TRACE-P_Ground_Data is the ground site data collected during the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) suborbital campaign. Data collection for this product is complete.The NASA TRACE-P mission was a part of NASA’s Global Tropospheric Experiment (GTE) – an assemblage of missions conducted from 1983-2001 with various research goals and objectives. TRACE-P was a multi-organizational campaign with NASA, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and several US universities. TRACE-P deployed its payloads in the Pacific between the months of March and April 2001 with the goal of studying the air chemistry emerging from Asia to the western Pacific. Along with this, TRACE-P had the objective studying the chemical evolution of the air as it moved away from Asia.  In order to accomplish its goals, the NASA DC-8 aircraft and NASA P-3B aircraft were deployed, each equipped with various instrumentation. TRACE-P also relied on ground sites, and satellites to collect data. The DC-8 aircraft was equipped with 19 instruments in total while the P-3B boasted 21 total instruments. Some instruments on the DC-8 include the Nephelometer, the GCMS, the Nitric Oxide Chemiluminescence, the Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL), and the Dual Channel Collectors and Fluorometers, HPLC. The Nephelometer was utilized to gather data on various wavelengths including aerosol scattering (450, 550, 700nm), aerosol absorption (565nm), equivalent BC mass, and air density ratio. The GCMS was responsible for capturing a multitude of compounds in the atmosphere, some of which include CH4, CH3CHO, CH3Br, CH3Cl, CHBr3, and C2H6O. DIAL was used for a variety of measurements, some of which include aerosol wavelength dependence (1064/587nm), IR aerosol scattering ratio (1064nm), tropopause heights and ozone columns, visible aerosol scattering ratio, composite tropospheric ozone cross-sections, and visible aerosol depolarization. Finally, the Dual Channel Collectors and Fluorometers, HPLC collected data on H2O2, CH3OOH, and CH2O in the atmosphere. The P-3B aircraft was equipped with various instruments for TRACE-P, some of which include the MSA/CIMS, the Non-dispersive IR Spectrometer, the PILS-Ion Chromatograph, and the Condensation particle counter and Pulse Height Analysis (PHA). The MSA/CIMS measured OH, H2SO4, MSA, and HNO3. The Non-dispersive IR Spectrometer took measurements on CO2 in the atmosphere. The PILS-Ion Chromatograph recorded measurements of compounds and elements in the atmosphere, including sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, NH4, NO3, and SO4. Finally, the Condensation particle counter and PHA was used to gather data on total UCN, UCN 3-8nm, and UCN 3-4nm. Along with the aircrafts, ground stations measured air quality from China along with C2H2, C2H6, CO, and HCN. Finally, satellites imagery was used to collect a multitude of data, some of the uses were to observe the history of lightning flashes, SeaWiFS cloud imagery, 8-day exposure to TOMS aerosols, and SeaWiFS aerosol optical thickness. The imagery was used to best aid in planning for the aircraft deployment.

TRACERAQ_Sondes_Data is the ozonesonde and radiosonde data launched at the University of Houston and LaPorte ground sites during the TRacking Aerosol Convection ExpeRiment – Air Quality (TRACER-AQ) field study. Data collection is complete.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 America; and provide observations for evaluating air quality models and satellite observations.The primary TRACER-AQ field observations period lasted from mid-August to late September 2021, coinciding with the peak ozone season in East Texas. A second deployment occurred 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 (GEOstationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events) Airborne Simulator) for making measurements of column nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde (HCHO) as well as a lidar system, HSRL-2 (High Spectral Resolution Lidar-2), to measure ozone (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.

