STAQS_Sondes_Data is the balloonsonde and ozonesonde data collected during 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.

STRAT_Sondes_Data is the balloonsonde and ozonesonde data collected during the Stratospheric Tracers of Atmospheric Transport (STRAT) campaign. Data collection for this product is complete.The STRAT campaign was a field campaign conducted by NASA from May 1995 to February 1996. The primary goal of STRAT was to collect measurements of the change of long-lived tracers and functions of altitude, latitude, and season. These measurements were taken to aid with determining rates for global-scale transport and future distributions of high-speed civil transport (HSCT) exhaust that was emitted into the lower atmosphere. STRAT had four main objectives: defining the rate of transport of trace gases from the stratosphere and troposphere (i.e., HSCT exhaust emissions), improving the understanding of dynamical coupling rates for transport of trace gases between tropical regions and higher latitudes and lower altitudes (between tropical regions, higher latitudes, and lower altitudes are where most ozone resides), improving understanding of chemistry in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, and finally, providing data sets for testing two-dimensional and three-dimensional models used in assessments of impacts from stratospheric aviation. To accomplish these objectives, the STRAT Science Team conducted various surface-based remote sensing and in-situ measurements. NASA flew the ER-2 aircraft along with balloons such as ozonesondes and radiosondes just below the tropopause in the Northern Hemisphere to collect data. Along with the ER-2 and balloons, NASA also utilized satellite imagery, theoretical models, and ground sites. The ER-2 collected data on HOx, NOy, CO2, ozone, water vapor, and temperature. The ER-2 also collected in-situ stratospheric measurements of N2O, CH4, CO, HCL, and NO using the Aircraft Laser Infrared Absorption Spectrometer (ALIAS). Ozonesondes and radiosondes were also deployed to collect data on CO2, NO/NOy, air temperature, pressure, and 3D wind. These balloons also took in-situ measurements of N2O, CFC-11, CH4, CO, HCL, and NO2 using the ALIAS. Ground stations were responsible for taking measurements of O3, ozone mixing ratio, pressure, and temperature. Satellites took infrared images of the atmosphere with the goal of aiding in completing STRAT objectives. Pressure and temperature models were created to help plan the mission.

SCOAPE_RVPointSur_Data is the data collected from instruments onboard the University of Southern Mississippi’s Research Vessel (R/V) Point Sur during the Satellite Coastal and Oceanic Atmospheric Pollution Experiment (SCOAPE). Data was collected by sun photometers, ceilometers, aethalometers, anemometers, and pyranometers. Data collection for this product is complete. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) requires the US Department of Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to ensure compliance with the US National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) so that Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and natural gas (ONG) exploration, development, and production do not significantly impact the air quality of any US state. In 2017, BOEM and NASA entered into an interagency agreement to begin a study to scope out the feasibility of BOEM personnel using a suite of NASA and non-NASA resources to assess how pollutants from ONG exploration, development, and production activities affect air quality. An important activity of this interagency agreement was SCOAPE, a field deployment that took place in May 2019, that aimed to assess the capability of satellite observations for monitoring offshore air quality. The outcomes of the study are documented in two BOEM reports (Duncan, 2020; Thompson, 2020). To address BOEM’s goals, the SCOAPE science team conducted surface-based remote sensing and in-situ measurements, which enabled a systematic assessment of the application of satellite observations, primarily NO2, for monitoring air quality. The SCOAPE field measurements consisted of onshore ground sites, including in the vicinity of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON; Cocodrie, LA), as well as those from University of Southern Mississippi’s R/V Point Sur, which cruised in the Gulf of Mexico from 10-18 May 2019. Based on the 2014 and 2017 BOEM emissions inventories as well as daily air quality and meteorological forecasts, the cruise track was designed to sample both areas with large oil drilling platforms and areas with dense small natural gas facilities. The R/V Point Sur was instrumented to carry out both remote sensing and in-situ measurements of NO2 and O3 along with in-situ CH4, CO2, CO, and VOC tracers which allowed detailed characterization of airmass type and emissions. In addition, there were also measurements of multi-wavelength AOD and black carbon as well as planetary boundary layer structure and meteorological variables, including surface temperature, humidity, and winds. A ship-based spectrometer instrument provided remotely-sensed total column amounts of NO2 and O3 for direct comparison with satellite measurements. Ozonesondes and radiosondes were also launched 1-3 times daily from the R/V Point Sur to provide O3 and meteorological vertical profile observations. The ground-based observations, primarily at LUMCON, included spectrometer-measured column NO2 and O3, in-situ NO2, VOCs, and planetary boundary layer structure. A NO2sonde was also mounted on a vehicle with the goal to detect pollution onshore from offshore ONG activities during onshore flow; data were collected along coastal Louisiana from Burns Point Park to Grand Isle to the tip of the Mississippi River delta. The in-situ measurements were reported in ICARTT files or Excel files. The remote sensing data are in either HDF or netCDF files.

