AirMSPI Polarimetric Radiance Data from FIREX-AQ Wildfire Campaign

August 2019 data from the NASA/NOAA FIREX-AQ flight campaign, containing all targets acquired from August 1 to August 21. The dataset provides AirMSPI Level 1B2 terrain-projected georegistered radiance and polarization imagery across eight wavelengths from ultraviolet to near-infrared. It was produced by the LARC_ASDC organization using the AirMSPI instrument aboard the NASA ER-2 aircraft.

Use Cases

• Analyzing aerosol optical properties and smoke plume dispersion using radiance measurements at 355, 380, 445, 470, 555, 660, 865, and 935 nm.
• Studying surface polarization signatures for land cover classification via Stokes parameters Q and U at 470, 660, and 865 nm.
• Validating atmospheric correction algorithms for satellite sensors using coincident solar zenith, solar azimuth, view zenith, and view azimuth angles.
• Investigating the microphysical properties of wildfire smoke particles using degree of linear polarization (DOLP) and angle of linear polarization (AOLP).

Strengths

• Provides polarimetric data for three key wavelengths (470, 660, 865 nm), enabling detailed aerosol property analysis.
• Covers a focused, three-week campaign (August 1-21, 2019) during peak wildfire season for temporal consistency.
• Includes georegistered, map-projected data in HDF-EOS-5 format, facilitating geospatial analysis.

Limitations

• Conflicting last updated dates exist between sources (2019 08 22 vs. 2026 03 13), creating uncertainty about versioning.
• No row count, file size, or explicit column list is provided, limiting precise assessment of dataset scale and structure.

Provenance

Source

LARC_ASDC (NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center).

Collection Method

Acquired by the AirMSPI instrument aboard the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft during planned flight missions.

Time Range

August 1, 2019 to August 21, 2019.

Freshness

2026-03 13 19:13:02.042091

Geography

Flight paths originating from Armstrong Flight Research Center in Palmdale, California; specific target areas not detailed.