BOREAS AFM-01: Aircraft Flux and Atmospheric Data over the SSA

1994 measurements from the NOAA/ATDD Long-EZ Aircraft during the BOREAS project's IFCs at the SSA. The dataset includes atmospheric state variables, radiation components, and greenhouse gas concentrations, with derived statistical moments for some parameters. It provides a snapshot of surface-atmosphere interactions in a boreal forest ecosystem.

Use Cases

• Modeling surface energy budgets based on net radiation and its upwelling/downwelling components.
• Analyzing carbon and methane fluxes in a boreal forest using CO2 and CH4 concentration data.
• Studying atmospheric boundary layer dynamics using wind velocity components and potential temperature.
• Calibrating remote sensing vegetation indices with in-situ greenness index and PAR measurements.
• Investigating ozone distribution and its correlation with other atmospheric parameters in a remote region.

Strengths

• Contains a multi-parameter suite of atmospheric measurements, including greenhouse gases (CO2, O3, CH4) and radiation balance components.
• Includes derived statistical moments (standard deviation, skewness, kurtosis, trend) for key variables, which suggests quality control and processing.
• Data collection is tied to a major, well-documented ecological research project (BOREAS 1994 IFCs).

Limitations

• Conflicting metadata: last updated date is reported as both 1994-09-15 (nasa_earthdata) and 2026-03-13 (datagov), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Key metadata is missing, including the specific row count, file sizes, and a complete list of column names.
• The license is vaguely specified as 'other-license-specified', requiring further investigation for reuse.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), NOAA/ATDD.

Collection Method

Measurements made from various instruments mounted on the Long-EZ Aircraft.

Time Range

1994

Freshness

1994-09-15 23:59:59.999000

Geography

SSA (Southern Study Area of the BOREAS project, likely in the boreal forest region of North America).