ACT-America: Airborne Greenhouse Gas and Ozone Concentrations, Eastern USA

Five airborne campaigns from 2016 to 2019 collected in situ atmospheric concentrations of CO2, CO, CH4, H2O, and O3 across the central and eastern United States. The data were gathered using identical instrument arrays on two NASA aircraft, covering all four seasons and three distinct regions. Complete flight information, including latitude, longitude, altitude, and meteorological conditions, is also provided.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal and regional variations in greenhouse gas concentrations based on multi-year, multi-season campaign data.
• Validating satellite-based remote sensing products and atmospheric models using high-quality in situ measurements.
• Studying correlations between different trace gases (e.g., CO2, CO, CH4) and meteorological conditions across varied continental surfaces.
• Investigating atmospheric transport processes using spatially and temporally resolved airborne data from coordinated campaigns.

Strengths

• Covers five distinct 6-week airborne campaigns, providing multi-seasonal and multi-year coverage from Summer 2016 to Summer 2019.
• Uses identical, high-quality in situ sensor arrays (CRDS and UV absorption monitors) on two dedicated NASA aircraft platforms.
• Includes complete ancillary flight data such as latitude, longitude, altitude, and meteorology alongside the gas concentration measurements.

Limitations

• Column names and exact data structure are not specified in the provided metadata, which may hinder immediate usability.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2019-07-27 and 2026-04-09) across sources create uncertainty about dataset maintenance and versioning.
• The specific license terms under 'other-license-specified' are not detailed, requiring further investigation for reuse.

Provenance

Source

Atmospheric Carbon and Transport-America (ACT-America) project, NASA.

Collection Method

In situ measurements collected via infrared cavity ring-down spectrometer (CRDS) and dual beam differential UV absorption ozone monitor aboard NASA B200 and C-130H aircraft.

Time Range

Summer 2016 to Summer 2019

Freshness

2026-04 09 22:35:12.212686

Geography

Central and eastern United States, across three defined regions.