AirMSPI ORACLES: Terrain-projected Polarimetric Radiance Data

AirMSPI Level 1B2 data products contain radiometric and polarimetric images of clouds, aerosols, and the Earth's surface from the NASA ORACLES flight campaign. The dataset includes map-projected data at eight wavelengths from 355 to 935 nm, with polarization information for three specific bands. Data were acquired from July 28 to October 6, 2016, over the South Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Namibia and Angola.

Use Cases

• Analyzing aerosol properties and cloud interactions based on multi-wavelength radiance and polarization data.
• Validating atmospheric models using georegistered, terrain-projected radiance and Stokes parameters (Q, U).
• Studying the angular distribution of scattered light using solar and view zenith/azimuth angles for all spectral bands.
• Investigating polarized reflectance of surfaces and atmospheres using degree and angle of linear polarization (DOLP, AOLP) metrics.

Strengths

• Contains polarimetric data at three wavelengths (470, 660, 865 nm), including Stokes parameters Q and U.
• Covers a defined and significant field campaign (ORACLES) with a specific time range from July 28 to October 6, 2016.
• Data is georegistered and terrain-projected, providing spatially referenced imagery for analysis.

Limitations

• Column names and exact data structure are not specified in the provided metadata.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2016-10-06 vs. 2026-04-10) suggest potential metadata inconsistency across platforms.
• Dataset size and row counts are unknown, limiting immediate assessment of data volume.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Acquired via the Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI) instrument during the ORACLES flight campaign.

Time Range

July 28, 2016 to October 6, 2016

Freshness

2026-04-10 17:56:28.831019

Geography

South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Namibia and Angola, based out of Walvis Bay, Namibia.