HEFEX III: UAV atmospheric profiles and ICON-LES simulations at Hintereisferner glacier (Austria)

This dataset contains UAV-based atmospheric profile observations and high-resolution atmospheric model simulations collected and produced during the first intensive observation period (IOP1) of the HEFEX III field campaign at Hintereisferner glacier. The HEFEX III campaign investigated glacier–atmosphere interactions and boundary-layer processes over alpine glaciers using a combination of in-situ observations, remote sensing techniques, and high-resolution numerical modelling. UAV observations (2025-08-07 to 2025-08-11) The observational component consists of vertical atmospheric profiles obtained using uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped withan iMet XQ-2 meteorological sensors. Temperature and humidity measurements were obtained with an iMet XQ-2 sensor package, providing measurements at a sampling rate of 1 Hz. Observed variables include: air temperature potential temperature specific humidity Wind information is derived from the UAV flight log and provided as 5-second averaged values, including: wind speed wind direction During the campaign, UAV flights performed vertical ascents up to approximately 400 m above ground level. Profiles were conducted every three hours, with an approximate ascent rate of 1 m/s, allowing high-resolution vertical sampling of the lower atmospheric boundary layer above the glacier. Model simulations (2025-08-07 to 2025-08-11) The dataset also contains large-eddy simulations performed with ICON in LES mode (ICON-LES) at a horizontal resolution of 51 m for the same time period as the lidar observations. To enable direct comparison with the UAV measurements, the dataset provides model output extracted from the grid cells corresponding to the UAV profile locations. The model data include the same atmospheric variables as the UAV observations where available, including: air temperature potential temperature specific humidity wind speed wind direction Model values are provided for the lowest 50 model levels, corresponding to approximately 1300 m above ground level. ICON-LES outputs are provided as instantaneous model values at full-hour timestamps, corresponding to the times of UAV profiling. Data structure The dataset contains: UAV-based atmospheric profiles from HEFEX III IOP1 meteorological observations from the iMet XQ-2 sensor wind estimates derived from UAV flight logs ICON-LES model output extracted at the UAV profile locations UAV profiles aggregated to ICON model levels to facilitate direct comparison between observations and model output The provided aggregation simplifies comparison between datasets but does not account for elevation offsets between the UAV launch location and the model topography. Detailed descriptions of variables, units, file formats, and processing steps are provided in the accompanying README file. Purpose This dataset enables: evaluation of large-eddy atmospheric simulations against UAV-based observations investigation of the vertical structure of the atmospheric boundary layer over alpine glaciers analysis of temperature, humidity, and wind profiles in glacier-influenced environments comparison of observed and simulated boundary-layer dynamics during HEFEX III本数据集收录了在欣特埃斯费纳冰川（Hintereisferner Glacier）开展的HEFEX III野外试验首次密集观测期（Intensive Observation Period，简称IOP1）期间采集并生成的无人机（Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle，简称UAV）大气廓线观测数据，以及高分辨率大气模式模拟结果。 HEFEX III试验通过原位观测、遥感技术与高分辨率数值模拟相结合的手段，研究了高山冰川区的冰川-大气相互作用及边界层过程。 无人机观测（2025年8月7日至2025年8月11日） 该观测数据集采用搭载iMet XQ-2气象传感器的无人机获取垂直大气廓线数据。通过iMet XQ-2传感器组件获取气温与湿度数据，采样率为1赫兹。 观测变量包括： - 气温 - 位温 - 比湿 风场信息源自无人机飞行日志，以5秒平均值形式输出，包含： - 风速 - 风向 试验期间，无人机垂直爬升高度最高可达离地约400米。观测廓线每3小时开展一次，爬升速率约为1米/秒，可对冰川上方的低层大气边界层开展高分辨率垂直采样。 模式模拟（2025年8月7日至2025年8月11日） 本数据集还包含与激光雷达观测同期开展的、以大涡模拟（Large Eddy Simulation，简称LES）模式运行的ICON模式（简称ICON-LES）生成的大涡模拟结果，水平分辨率为51米。 为便于与无人机观测数据直接对比，本数据集提取了与无人机廓线观测位置匹配的模式格点输出结果。模式数据包含无人机观测中的所有可用大气变量，具体包括： - 气温 - 位温 - 比湿 - 风速 - 风向 模式输出涵盖模式最低50层，对应离地约1300米的高度范围。ICON-LES的输出为整点时刻的瞬时模式值，与无人机廓线观测时刻一一对应。 数据集结构 本数据集包含： - HEFEX III IOP1的无人机大气廓线数据 - iMet XQ-2传感器获取的气象观测数据 - 源自无人机飞行日志的风场估算数据 - 匹配无人机廓线观测位置的ICON-LES模式输出数据 - 为便于直接对比观测与模式结果，已将无人机廓线数据聚合至ICON模式层级 本次聚合操作仅简化了数据集间的对比流程，但未考虑无人机发射点与模式地形间的高程偏差。变量定义、单位、文件格式及处理流程的详细说明见配套README文档。 数据集用途 本数据集可用于： - 基于无人机观测结果评估大涡大气模拟性能 - 研究高山冰川区大气边界层的垂直结构特征 - 分析冰川影响环境下的气温、湿度及风场廓线特征 - 对比HEFEX III试验期间观测与模拟得到的边界层动力学过程