Klingebiel, Marcus; Müller, Joshua; Jäkel, Evelyn; Schäfer, Michael; Ehrlich, André; Wendisch, Manfred (2026): Spectral solar cloud top radiance measured by airborne spectral imaging (AISA Eagle) during the COMPEX-EC campaign in April 2025 [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.989272
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Published: 2026-01-15 • DOI registered: 2026-02-13
Abstract:
This dataset provides hyper-spectral fields of visible and near-infrared cloud top radiance observed by the AISA Eagle instrument, which was deployed aboard the Polar 5 research aircraft. The measurements were conducted during the COMPEX-EC (Clouds over Complex Environments—EarthCARE) field study in April 2025. The COMPEX-EC campaign focused on observing Cold Air Outbreaks (CAOs) and associated cloud structures over open ocean north of the Norwegian coast. The AISA Eagle uses a single-line push broom sensor comprising 1024 across-track pixels. It captures measurements across 504 channels spanning wavelengths from 400 nm to 993 nm. The instrument features a 36.3° field of view (FOV) and achieves a high spatial resolution, typically below 1 meter for targets positioned 1 kilometer away. This comprehensive dataset allows for detailed small-scale analysis of cloud structures and properties during Arctic CAOs.
Related to:
Mech, Mario; Klingebiel, Marcus; Crewell, Susanne; Ehrlich, André; Bruder, Lena; Buhren, Christian; Gebhard, Eduard; van Gelder, Lars; Jansen, Friedhelm; Ludwig, Dennis; Müller, Joshua: 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.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.983187
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: 67.821835 * Median Longitude: 20.327558 * South-bound Latitude: 67.821645 * West-bound Longitude: 20.327129 * North-bound Latitude: 67.822004 * East-bound Longitude: 20.327969
Date/Time Start: 2025-04-04T10:39:47 * Date/Time End: 2025-04-15T15:46:27
Event(s):
P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504040201 * Latitude Start: 67.821939 * Longitude Start: 20.327570 * Latitude End: 67.822004 * Longitude End: 20.327969 * Date/Time Start: 2025-04-04T10:39:47 * Date/Time End: 2025-04-04T16:05:47 * Campaign: P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025 * Basis: POLAR 5 * Method/Device: Aircraft (AC)
P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504060301 * Latitude Start: 67.821986 * Longitude Start: 20.327634 * Latitude End: 67.821877 * Longitude End: 20.327808 * Date/Time Start: 2025-04-06T12:04:14 * Date/Time End: 2025-04-06T16:27:14 * Campaign: P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025 * Basis: POLAR 5 * Method/Device: Aircraft (AC)
P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504070401 * Latitude Start: 67.821913 * Longitude Start: 20.327732 * Latitude End: 67.821921 * Longitude End: 20.327668 * Date/Time Start: 2025-04-07T11:41:49 * Date/Time End: 2025-04-07T16:01:48 * Campaign: P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025 * Basis: POLAR 5 * Method/Device: Aircraft (AC)
Comment:
The data are stored as multiple netCDF (.nc) files, with the files for each flight zipped using 7z compression. The primary variable provided is radiance, which is the upward radiance in units of Wm−2 sr−1 nm−1. Each netCDF file also contains geolocation, attitude, and time information, including:
Upward radiance (radiance)
Wavelength (wavelength)
Latitude (lat), Longitude (lon), and Elliptical Height (alt)
Roll (roll) and Pitch (pitch) angles
Decimal hour of the day (time)
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Event label | Event | Klingebiel, Marcus | start of flight | ||
| 2 | Date/Time of event | Date/Time | Klingebiel, Marcus | start of flight | ||
| 3 | netCDF file | netCDF | Klingebiel, Marcus | zipped | ||
| 4 | netCDF file (File Size) | netCDF (Size) | Bytes | Klingebiel, Marcus | zipped |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
7 data points
Data
All files referred to in data matrix can be downloaded in one go as ZIP or TAR. Be careful: This download can be very large! To protect our systems from misuse, we require to sign up for an user account before downloading.
| 1 Event | 2 Date/Time | 3 netCDF | 4 netCDF (Size) [Bytes] |
|---|---|---|---|
| P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504040201 | 2025-04-04T10:39:47 | COMPEX-EC_20250404_P5_RF01.7z | 40.1 GBytes |
| P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504060301 | 2025-04-06T12:04:14 | COMPEX-EC_20250406_P5_RF02.7z | 60.5 GBytes |
| P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504070401 | 2025-04-07T11:41:49 | COMPEX-EC_20250407_P5_RF03.7z | 67.3 GBytes |
| P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504080501 | 2025-04-08T11:47:50 | COMPEX-EC_20250408_P5_RF04.7z | 40 GBytes |
| P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504110601 | 2025-04-11T11:53:36 | COMPEX-EC_20250411_P5_RF05.7z | 37 GBytes |
| P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504130701 | 2025-04-13T10:25:04 | COMPEX-EC_20250413_P5_RF06.7z | 75 GBytes |
| P5-256_COMPEX-EC_2025_2504150801 | 2025-04-15T10:39:29 | COMPEX-EC_20250415_P5_RF07.7z | 67.7 GBytes |