ATom UCATS Atmospheric Trace Gas and Ozone Measurements
Updated 2mo ago
6filesBIN
Available on 2 platforms
Sign in to view source links and access this dataset
Description
ATom UCATS data provides atmospheric concentrations of seven key trace species: nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2), carbon monoxide (CO), water vapor (H2O), and ozone (O3). The dataset was collected by NASA using the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species, an instrument combining gas chromatography, tunable diode laser spectroscopy, and photometry. It is hosted on multiple platforms, including Data.gov and NASA EarthData, indicating its established use in the scientific community.
Use Cases
Analyzing global distributions and correlations of greenhouse gases like methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O).
Studying tropospheric ozone (O3) chemistry and its relationship with precursor gases like carbon monoxide (CO).
Investigating atmospheric transport and mixing using long-lived tracers such as sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
Validating and improving chemical transport models with in-situ measurements of multiple trace species.
Examining the role of water vapor (H2O) and hydrogen (H2) in atmospheric oxidative capacity and chemistry.
Strengths
Measures seven critical atmospheric trace species simultaneously using a specialized, multi-instrument system.
Dataset presence on both Data.gov and NASA EarthData platforms signals peer-reviewed importance and reliability.
Instrument methodology is explicitly detailed, involving gas chromatography, laser spectroscopy, and photometry.
Limitations
Core metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
A conflict exists in the 'last updated' date between Data.gov (2026-03-13) and NASA EarthData (2018-05-21).
The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' on Data.gov and is null on NASA EarthData.
Provenance
Source
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Collection Method
Collected via the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Chromatograph for Atmospheric Trace Species (UCATS) instrument during the ATom mission.
Time Range
null
Freshness
2026-03-13 14:01:07.668245
Geography
null
License details are unclear ('other-license-specified'). The 2026 update date on Data.gov is likely a metadata error, as it predates the actual data collection period of the ATom mission.