BOREAS Airborne Sunphotometer Aerosol Measurements from C-130 Aircraft

Airborne tracking sunphotometer data were collected from a C-130 aircraft to characterize atmospheric aerosol properties during the BOREAS campaign. The dataset covers selected days and times from May to September 1994. Measurements were made by the BOREAS RSS-12 team to quantify aerosol optical depth, determine boreal aerosol properties, and support atmospheric correction of remote sensing data.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the magnitude and variability of aerosol optical depth over time and space using sunphotometer readings.
• Determining the optical properties of aerosols specific to the boreal forest ecosystem.
• Atmospherically correcting remotely sensed data, such as satellite imagery, acquired during the BOREAS study.
• Studying seasonal atmospheric changes in the boreal region from May to September 1994.

Strengths

• Data collection was part of the structured BOREAS campaign, ensuring coordinated scientific objectives.
• Measurements cover a specific seasonal range from May to September 1994 over the BOREAS study areas.
• Data supports three defined scientific goals: measuring aerosol depth, determining aerosol properties, and atmospheric correction.

Limitations

• Key structural details like row count, column names, and exact file size are unavailable from all sources.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, with one showing 2026-03 13 and another 1994 -09-09, creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

BOREAS RSS-12 team, affiliated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Collection Method

Airborne measurements acquired from a C-130 aircraft using a tracking sunphotometer.

Time Range

May to September 1994

Freshness

2026-03-13 07:22:24.467452

Geography

BOREAS study areas (boreal forest regions).