ASDC | ORACLES_Merge_Data

ORACLES Level 3

Entry Title: ORACLES Merge Data Files

Entry ID: ORACLES_Merge_Data_1

Aerosols Clouds Radiation Budget 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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Resources and Documentation

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ORACLES Enhanced Modis Airborne Simulator (eMAS) Data

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GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

PUBLICATIONS

ORACLES Mission Overview

From GCMD Science Keywords:

ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC CARBON MONOXIDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC WATER VAPOR
PLATFORM CHARACTERISTICS
SCATTERING > CLOUD RADIATIVE TRANSFER
SATURATION VAPOR PRESSURE > WATER VAPOR INDICATORS
NITROGEN OXIDES > NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
WATER VAPOR > WATER VAPOR INDICATORS
TROPOSPHERIC OZONE
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
UPPER LEVEL WINDS
HORIZONTAL WIND VELOCITY/SPEED > WIND DYNAMICS
AEROSOL CONCENTRATION > AEROSOL PARTICLE PROPERTIES
ATMOSPHERIC OZONE > OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
CLOUD PROPERTIES
CLOUD OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESS > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS
AIR QUALITY
CLOUD DROPLET CONCENTRATION/SIZE > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS
CLOUD WATER PATH > PRECIPITATION PROFILES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH/THICKNESS
WIND SPEED > UPPER LEVEL WINDS
STATIC PRESSURE
CARBON MONOXIDE
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
DEW POINT TEMPERATURE > UPPER AIR TEMPERATURE
CLOUD DROPLET DISTRIBUTION
AEROSOL SIZE DISTRIBUTION > AEROSOL PARTICLE PROPERTIES
CLOUD CONDENSATION NUCLEI > CLOUD MICROPHYSICS
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
SHORTWAVE DOWNWARD IRRADIANCE > SOLAR IRRADIANCE
WIND DIRECTION > UPPER LEVEL WINDS
VERTICAL WIND VELOCITY/SPEED > WIND DYNAMICS
CARBON DIOXIDE PROFILES > ATMOSPHERIC CARBON DIOXIDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC TEMPERATURE
AEROSOL PARTICLE PROPERTIES

Data Distribution

File Format(s):

NetCDF-4

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Spatial Information

Spatial Coverage: (S: -34.95, N: 37.95), (W: -76.44, E: 14.94)
Spatial Coverage Type: Horizontal Vertical
Coordinate System: Cartesian
Granule Spatial Representation: Cartesian

Locations

AFRICA SOUTHERN AFRICA SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE ATLANTIC OCEAN SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE ASCENSION ISLAND NAMIBIA

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