First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Cirrus 2 High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) 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.This data set contains images of cirrus clouds advected over the HSRL during FIRE Cirrus 2 in Coffeyville, Kansas. These images consist of both the lidar backscatter and the depolarization ratio of backscatter radiation.

首届国际卫星云气候学计划（International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project, ISCCP）区域试验（First ISCCP Regional Experiments, 以下简称FIRE）旨在改进通用环流模型（General Circulation Models, GCM）中所使用的数据产品与云/辐射参数化方案。具体而言，FIRE的目标分为两点：其一，通过解析物理过程的相互作用，深入理解卷云与海洋层积云系统的生命循环，以及二者在生命周期内的辐射特性的决定机制；其二，探究ISCCP数据、GCM参数化方案与更高时空分辨率云数据之间的相互关联。截至目前，项目组已规划并实施四次密集野外观测期（Intensive Field Observation, 以下简称IFO）：1986年10月13日至11月2日的卷云IFO；1987年6月29日至7月20日的加利福尼亚西南沿海海域海洋层积云IFO；1991年11月13日至12月7日的堪萨斯州东南部第二次卷云IFO；以及1992年6月1日至6月28日的北大西洋东部第二次海洋层积云IFO。每一次观测任务均将协同卫星、航空及地面观测与模拟研究相结合，以探究云系统的云特性与物理过程。本数据集包含1991年FIRE卷云第二次观测任务（FIRE Cirrus 2）期间，在堪萨斯州科菲维尔市上空由高光谱分辨率激光雷达（High Spectral Resolution Lidar, HSRL）获取的平流卷云图像，此类图像同时涵盖激光雷达后向散射信号与后向散射辐射的退偏振比数据。