First ISCCP Regional Experiment (FIRE) Atlantic Stratocumulus Transition Experiment (ASTEX) Colorado State University (CSU) PRT-6 Data

Specifically, the goals of FIRE are (1) to seek the basicunderstanding of the interaction of physical processes in determining lifecycles of cirrus and marine stratocumulus systems and the radiative properties of these clouds during their life cycles and (2) to investigate the interrelationships between the ISCCP data, GCM parameterizations, andhigher space and time resolution cloud data.To-date, four intensive field-observation periods were planned andexecuted: 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 system.The PRT-6 radiometer is a chopped bolometer which can passively senseinfrared targets within the spectral range of 2 to 20 microns. The radiometer is configured to accept optics with either a 2 or 20 degree field of view. The output is a voltage signal sampled at a frequency of 1/0.1 sec.