An extensive validation experiment was conducted in September 1995 from Wallops Island, Virginia, to evaluate the performance of the LASE (Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment) system for the measurement of water vapor profiles under a wide range of atmospheric and solar background conditions. During this experiment, the LASE system was flown on a high-altitude (ER-2) aircraft on ten missions for a total of 60 hours. LASE measurements of tropospheric water vapor were compared with in situ measurements from balloons and aircraft that were flown under the ER-2 and with remote measurements from the ground and from aircraft. A high-altitude aircraft (Lear Jet) was equipped with two in situ hygrometers, and a medium to low altitude aircraft (C-130) had onboard the NASA Langley airborne water vapor DIAL system and two in situ hygrometers. Several radiosondes were launched during each LASE flight, and some of these sondes were part of a concurrent international radiosonde intercomparison campaign sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization. The NASA Goddard Scanning Raman lidar also provided nighttime water vapor profile measurements from the ground. During this field experiment, LASE was also used in a number of atmospheric case studies including measurements of Hurricane Luis, a coastal sea breeze development, a strong cold front, an upper level front, and cirrus clouds.

The GRIP Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) dataset was collected by NASA's Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) system, which is an airborne Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system used to measure water vapor, aerosols, and clouds throughout the troposphere. LASE is onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft and probes the atmosphere using lasers to transmit light in the 815-nm absorption band of water vapor. Pulses of laser light are fired vertically below the aircraft. A small fraction of the transmitted laser light is reflected from the atmosphere back to the aircraft and collected with a telescope receiver. The received light indicates the amount of water vapor along the path of the laser beam. LASE operated in the Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) experiment with data spanning between August 13, 2010 through September 25, 2010. The major goal was to better understand how tropical storms form and develop into major hurricanes. NASA used the DC-8 aircraft, the WB-57 aircraft and the Global Hawk Unmanned Airborne System (UAS), configured with a suite of in situ and remote sensing instruments that were used to observe and characterize the lifecycle of hurricanes.

The Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment (TARFOX) data set was collected over the Western Atlantic Ocean in July 1996. The overall goal of TARFOX was to reduce uncertainties in the effects of aerosols on climate by determining the direct radiative impacts, as well as the chemical, physical, and optical properties, of the aerosols carried over the western Atlantic Ocean from the United States. LASE is an airborne autonomous DIAL system which produces measurements of aerosols and water vapor vertical profiles from the aircraft altitude down to the surface. Such profiles show the vertical context in which the TARFOX in situ and radiometric measurements are made, thus supporting the vertical extension of the in situ measurements and detecting any unsampled layers or inhomogeneities, which would impact the airborne and satellite radiative flux measurements. Note that the LASE_TARFOX data set is also available under the TARFOX project as the TARFOX_LASE data set. The data files included in these two data sets are identical.

This dataset provides measurements from the High Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO) instrument, an airborne multi-function Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) and High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL), operating at 532 nm and 1064 nm wavelengths onboard a C-130 aircraft during the June and July 2019 ACT-America campaign. The flights took place over eastern and central North America based from Shreveport, Louisiana; Lincoln, Nebraska; and NASA Wallops Flight Facility located on the eastern shore of Virginia. HALO data were sampled at 0.5 s temporal and 1.25 m vertical resolutions. The data include profiles of aerosol optical properties (AOP), distributions of mixed layer heights (MLH), columns of tropospheric methane, and navigation parameters. The data are provided in HDF5 format along with PNG images and a companion files in Portable Document (*.pdf) format.

LASE_AFWEX data are Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment water vapor and aerosol data measurements taken during ARM-FIRE (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement - First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project) Regional Experiment Water Vapor Experiment (AFWEX)Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) is an airborne autonomous DIfferential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) system developed to measure water vapor, aerosol, and cloud profiles. These measurements can be used in various atmospheric investigations, including studies of air mass modification, latent heat flux, the water vapor component of the hydrologic cycle, and atmospheric transport using water vapor as a tracer of atmospheric motions. The simultaneous measurement of aerosol and cloud distributions can provide important information on atmospheric structure and transport, and many meteorological parameters can also be inferred from these data.The LASE ARM-FIRE Water Vapor Experiment (AFWEX) field experiment was conducted from November 27 - December 15, 2000 at the ARM Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) Site site in Lamont, Oklahoma. The goals of the mission were to characterize and improve the accuracy of water vapor measurements under a wide variety of conditions. LASE airborne lidar produces measurements of aerosols and water vapor vertical profiles from the aircraft altitude (6-8 km) down to the surface. AFWEX consisted of both airborne and ground-based instruments. The main result of AFWEX was to demonstrate that, with careful analysis, a core group of 5 instruments was accurate at the 5% level for the profile of water vapor.

LASE_CAMEX3 data are Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment water vapor and aerosol data measurements taken during the 3rd Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX3).LASE (Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment) is an airborne autonomous DIAL system developed to measure water vapor and aerosol profiles. The Convection And Moisture EXperiment (CAMEX-3) campaign was based at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida from 6 August - 23 September, 1998. CAMEX-3 successfully studied Hurricanes Bonnie, Danielle, Earl and Georges. CAMEX-3 collected data for research in tropical cyclone development, tracking, intensification, and landfalling impacts using NASA-funded aircraft and surface remote sensing instrumentation.The CAMEX-3 study yields high spatial and temporal information of hurricane structure, dynamics, and motion. The LASE instrument's purpose in this experiment is to characterize the hurricane environment using water vapor and aerosol measurements for use as input to models and assimilation schemes and to fill in sonde data voids.

