ACES: Atmospheric Electric Field Data from UAV Storm Overflights

Southwestern Florida was the study area for the ALTUS Cloud Electrification Study (ACES) in August 2002. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration used an uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) to collect cloud electrification data from above thunderstorms. This dataset consists of electric field mill measurements of atmospheric electrical fields.

Use Cases

• Modeling thunderstorm electrical development based on electric field data collected from above the storm.
• Analyzing the relationship between storm lifecycle and atmospheric electricity based on data collected from birth through dissipation.
• Testing UAV-based remote sensing methodologies for atmospheric science based on the use of the ALTUS platform.

Strengths

• Data was collected from a novel perspective using a UAV, allowing for measurements from above storms.
• The experiment achieved dual goals of gathering weather data and testing new aircraft technology, as stated in the description.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a specific campaign in August 2002; temporal coverage is limited.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by an uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) named ALTUS carrying field mills and electric field sensors during overflights of thunderstorms.

Time Range

August 2002

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 19:43:49.829617; freshness should be verified

Geography

Southwestern Florida, based at the Naval Air Facility Key West.