ATom Airborne Measurements of Reactive Nitrogen and Halogen Species

Mixing ratios of reactive nitrogen and halogen species were measured during NASA's ATom-3 and ATom-4 airborne campaigns from 0.2 to 13 km altitude. The NOAA Iodide Ion Time-of-Flight Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (NOAA CIMS) detected gases including N2O5, ClNO2, Cl2, HCOOH, and BrO via chemical ionization. This dataset from NASA's Atmospheric Tomography mission is intended to improve the representation of reactive gases and short-lived climate forcers in global atmospheric models.

Use Cases

• Validating and improving chemical mechanisms in global atmospheric chemistry models using species like N2O5 and ClNO2.
• Studying the distribution and impact of short-lived halogen climate forcers such as BrO and BrCl.
• Analyzing vertical profiles of reactive nitrogen compounds to understand atmospheric oxidation and nitrogen cycling.
• Investigating the global spatial distribution of formic acid (HCOOH) and its role in atmospheric acidity.

Strengths

• Provides global-scale atmospheric sampling across a wide vertical range from 0.2 to 13 km altitude.
• Measures a specific set of chemically reactive gases and halogen species critical for atmospheric modeling.
• Data originates from a NASA mission (ATom) using a well-defined instrument (NOAA CIMS).

Limitations

• Row count, dataset size, and specific column names are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date: Data.gov lists 2026-03 13, while NASA Earthdata lists 2018-05-21.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Atmospheric Tomography (ATom) mission.

Collection Method

Airborne measurements using the NOAA Iodide Ion Time-of-Flight Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (NOAA CIMS) on the NASA DC-8 aircraft.

Time Range

Covers the ATom-3 and ATom-4 campaign periods.

Freshness

2026 -03-13 08:27:54.988898

Geography

Global-scale atmospheric sampling.