE are (1) to improve the basic understanding of the interaction of physical processes in determining life cycles of cirrus and marine stratocumulus systems and the radiative properties of these clouds during their life cycles and (2) to investigate the interrelationships between the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) data, GCM parameterizations, and higher space and time resolution cloud data. Radiosonde data were collected during the FIRE Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) for time period June 3, 1992 through June 23, 1992 from the Oceanus (ship). There are 3 sets of interpolated sounding data. They are 5-second, 20-meter, and 2-millibar. Each file contains a 5-line header. The first line is the site name (up to 16 characters), the next line is the latitude and longitude at the time of launch, the third contains the date-time group at launch in YYMMDDHHMM format. Lines 4 and 5 describe the data to follow, which comprise no more than 1500 additional lines. The data are: minutes, seconds past launch, ascent rate, height, pressure, temperature, relative humidity, dewpoint, mixing ratio and wind speed and direction.

The First ISCCP Regional Experiments (FIRE) have been designed to improve data products and cloud/radiation parameterizations used in general circulation models (GCMs). Specifically, the goals of FIRE are (1) to improve the basic understanding of the interaction of physical processes in determining life cycles of cirrus and marine stratocumulus systems and the radiative properties of these clouds during their life cycles and (2) to investigate the interrelationships between the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) data, GCM parameterizations, and higher space and time resolution cloud data. To-date, four intensive field-observation (IFO) periods were planned and executed: a cirrus IFO (October 13 - November 2, 1986); a marine stratocumulus IFO off the southwestern coast of California (June 29 - July 20, 1987); a second cirrus IFO in southeastern Kansas (November 13 - December 7, 1991); and a second marine stratocumulus IFO in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean (June 1 - June 28, 1992). Each mission combined coordinated satellite, airborne, and surface observations with modeling studies to investigate the cloud properties and physical processes of the cloud systems. During the period from June 1 to June 29, 1992, 203 soundings were obtained. At present two forms of data exist - Level I and Level II. Level I are the raw data produced in real time by the software of the Atmospheric Instrumentation Research (AIR) radiosonde system. These data are at irregular pressure and height levels. Level II data consist of processed thermodynamic and wind data at a uniform resolution of 10m, which essentially retains the highest possible vertical resolution in the original data. The Level II thermodynamic data seem to be reasonably free of errors; however, as mentioned in Schubert et. al., (1992) the wind data requires additional filtering before use.

The First ISCCP Regional Experiments (FIRE) have been designed to improve data products and cloud/radiation parameterizations used in general circulation models (GCMs). Specifically, the goals of FIRE are (1) to improve the basic understanding of the interaction of physical processes in determining life cycles of cirrus and marine stratocumulus systems and the radiative properties of these clouds during their life cycles and (2) to investigate the interrelationships between the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) data, GCM parameterizations, and higher space and time resolution cloud data. To-date, four intensive field-observation (IFO) periods were planned and executed: a cirrus IFO (October 13 - November 2, 1986); a marine stratocumulus IFO off the southwestern coast of California (June 29 - July 20, 1987); a second cirrus IFO in southeastern Kansas (November 13 - December 7, 1991); and a second marine stratocumulus IFO in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean (June 1 - June 28, 1992). Each mission combined coordinated satellite, airborne, and surface observations with modeling studies to investigate the cloud properties and physical processes of the cloud systems. During the period from June 1 to June 29, 1992, 203 soundings were obtained. At present two forms of data exist - Level I and Level II. Level I are the raw data produced in real time by the software of the Atmospheric Instrumentation Research (AIR) radiosonde system. These data are at irregular pressure and height levels. Level II data consist of processed thermodynamic and wind data at a uniform resolution of 10m, which essentially retains the highest possible vertical resolution in the original data. The Level II thermodynamic data seem to be reasonably free of errors; however, as mentioned in Schubert et. al., (1992) the wind data requires additional filtering before use.