TRACE-P_Model_Data is the model data collected during the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) suborbital campaign. Data collection for this product is complete.The NASA TRACE-P mission was a part of NASA’s Global Tropospheric Experiment (GTE) – an assemblage of missions conducted from 1983-2001 with various research goals and objectives. TRACE-P was a multi-organizational campaign with NASA, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and several US universities. TRACE-P deployed its payloads in the Pacific between the months of March and April 2001 with the goal of studying the air chemistry emerging from Asia to the western Pacific. Along with this, TRACE-P had the objective studying the chemical evolution of the air as it moved away from Asia.  In order to accomplish its goals, the NASA DC-8 aircraft and NASA P-3B aircraft were deployed, each equipped with various instrumentation. TRACE-P also relied on ground sites, and satellites to collect data. The DC-8 aircraft was equipped with 19 instruments in total while the P-3B boasted 21 total instruments. Some instruments on the DC-8 include the Nephelometer, the GCMS, the Nitric Oxide Chemiluminescence, the Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL), and the Dual Channel Collectors and Fluorometers, HPLC. The Nephelometer was utilized to gather data on various wavelengths including aerosol scattering (450, 550, 700nm), aerosol absorption (565nm), equivalent BC mass, and air density ratio. The GCMS was responsible for capturing a multitude of compounds in the atmosphere, some of which include CH4, CH3CHO, CH3Br, CH3Cl, CHBr3, and C2H6O. DIAL was used for a variety of measurements, some of which include aerosol wavelength dependence (1064/587nm), IR aerosol scattering ratio (1064nm), tropopause heights and ozone columns, visible aerosol scattering ratio, composite tropospheric ozone cross-sections, and visible aerosol depolarization. Finally, the Dual Channel Collectors and Fluorometers, HPLC collected data on H2O2, CH3OOH, and CH2O in the atmosphere. The P-3B aircraft was equipped with various instruments for TRACE-P, some of which include the MSA/CIMS, the Non-dispersive IR Spectrometer, the PILS-Ion Chromatograph, and the Condensation particle counter and Pulse Height Analysis (PHA). The MSA/CIMS measured OH, H2SO4, MSA, and HNO3. The Non-dispersive IR Spectrometer took measurements on CO2 in the atmosphere. The PILS-Ion Chromatograph recorded measurements of compounds and elements in the atmosphere, including sodium, calcium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, NH4, NO3, and SO4. Finally, the Condensation particle counter and PHA was used to gather data on total UCN, UCN 3-8nm, and UCN 3-4nm. Along with the aircrafts, ground stations measured air quality from China along with C2H2, C2H6, CO, and HCN. Finally, satellites imagery was used to collect a multitude of data, some of the uses were to observe the history of lightning flashes, SeaWiFS cloud imagery, 8-day exposure to TOMS aerosols, and SeaWiFS aerosol optical thickness. The imagery was used to best aid in planning for the aircraft deployment.

FIREXAQ_TraceGas_AircraftRemoteSensing_DC8_Data are remotely sensed trace gas measurements conducted onboard the DC8 aircraft during FIREX-AQ. This product features data collected by the DOAS instrument. Data collection for this product is complete.Completed during summer 2019, FIREX-AQ utilized a combination of instrumented airplanes, satellites, and ground-based instrumentation. Detailed fire plume sampling was carried out by the NASA DC-8 aircraft, which had a comprehensive instrument payload capable of measuring over 200 trace gas species, as well as aerosol microphysical, optical, and chemical properties. The DC-8 aircraft completed 23 science flights, including 15 flights from Boise, Idaho and 8 flights from Salina, Kansas. NASA’s ER-2 completed 11 flights, partially in support of the FIREX-AQ effort. The ER-2 payload was made up of 8 satellite analog instruments and provided critical fire information, including fire temperature, fire plume heights, and vegetation/soil albedo information. NOAA provided the NOAA-CHEM Twin Otter and the NOAA-MET Twin Otter aircraft to measure chemical processing in the lofted plumes of Western wildfires. The NOAA-CHEM Twin Otter focused on nighttime plume chemistry, from which data is archived at the NASA Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC). The NOAA-MET Twin Otter collected measurements of air movements at fire boundaries with the goal of understanding the local weather impacts of fires and the movement patterns of fires. NOAA-MET Twin Otter data will be archived at the ASDC in the future. Additionally, a ground-based station in McCall, Idaho and several mobile laboratories provided in-situ measurements of aerosol microphysical and optical properties, aerosol chemical compositions, and trace gas species. The Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) campaign was a NOAA/NASA interagency intensive study of North American fires to gain an understanding on the integrated impact of the fire emissions on the tropospheric chemistry and composition and to assess the satellite’s capability for detecting fires and estimating fire emissions. The overarching goal of FIREX-AQ was to provide measurements of trace gas and aerosol emissions for wildfires and prescribed fires in great detail, relate them to fuel and fire conditions at the point of emission, characterize the conditions relating to plume rise, and follow plumes downwind to understand chemical transformation and air quality impacts.

This data set contains atmospheric chemistry and meteorological data from the NASA Transport and Atmospheric Chemistry near the Equator-Atlantic (TRACE-A) field study. The NASA TRACE-A study took place in August 1992 to determine the cause and source of high concentrations of ozone that accumulate over the Atlantic ocean between southern Africa and South America during the months of August through October. The processed, quality controlled and integrated data in the documented Pre-LBA Data sets were originally published as a set of three CD-ROMs (Marengo and Victoria, 1998) but have now been archived individually.

