ACT-America: Planetary Boundary Layer Heights from Airborne Campaign

Eastern and central United States atmospheric data collected seasonally from 2016 to 2019. NASA's ACT-America campaign used two aircraft platforms to acquire in situ meteorological measurements during vertical profile flights. This dataset provides profile-based estimates of the height to the top of the planetary boundary layer in meters above sea level.

Use Cases

• Validate and calibrate atmospheric boundary layer models based on in situ airborne measurements.
• Analyze seasonal and regional variations in boundary layer height based on multi-year campaign data.
• Study the relationship between surface conditions and atmospheric structure based on measurements across varied continental surfaces.

Strengths

• Data collected from two dedicated NASA aircraft platforms (Beechcraft B-200 King Air and C-130 Hercules).
• High-quality in situ measurements acquired across a variety of continental surfaces and atmospheric conditions.
• Seasonal sampling over a four-year time range (2016-2019).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the central and eastern United States.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Estimates derived from meteorological measurements acquired during ascending or descending vertical profile flight segments.

Time Range

2016-2019

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 19:36:21.643277; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Central and eastern United States