SCOAPE_Pandora_Data is the column NO2 and ozone data collected by Pandora spectrometers during the Satellite Coastal and Oceanic Atmospheric Pollution Experiment (SCOAPE). Pandora instruments were located on the University of Southern Mississippi’s Research Vessel (R/V) Point Sur and at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON; Cocodrie, LA). Data collection for this product is complete. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) requires the US Department of Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to ensure compliance with the US National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) so that Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and natural gas (ONG) exploration, development, and production do not significantly impact the air quality of any US state. In 2017, BOEM and NASA entered into an interagency agreement to begin a study to scope out the feasibility of BOEM personnel using a suite of NASA and non-NASA resources to assess how pollutants from ONG exploration, development, and production activities affect air quality. An important activity of this interagency agreement was SCOAPE, a field deployment that took place in May 2019, that aimed to assess the capability of satellite observations for monitoring offshore air quality. The outcomes of the study are documented in two BOEM reports (Duncan, 2020; Thompson, 2020). To address BOEM’s goals, the SCOAPE science team conducted surface-based remote sensing and in-situ measurements, which enabled a systematic assessment of the application of satellite observations, primarily NO2, for monitoring air quality. The SCOAPE field measurements consisted of onshore ground sites, including in the vicinity of LUMCON, as well as those from University of Southern Mississippi’s R/V Point Sur, which cruised in the Gulf of Mexico from 10-18 May 2019. Based on the 2014 and 2017 BOEM emissions inventories as well as daily air quality and meteorological forecasts, the cruise track was designed to sample both areas with large oil drilling platforms and areas with dense small natural gas facilities. The R/V Point Sur was instrumented to carry out both remote sensing and in-situ measurements of NO2 and O3 along with in-situ CH4, CO2, CO, and VOC tracers which allowed detailed characterization of airmass type and emissions. In addition, there were also measurements of multi-wavelength AOD and black carbon as well as planetary boundary layer structure and meteorological variables, including surface temperature, humidity, and winds. A ship-based spectrometer instrument provided remotely-sensed total column amounts of NO2 and O3 for direct comparison with satellite measurements. Ozonesondes and radiosondes were also launched 1-3 times daily from the R/V Point Sur to provide O3 and meteorological vertical profile observations. The ground-based observations, primarily at LUMCON, included spectrometer-measured column NO2 and O3, in-situ NO2, VOCs, and planetary boundary layer structure. A NO2sonde was also mounted on a vehicle with the goal to detect pollution onshore from offshore ONG activities during onshore flow; data were collected along coastal Louisiana from Burns Point Park to Grand Isle to the tip of the Mississippi River delta. The in-situ measurements were reported in ICARTT files or Excel files. The remote sensing data are in either HDF or netCDF files.

