ATTREX: Global Hawk UAS Temperature Profiles from Tropical Tropopause Campaigns

Remotely sensed temperature profiles were collected by the Microwave Temperature Profiler (MTP) onboard the NASA Global Hawk Uninhabited Aerial System during the Airborne Tropical TRopopause EXperiment (ATTREX). The National Aeronautics and Space Administration conducted deployments over California in 2011 and 2013, and over Guam in 2014, to study processes in the Tropical Tropopause Layer. Data collection is complete, with the dataset last updated in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling stratospheric water vapor feedbacks based on temperature profiles through the Tropical Tropopause Layer.
• Analyzing chemical composition and transport in the upper atmosphere based on campaign measurements over multiple regions.
• Studying cirrus cloud formation and microphysics based on the described three-dimensional measurements of particles and water vapor.
• Improving predictions of future stratospheric ozone changes based on measurements of bromine-containing gases.

Strengths

• Data originates from a targeted NASA campaign (ATTREX) using the specialized Global Hawk UAS platform.
• Covers multiple deployment campaigns across distinct geographic regions (California, Guam) and seasons.
• Focuses on the critical but data-sparse Tropical Tropopause Layer (~13-18 km altitude).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and data volume are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Available file formats (BIN, ISO, HTML) may require specialized tools for access and processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Remotely sensed measurements collected by the Microwave Temperature Profiler (MTP) onboard the Global Hawk UAS.

Time Range

Campaign deployments in 2011, 2013, and 2014.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 12:33:59.927489; data collection is described as complete.

Geography

Deployments over California and Guam, with campaigns also mentioned over Hawaii and Darwin, Australia.