The GOES-R PLT Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) dataset consists of backscatter coefficient, lidar depolarization ratio, layer top/base height, layer type, particulate extinction coefficient, ice water content, and layer/cumulative optical depth data collected from the Cloud Physics LiDAR instrument flown aboard the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft during the GOES-R Post Launch Test (PLT) field campaign. The GOES-R PLT field campaign supported post-launch L1B and L2+ product validation of the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) and the Geostationary Lightning Mapper (GLM). The CPL instrument is a multi-wavelength backscatter LiDAR that provides multi-wavelength measurements of cirrus clouds and aerosols with high temporal and spatial resolution. Data files are available from April 13, 2017 through May 14, 2017 in HDF-5 format with layer information in ASCII text files. Browse imagery files in GIF format are also available.

This data set contains aggregated topographic ranges, radii, and related data along each observational pass during which Clementine LIDAR laser range data were acquired. The data were created using preliminary spacecraft timing, orientation, and orbital solutions. The laser ranges have been converted from counts to meters using a calibration factor of 39.972 m per count. Timing information may have substantial errors owing to spacecraft computer resets and clock ambiguity. The lidar electronics triggered on photon pulses continuously, and recorded up to four pulses within a programmable range window. The last trigger before and the first trigger after the range window were also recorded. Usually, but not always, the first trigger within the range window was the valid range. For a few laser shots, multiple pulses were detected within the expected time interval for lunar reflections.

STAQS_AircraftRemoteSensing_NASA-G3_HALO_Data is the remotely sensed trace gas data for the NASA Gulfstream III aircraft taken by the High Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO) instrument as part of the Synergistic TEMPO Air Quality Science (STAQS) mission. Data collection for this product is complete. Launched in April 2023, NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite monitors major air pollutants across North America every daylight hour at high spatial resolution at a geostationary orbit (GEO). With these measurements, NASA’s STAQS mission seeks to integrate TEMPO satellite observations with traditional air quality monitoring to improve understanding of air quality science and enhance societal benefit. STAQS is being conducted during summer 2023, targeting urban areas, including Los Angeles, New York City, and Chicago. As part of the mission two aircraft will be outfitted with various remote sensing payloads. The Johnson Space Center (JSC) Gulfstream-V (G-V) aircraft will feature the GeoCAPE Airborne Simulator (GCAS) and combined High Spectral Resolution Lidar-2 (HSRL-2) and Ozone Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL). This payload provides repeated high-resolution mapping of NO2, HCHO, ozone, and aerosols up to 3x per day over targeted cities. NASA Langley Research Center’s (LaRC’s) Gulfstream-III will measure city-scale emissions 2x per day over the targeted cities with the High-Altitude Lidar Observatory (HALO) and Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer – Next Generation (AVIRS-NG). STAQS will also incorporate ground-based tropospheric ozone profiles from the NASA Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet), NO2, HCHO, and ozone measurements from Pandora spectrometers, and will leverage existing networks operated by the EPA and state air quality agencies. The primary goal of STAQS is to improve our current understanding of air quality science under the TEMPO field of regard. Further goals include evaluating TEMPO level 2 data products, interpreting the temporal and spatial evolution of air quality events tracked by TEMPO, improving temporal estimates of anthropogenic, biogenic, and greenhouse gas emissions, assessing the benefit of assimilating TEMPO data into chemical transport models, and linking air quality patterns to socio-demographic data.

TRACERAQ_AircraftRemoteSensing_GV_HSRL2_Data is the remotely sensed High Spectral Resolution Lidar-2 (HSRL-2) data collected onboard the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Gulfstream V (G-V) aircraft during the TRacking Aerosol Convection ExpeRiment – Air Quality (TRACER-AQ) field study. Data collection is ongoing. The TRacking Aerosol Convection ExpeRiment – Air Quality (TRACER-AQ) campaign is a field study co-sponsored by NASA and TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality), with partners from DOE (Department of Energy) TRacking Aerosol Convection ExpeRiment (TRACER), and several academic institutions. This synergistic effort aims to gain an updated understanding in photochemistry and meteorological impact on ozone formation in the Houston region, particularly around the Houston Ship Channel, Galveston Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico; provide observations for evaluating air quality models and satellite observations; and identify injustices due to air quality in relation to socioeconomic factors. The primary TRACER-AQ field observations period lasted from mid-August to late September 2021, coinciding with the peak ozone season in East Texas, with a second deployment in summer 2022 with a subset of ground-based assets. The observing system includes airborne remote sensing, mobile (boat/vehicle) laboratories, and stationary ground-based assets. The airborne component was based on the NASA Gulfstream V aircraft instrumented with GCAS (GEOCAPE Airborne Simulator) for making measurements of column NO2 and HCHO as well as a lidar system, HSRL-2 (High Spectral Resolution Lidar-2), to measure O3 and aerosol vertical profiles over the course of 12 flight days. Ground-based assets include ground-based ozone lidars from the Tropospheric Ozone Lidar Network (TOLNet), ceilometers, Pandora spectrometers, AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) remote sensors, ozonesondes, and stationary and mobile laboratories of in situ air quality and meteorological observations. This coordinated observing system provides updated or unseen perspectives in spatial and temporal distribution of the key photochemical species and atmospheric structure information, particularly with a focus on the temporal evolution of observations throughout the daytime in preparation for upcoming geostationary satellite air quality observations.