SCOAPE_Ground_Data is the ground site data collected during the Satellite Coastal and Oceanic Atmospheric Pollution Experiment (SCOAPE). The ground site was located at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON; Cocodrie, LA). This collection features NO2 volume mixing ratios from the Teledyne API T500U and boundary layer height information from the UH Vaisala CL31 Ceilometer. Data collection for this product is complete. The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) requires the US Department of Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to ensure compliance with the US National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) so that Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and natural gas (ONG) exploration, development, and production do not significantly impact the air quality of any US state. In 2017, BOEM and NASA entered into an interagency agreement to begin a study to scope out the feasibility of BOEM personnel using a suite of NASA and non-NASA resources to assess how pollutants from ONG exploration, development, and production activities affect air quality. An important activity of this interagency agreement was SCOAPE, a field deployment that took place in May 2019, that aimed to assess the capability of satellite observations for monitoring offshore air quality. The outcomes of the study are documented in two BOEM reports (Duncan, 2020; Thompson, 2020). To address BOEM’s goals, the SCOAPE science team conducted surface-based remote sensing and in-situ measurements, which enabled a systematic assessment of the application of satellite observations, primarily NO2, for monitoring air quality. The SCOAPE field measurements consisted of onshore ground sites, including in the vicinity of LUMCON, as well as those from University of Southern Mississippi’s Research Vessel (R/V) Point Sur, which cruised in the Gulf of Mexico from 10-18 May 2019. Based on the 2014 and 2017 BOEM emissions inventories as well as daily air quality and meteorological forecasts, the cruise track was designed to sample both areas with large oil drilling platforms and areas with dense small natural gas facilities. The R/V Point Sur was instrumented to carry out both remote sensing and in-situ measurements of NO2 and O3 along with in-situ CH4, CO2, CO, and VOC tracers which allowed detailed characterization of airmass type and emissions. In addition, there were also measurements of multi-wavelength AOD and black carbon as well as planetary boundary layer structure and meteorological variables, including surface temperature, humidity, and winds. A ship-based spectrometer instrument provided remotely-sensed total column amounts of NO2 and O3 for direct comparison with satellite measurements. Ozonesondes and radiosondes were also launched 1-3 times daily from the R/V Point Sur to provide O3 and meteorological vertical profile observations. The ground-based observations, primarily at LUMCON, included spectrometer-measured column NO2 and O3, in-situ NO2, VOCs, and planetary boundary layer structure. A NO2sonde was also mounted on a vehicle with the goal to detect pollution onshore from offshore ONG activities during onshore flow; data were collected along coastal Louisiana from Burns Point Park to Grand Isle to the tip of the Mississippi River delta. The in-situ measurements were reported in ICARTT files or Excel files. The remote sensing data are in either HDF or netCDF files.

This data set includes radiosonde measurements of upper air temperature and pressure, relative humidity, and wind direction and speed during the balloons' ascent to the upper atmosphere.

POLARIS_MetNav_AircraftInSitu_ER2_Data is the balloonsonde and ozonesonde data collected during the Photochemistry of Ozone Loss in the Arctic Region in Summer (POLARIS) campaign. Data collection for this product is complete. The POLARIS mission was a joint effort of NASA and NOAA that occurred in 1997 and was designed to expand on the photochemical and transport processes that cause the summer polar decreases in the stratospheric ozone. The POLARIS campaign had the overarching goal of better understanding the change of stratospheric ozone levels from very high concentrations in the spring to very low concentrations in the autumn. The NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft was the primary platform deployed along with balloons, satellites, and ground-sites. The POLARIS campaign was based in Fairbanks, Alaska with some flights being conducted from California and Hawaii. Flights were conducted between the summer solstice and fall equinox at mid- to high latitudes. The data collected included meteorological variables; long-lived tracers in reference to summertime transport questions; select species with reactive nitrogen (NOy), halogen (Cly), and hydrogen (HOx) reservoirs; and aerosols. More specifically, the ER-2 utilized various techniques/instruments including Laser Absorption, Gas Chromatography, Non-dispersive IR, UV Photometry, Catalysis, and IR Absorption. These techniques/instruments were used to collect data including N2O, CH4, CH3CCl3, CO2, O3, H2O, and NOy. Ground stations were responsible for collecting SO2 and O3, while balloons recorded pressure, temperature, wind speed, and wind directions. Satellites partnered with these platforms collected meteorological data and Lidar imagery. The observations were used to constrain stratospheric computer models to evaluate ozone changes due to chemistry and transport.

