ASDC | ORACLES_Merge_Data

ORACLES Level 3

Entry Title: ORACLES Merge Data Files

Entry ID: ORACLES_Merge_Data_1

Aerosols Clouds Tropospheric Composition

Description

ORACLES_Merge_Data are pre-generated aircraft merge data files created utilizing data collected during the ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) campaign. These measurements were collected from August 19, 2016 – October 27, 2016, August 1, 2017 – September 4, 2017 and September 21, 2018 – October 27, 2018. ORACLES provides multi-year airborne observations over the complete vertical column of key parameters that drive aerosol-cloud interactions in the southeast Atlantic, an area with some of the largest inter-model differences in aerosol forcing assessments on the planet. The P-3 Orion aircraft was utilized as a low-flying platform for simultaneous in situ and remote sensing measurements of aerosols and clouds and was supplemented by ER-2 remote sensing during the 2016 campaign. Data collection for this product is complete.

Southern Africa produces almost one-third of the Earth’s biomass burning aerosol particles. The ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) experiment was a five year investigation with three intensive observation periods (August 19, 2016 – October 27, 2016; August 1, 2017 – September 4, 2017; September 21, 2018 – October 27, 2018) and was designed to study key processes that determine the climate impacts of African biomass burning aerosols. ORACLES provided multi-year airborne observations over the complete vertical column of the key parameters that drive aerosol-cloud interactions in the southeast Atlantic, an area with some of the largest inter-model differences in aerosol forcing assessments. These inter-model differences in aerosol and cloud distributions, as well as their combined climatic effects in the SE Atlantic are partly due to the persistence of aerosols above clouds. The varying separation of cloud and aerosol layers sampled during ORACLES allow for a process-oriented understanding of how variations in radiative heating profiles impact cloud properties, which is expected to improve model simulations for other remote regions experience long-range aerosol transport above clouds. ORACLES utilized two NASA aircraft, the P-3 and ER-2. The P-3 was used as a low-flying platform for simultaneous in situ and remote sensing measurements of aerosols and clouds in all three campaigns, supplemented by ER-2 remote sensing in 2016. ER-2 observations will be used to enhance satellite-based remote sensing by resolving variability within a particular scene, and by guiding the development of new and improved remote sensing techniques.

DOI

10.5067/ASDC_DAAC/ORACLES_Merge_Data_1

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ORACLES Enhanced Modis Airborne Simulator (eMAS) Data

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ORACLES Mission Overview

From GCMD Science Keywords:

STATIC TEMPERATURE > SURFACE TEMPERATURE
CLOUD OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESS > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS
WIND SPEED > UPPER LEVEL WINDS
ATMOSPHERIC OZONE > OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
SURFACE WINDS
ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
TROPOSPHERIC OZONE
STATIC PRESSURE
WIND DIRECTION > UPPER LEVEL WINDS
WIND DIRECTION > SURFACE WINDS
DEW POINT TEMPERATURE > UPPER AIR TEMPERATURE
CARBON MONOXIDE
AIR QUALITY
DEW POINT TEMPERATURE > SURFACE TEMPERATURE
ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
AEROSOL PARTICLE PROPERTIES
AIR TEMPERATURE > SURFACE TEMPERATURE
AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESS
CARBON MONOXIDE PROFILES > ATMOSPHERIC CARBON MONOXIDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
SURFACE TEMPERATURE
CLOUD CONDENSATION NUCLEI > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
CLOUD DROPLET DISTRIBUTION
CARBON DIOXIDE PROFILES > ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC CARBON MONOXIDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
UPPER LEVEL WINDS
SATURATION VAPOR PRESSURE > WATER VAPOR INDICATORS
WATER VAPOR > WATER VAPOR INDICATORS
WIND SPEED > SURFACE WINDS
CLOUD PROPERTIES
POTENTIAL TEMPERATURE > SURFACE TEMPERATURE

Data Distribution

File Format(s):

NetCDF-4

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Spatial Information

Spatial Coverage: (S: -35, N: 41), (W: -126, E: 14)
Spatial Coverage Type: Horizontal Vertical
Coordinate System: Cartesian
Granule Spatial Representation: Cartesian

Locations

CONTINENT AFRICA SOUTHERN AFRICA GEOGRAPHIC REGION SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN VERTICAL LOCATION TROPOSPHERE

Temporal Information

Temporal Coverage: 2016-07-28 - 2019-03-23

Platforms

Jet

NASA ER-2

NASA Earth Resources-2

Computer

Propeller

NASA P-3

Computer

Metadata Dates

Created on 2022-04-01

Last updated on 2023-05-23