Bühler, Linnu; Rückert, Janna Elisabeth; Risse, Nils; Krobot, Pavel; Mech, Mario (2026): Total Sky Imager observations in the visual and infrared on Polarstern cruise PS144 (ArcWatch-2) [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.995751
Always quote citation above when using data! You can download the citation in several formats below.
Published: 2026-07-27 • DOI registered: 2026-09-08
Abstract:
A Total Sky Imager (TSI) camera recorded cloud cover in the visual and infrared during Polarstern cruise PS144 from August to October 2024 in the central Arctic Ocean. The TSI was mounted on the port side reling of the A-Deck, where it recorded an image every minute. The setup consists of the Mobotix visual fish-eye sensor Mx-O-SMA-S-6D016-X with 180° angles in both directions, 3072 x 2048 pixels, focal length of 1.6 mm and an aperture of f/2.0, as well as the infrared sensor Mx-O-SMA-TS-R079. The infrared sensor operates in the IR range of 7.5 to 13.5 μm, with angles of 45° and 35° and 336 x 252 pixels. For temperatures below -40 °C, i.e., in clear sky conditions, the TSI did not take pictures. Only colored plots set on a fixed color scale from 310 to 400 with no physical meaning or unit could be saved. Before September 10, the TSI reverted back to manufacturer's settings without the fixed color scale after clear sky conditions and was later manually changed to the fixed color scale. The ship's crow's nest covers a large section of the fish-eye camera's field of view. The pictures can be downloaded as daily zip files. Data are available from August 13, 10:42 until October 8, 08:28. More than 1 hour of data are missing (due to clear sky conditions or instrument malfunction) from 2024-08-14 08:04 to 2024-08-14 18:50, 2024-09-14 12:39 to 2024-09-15 08:58 and 2024-09-20 23:30 to 2024-09-21 07:02. Only infrared images were recorded from 2024-08-19 03:21 to 2024-08-20 07:43, 2024-08-26 03:08 to 2024-08-26 06:52, 2024-09-02 03:45 to 2024-09-02 17:08, 2024-09-07 18:16 to 2024-09-08 06:44, and from 2024-09-08 08:34 to 2024-09-09 06:57.
Related to:
Bühler, Linnu; Rückert, Janna Elisabeth; Walbröl, Andreas; Mech, Mario; Risse, Nils; Krobot, Pavel; Ebell, Kerstin; Schnitt, Sabrina; Spreen, Gunnar (2026): Water vapor, mixed-phase clouds, precipitation and sea ice emissivity over the Central Arctic Ocean (VAMPIRE-1): remote sensing and in-situ measurements suite during POLARSTERN cruise PS144 (ArcWatch-2) [dataset bibliography]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.990496
Further details:
Rabe, Benjamin; Geibert, Walter (2024): Master track of POLARSTERN cruise PS144 in 1 sec resolution (zipped, 243 MB) [dataset]. Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.974028 (For lat/long information)
Rabe, Benjamin; Geibert, Walter (2024): Master tracks in different resolutions of POLARSTERN cruise PS144, Tromsø - Bremerhaven, 2024-08-09 - 2024-10-13 [dataset]. Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.974029 (For lat/long information)
Project(s):
Arctic Amplification (AC3)
Funding:
Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (AWI), grant/award no. AWI_PS144_00: DWD, Northern Helicopter
German Research Foundation (DFG), grant/award no. 268020496: TRR 172: ArctiC Amplification: Climate Relevant Atmospheric and SurfaCe Processes, and Feedback Mechanisms
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 70.439514 * Median Longitude: 16.211445 * South-bound Latitude: 69.747320 * West-bound Longitude: 13.280451 * North-bound Latitude: 71.131707 * East-bound Longitude: 19.142440
Date/Time Start: 2024-08-13T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2024-10-08T23:59:00
Minimum Elevation: -2217.4 m * Maximum Elevation: -11.9 m
Event(s):
PS144_0_Underway-20 * Latitude Start: 69.747320 * Longitude Start: 19.142440 * Latitude End: 71.131707 * Longitude End: 13.280451 * Date/Time Start: 2024-08-09T08:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2024-10-08T09:00:00 * Elevation Start: -11.9 m * Elevation End: -2217.4 m * O2A Registry URI: https://registry.o2a-data.de/items/11611 * Campaign: PS144 (ArcWatch 2; TransArc3) * Basis: Polarstern * Method/Device: Total sky imager, visual and infrared (TSI)
Parameter(s):
| # | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DATE/TIME | Date/Time | Bühler, Linnu | Geocode – start | ||
| 2 | DATE/TIME | Date/Time | Bühler, Linnu | Geocode – end | ||
| 3 | Image, sky | IMAGE sky | Bühler, Linnu | Total sky imager, visual and infrared (TSI) | jpg files in a zipped folder | |
| 4 | Image, sky (File Size) | IMAGE sky (Size) | Bytes | Bühler, Linnu | Total sky imager, visual and infrared (TSI) | jpg files in a zipped folder |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0)
Status:
Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)
Size:
57 data points