First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Cirrus Phase II Raman Lidar Data

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 seek 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 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.The GSFC Raman Lidar water vapor mixing ratio (wvmr) data with altitudes and times were collected for the period from 13 Nov 1991 to07 Dec 1991. Data were collected at night and consists of a series of one minute profiles. Data are summed for one minute in the detectors and saved to a file. For the 10 minute averaged data, the data are summed for 10 minutes before the calculations are performed. Each profile has a 75 meter resolution from 0.4135 to 10.299 kilometers. Zero (0) km means sea level. The site altitude is 0.229 km and thefirst data point is at 0.1845 km above ground level.