Klingebiel, Marcus; Mech, Mario; Ehrlich, André; Wendisch, Manfred: Extended Arctic Dropsonde Profiles and Derived Cloud Regime Parameters from the AFLUX, HALO-(AC)³, CAESAR and COMPEX-EC Campaigns [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.988128 (dataset in review)
Abstract:
This dataset comprises a large-sample collection of 450 vertical dropsonde profiles collected during four Arctic aircraft campaigns, three of which were conducted within the framework of the Transregional Collaborative Research Center Arctic Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and Surface Processes, and Feedback Mechanisms ((AC)³). Measurements were obtained using Vaisala RD41 and NRD41 mini dropsondes deployed from the Polar 5 (P5), the High Altitude and LOng Range Research Aircraft (HALO), and the C-130 during the Arctic Amplification: FLUXes in the Cloudy Atmospheric Boundary Layer (AFLUX, March–April 2019), the HALO-(AC)³ (March–April 2022), the Cold Air Outbreak Study of the Seasonal Transition in the Arctic Region (CAESAR, spring 2022), and the Clouds over Complex Environments EarthCARE (COMPEX-EC, April 2025) campaigns. All dropsonde profiles were recorded in the Fram Strait region (69°N–81°N, 15°W–29°E), primarily over open ocean during spring, a key period for observing Arctic Cold Air Outbreaks (CAOs). The dataset extends the original dropsonde measurements, air temperature, specific and relative humidity, pressure, and horizontal wind vector, by interpolating each profile onto a consistent vertical grid (0–3000 m, 5 m resolution, 601 levels) and augmenting it with several derived parameters relevant to boundary layer stability and cloud organization:
Marine CAO Index (M-Index): A measure of atmospheric instability calculated from the potential temperature difference between the sea surface and the 850 hPa level, combining CARRA reanalysis data with dropsonde temperature observations.
Stability Parameter (−H/L): The negative ratio of the atmospheric boundary layer height (H) to the Monin-Obukhov length (L), quantifying the relative influence of buoyancy and shear on turbulent mixing, derived using an iterative method.
Near-surface variables: Temperature, wind speed, and pressure extracted at 20 m, 90 m, and 100 m above the surface, along with surface potential temperature.
Cloud Regime Classification: A Self-Organizing Map (SOM)-based classification of cloud structure (e.g., cloud streets, isotropic clouds, open cells) at the dropsonde location, derived from collocated MODIS satellite imagery.
Surface Type: Classification of the underlying surface based on AMSR2 sea ice concentration (open water, marginal ice zone, sea ice, land).
This combined and extended dataset was used to validate the stability parameter as a predictor for cloud regimes in CAOs and is presented in Klingebiel et al. (2026).
Supplement to:
Klingebiel, Marcus; et al. (in prep.): Classification of Cloud Regimes in Arctic Cold Air Outbreaks using Dropsonde and Satellite Data. Geophysical Research Letters
Related to:
Becker, Sebastian; Ehrlich, André; Stapf, Johannes; Lüpkes, Christof; Mech, Mario; Crewell, Susanne; Wendisch, Manfred (2020): Meteorological measurements by dropsondes released from POLAR 5 during AFLUX 2019 [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.921996
George, Geet; Luebke, Anna E; Klingebiel, Marcus; Mech, Mario; Ehrlich, André (2024): Dropsonde measurements from HALO and POLAR 5 during HALO-(AC)³ in 2022 [dataset bundled publication]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.968891
Mech, Mario; Klingebiel, Marcus; Crewell, Susanne; Ehrlich, André; Bruder, Lena; Buhren, Christian; Gebhard, Eduard; van Gelder, Lars; Jansen, Friedhelm; Ludwig, Dennis; Müller, Joshua (2026): Collection of data sets for the Clouds over cOMPlEX environment - EarthCARE (COMPEX-EC) campaign, carried out in Kiruna in spring 2025 [dataset bibliography]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.983187
Mech, Mario; Lüpkes, Christof; Ehrlich, André; Wendisch, Manfred; Crewell, Susanne; Becker, Sebastian; Boose, Yvonne; Chechin, Dmitry; Dupuy, Regis; Gourbeyre, Christophe; Jäkel, Evelyn; Jourdan, Olivier; Kliesch, Leif-Leonard; Klingebiel, Marcus; Krobot, Pavel; Kulla, Birte Solveig; Risse, Nils; Ruiz-Donoso, Elena; Mioche, Guillaume; Moser, Manuel; Schäfer, Michael; Stapf, Johannes; Voigt, Christiane (2021): Collection of data sets for the Airborne measurements of radiative and turbulent FLUXes of energy and momentum in the Arctic boundary layer (AFLUX) campaign, carried out in spring 2019 northwest of Svalbard [dataset bibliography]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.932294
Project(s):
Arctic Amplification (AC3)
Funding:
German Research Foundation (DFG), grant/award no. 268020496: TRR 172: ArctiC Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and SurfaCe Processes, and Feedback Mechanisms
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 72.689536 * Median Longitude: 18.080150 * South-bound Latitude: 67.821645 * West-bound Longitude: 15.501618 * North-bound Latitude: 78.245976 * East-bound Longitude: 20.338890
Date/Time Start: 2019-03-19T15:59:56 * Date/Time End: 2025-04-15T15:46:27
Event(s):
HALO_220312a (RF02) * Latitude Start: 67.830280 * Longitude Start: 20.338890 * Latitude End: 67.830280 * Longitude End: 20.338890 * Date/Time Start: 2022-03-12T08:22:00 * Date/Time End: 2022-03-12T16:44:06 * Campaign: HALO_AC3 * Basis: HALO * Method/Device: Aircraft (AC) * Comment: Kiruna - Kiruna
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Campaign | Campaign | Klingebiel, Marcus | |||
| 2 | Platform | Platform | Klingebiel, Marcus | |||
| 3 | Date/time start | Date/time start | Klingebiel, Marcus | |||
| 4 | Date/time end | Date/time end | Klingebiel, Marcus | last flight | ||
| 5 | netCDF file | netCDF | Klingebiel, Marcus | |||
| 6 | netCDF file (File Size) | netCDF (Size) | Bytes | Klingebiel, Marcus |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
5 data points