NASA ATom Tropical Aerosol Measurements and Model Outputs

NASA's Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) dataset combines in situ aerosol particle property measurements from ATom-1 and ATom-2 airborne campaigns over remote Pacific and Atlantic tropical oceans with comparable 70-meter resolution outputs from four global chemical-transport models. The dataset includes measurements of aerosol properties, dust, organic and sulfate particles, and atmospheric trace gases. It is produced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, with metadata last updated in March 2026, though the core data originates from campaigns conducted prior to 2017.

Use Cases

• Validating global chemical-transport model outputs for aerosol properties against in situ airborne measurements.
• Analyzing the composition and distribution of sulfate and organic particles over remote oceans.
• Studying correlations between in situ measured trace gas species and modeled atmospheric chemistry.
• Investigating spatial patterns of dust, ash, and smoke aerosols in tropical regions.

Strengths

• Includes paired in situ measurements and high-resolution (70 m) model outputs from four distinct chemical-transport models.
• Covers extensive spatial coverage over remote tropical areas of both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
• Produced by NASA, indicating institutional authority and standardized collection protocols.

Limitations

• Key metrics like row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• There is a conflict in reported freshness: the data originates from campaigns before 2017, but metadata was updated in 2026.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without clear terms.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

In situ measurements from NASA airborne ATom campaigns combined with outputs from four chemical-transport models.

Time Range

Covers the ATom-1 and ATom-2 campaign periods.

Freshness

2026-03 13 (metadata update); core data from ATom-1 and ATom-2 campaigns (pre-2017).

Geography

Remote tropical areas over the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.