MACPEX_Sondes_Data is the balloonsonde and ozonesonde data collected during the Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX). Data were collected by the balloon borne frost point hygrometer (balloon FPH) and ozonesondes. Data collection for this product is complete. The Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX) was an airborne field campaign that deployed from March 18th to April 26th, 2011. MACPEX sought to investigate cirrus cloud properties and the processes that affect their impact on radiation. The campaign conducted science flights using the NASA WB-57 aircraft based out of Ellington Airfield, Texas. Science flights were focused on the central North America vicinity, with an emphasis over the Southern Great Plains atmospheric observatory (established by the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility) site in Oklahoma. MACPEX was a joint effort between NASA, the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and several U.S. universities. The WB-57 contained a comprehensive instrument payload for detailed in-situ measurements that were targeted to answer MACPEX’s four major science questions. The first science question that MACPEX explored was how prevalent the smaller crystals are in cirrus clouds, and how important they are for extinction, radiative forcing, and radiative heating. MACPEX also sought to understand how cirrus microphysical properties (particle size distribution, ice crystal habit, extinction, ice water content) are related to the dynamical forcing driving cloud formation. Researchers also investigated how cirrus microphysical properties are related to aerosol loading and composition, including the abundance of heterogeneous ice nuclei. Lastly, this campaign examined how cirrus microphysical properties evolve through the lifecycles of the clouds, and the role radiatively driven dynamical motions play. In addition to the in-situ measurements, four flights were coordinated to validate the NASA EOS/A-Train satellite observations. NOAA also launched balloon sondes and ozonesondes, which were used to acquire data about the frost point and water vapor in the atmosphere. The balloon sondes and ozonesondes also acquired pressure, temperature, and humidity data, as well as measurements regarding the ozone in the atmosphere.

STAQS_Sondes_Data is the balloonsonde and ozonesonde data collected during 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.

DCOTSS-Aircraft-Data features the aircraft data collected during the Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere sub-orbital campaign. These data products were collected via a variety of instrumentation onboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft, including: Advanced Whole Air Sampler (AWAS), ERA5,GFS, and GEOS-5 Analysis Fields , Meteorological Measurement System (MMS), Particle Analysis by Laser Mass Spectrometry – Next Generation (PALMS-NG), UAS Chromatography for Atmospheric Trace Species (UCATS), DCOTSS Printed Optical Particle Spectrometer (DPOPS), Rapid Ozone Experiment (ROZE), Harvard Water Vapor (HWV), Compact Airborne Nitrogen diOxide Experiment (CANOE), Compact Airborne Formaldehyde Experiment (CAFÉ), Harvard Halogens Experiment (HAL), and Harvard University Picarro Cavity Ringdown Spectrometer (HUPCRS). Data collection for this product is ongoing and currently only features the first deployment. Each summer the North American Monsoon Anticyclone (NAMA) dominates the circulation of the North-Western Hemisphere and acts to partially confine and isolate air from the surrounding atmosphere. Strong convective storms in the NAMA regularly reach altitudes deep into the lower stratosphere, with some ascending above 20 km. These storms carry water and pollutants from the troposphere into the otherwise very dry stratosphere, where they can have a significant impact on radiative and chemical processes, potentially including destruction of stratospheric ozone. The Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS) field campaign is a NASA Earth Venture Suborbital research project aimed at investigating these thunderstorms. DCOTSS utilizes NASA’s ER-2 aircraft and conducted two ~8-week science deployments based out of Salina, KS spanning early to late summer.