DISCOVERAQ_Maryland_Pandora_Data contains all of the Pandora instrumentation data collected during the DISCOVER-AQ field study. Contained in this dataset are column measurements of NO2 and O3. Pandoras were situated at various ground sites across the study area, including Aldino, Beltsville, Edgewood, Essex, Fairhill, GSFC, Oldtown, Padonia, SERC, UMBC, UMD, and USNA. This data product contains only data from the Maryland deployment and data collection is complete.Understanding the factors that contribute to near surface pollution is difficult using only satellite-based observations. The incorporation of surface-level measurements from aircraft and ground-based platforms provides the crucial information necessary to validate and expand upon the use of satellites in understanding near surface pollution. Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) was a four-year campaign conducted in collaboration between NASA Langley Research Center, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Ames Research Center, and multiple universities to improve the use of satellites to monitor air quality for public health and environmental benefit. Through targeted airborne and ground-based observations, DISCOVER-AQ enabled more effective use of current and future satellites to diagnose ground level conditions influencing air quality.DISCOVER-AQ employed two NASA aircraft, the P-3B and King Air, with the P-3B completing in-situ spiral profiling of the atmosphere (aerosol properties, meteorological variables, and trace gas species). The King Air conducted both passive and active remote sensing of the atmospheric column extending below the aircraft to the surface. Data from an existing network of surface air quality monitors, AERONET sun photometers, Pandora UV/vis spectrometers and model simulations were also collected. Further, DISCOVER-AQ employed many surface monitoring sites, with measurements being made on the ground, in conjunction with the aircraft. The B200 and P-3B conducted flights in Baltimore-Washington, D.C. in 2011, Houston, TX in 2013, San Joaquin Valley, CA in 2013, and Denver, CO in 2014. These regions were targeted due to being in violation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).The first objective of DISCOVER-AQ was to determine and investigate correlations between surface measurements and satellite column observations for the trace gases ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and formaldehyde (CH2O) to understand how satellite column observations can diagnose surface conditions. DISCOVER-AQ also had the objective of using surface-level measurements to understand how satellites measure diurnal variability and to understand what factors control diurnal variability. Lastly, DISCOVER-AQ aimed to explore horizontal scales of variability, such as regions with steep gradients and urban plumes.

OWLETS1_Pandora_Data_1 is the Ozone Water-Land Environmental Transition Study (OWLETS-1) ozone and nitrogen dioxide data collected by the NASA GSFC Pandora Spectrometer Project located at NASA Langley Research Center, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, SERC Research Vessel, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Wallops Flight Facility during the OWLETS field campaign. OWLETS was supported by the NASA Science Innovation Fund (SIF). Data collection is complete.Coastal regions have typically posed a challenge for air quality researchers due to a lack of measurements available over water and water-land boundary transitions. Supported by NASA’s Science Innovation Fund (SIF), the Ozone Water-Land Environmental Transition Study (OWLETS) field campaign examined ozone concentrations and gradients over the Chesapeake Bay from July 5, 2017 – August 3, 2017, with twelve intensive measurement days occurring during this time period. OWLETS utilized a unique combination of instrumentation, including aircraft, TOLNet ozone lidars (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Tropospheric Ozone Differential Absorption Lidar and NASA Langley Research Center Mobile Ozone Lidar), UAV/drones, ozonesondes, AERONET sun photometers, and mobile and ship-based measurements, to characterize the land-water differences in ozone and other pollutants. Two main research sites were established as part of the campaign: an over-land site at NASA LaRC, and an over-water site at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. These two research sites were established to provide synchronous vertical measurements of meteorology and pollutants over water and over land. In combination with mobile observations between the two sites, pollutant gradients were able to be observed and used to better understand the fundamental processes occurring at the land-water interface. OWLETS-2 was completed from June 6, 2018 – July 6, 2018 in the upper Chesapeake Bay region. Research sites were established at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Hart Miller Island (HMI), and Howard University Beltsville (HUBV), with HMI representing the over-water location and UMBC and HUBV representing the over-land sites. Similar measurements were carried out to further characterize water-land gradients in the upper Chesapeake Bay. The measurements completed during OWLETS are of importance in enhancing air quality models, and improving future satellite retrievals, particularly, NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution, which is scheduled to launch in 2022.