ATom Mission Black Carbon Measurements from Single Particle Soot Photometer

One-second resolution measurements of refractory black carbon mass concentration collected during NASA's Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) airborne mission. Data is gathered using the NOAA Single Particle Soot Photometer, a laser-induced incandescence instrument for measuring black carbon in individual particles. The dataset is managed by ORNL_CLOUD and appears on multiple government data platforms.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the spatial and temporal distribution of black carbon aerosols in the global atmosphere.
• Studying the relationship between black carbon mass concentration and other atmospheric variables measured during the ATom campaigns.
• Validating and improving climate models that simulate the impact of aerosols on radiative forcing and cloud processes.
• Investigating sources and long-range transport of air pollution by tracking black carbon particle signatures.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution data at a one-second measurement interval.
• Focuses on refractory black carbon, a key climate-forcing aerosol, measured at the single-particle level.
• Data originates from a major NASA mission (ATom) and is hosted by a reputable organization (ORNL_CLOUD).

Limitations

• Column names and the exact row count are not provided in the available metadata.
• There is a conflict in the last updated date: one source lists 2026-03-13, while another lists 2018-05-21.

Provenance

Source

NASA Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission, NOAA Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) instrument.

Collection Method

Airborne in situ measurements using laser-induced incandescence.

Time Range

During the ATom mission campaign periods (specific dates not provided).

Freshness

2026-03 13 08:30:46.951309

Geography

Global atmosphere, covered by ATom flight paths.