DAWN Lidar Wind and Aerosol Profiles from CPEX-AW Aircraft Campaign

Doppler Aerosol WiNd lidar data was collected during the Convective Processes Experiment - Aerosols & Winds campaign onboard a NASA DC-8 aircraft. The dataset includes image and NetCDF files for calibration of the ESA Aeolus satellite and study of tropical atmospheric dynamics. NASA's Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center archives the data, with collection completed by 2021.

Use Cases

• Validate Atmospheric Dynamics Mission-Aeolus satellite wind lidar measurements using collocated airborne DAWN vertical wind profiles.
• Analyze the vertical structure of the marine boundary layer using lidar backscatter and wind data to study convective cloud initiation.
• Investigate Saharan Air Layer dust transport by correlating DAWN aerosol extinction profiles with wind vector measurements over the tropical Atlantic.
• Study interactions of African easterly waves with convection by examining time-series of lidar-derived wind and aerosol fields across the ITCZ.

Strengths

• Data collected by a specialized Doppler Aerosol WiNd lidar instrument on a NASA DC-8 research aircraft.
• Supports joint NASA-ESA calibration/validation efforts for a major Earth observation satellite mission.
• Campaign designed to study multiple specific atmospheric phenomena including the Saharan Air Layer and ITCZ dynamics.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and temporal resolution of the data records are not provided.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the flight paths of the DC-8 aircraft during the CPEX-AW campaign.
• Data collection is complete with no indication of future updates or ongoing measurements.

Provenance

Source

NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC).

Collection Method

Airborne measurements from the Doppler Aerosol WiNd lidar instrument onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft.

Time Range

Campaign period for CPEX-AW, a follow-on to the 2017 CPEX campaign; specific dates not provided.

Freshness

Data collection is complete; last metadata update was in September 2021.

Geography

Tropical Atlantic region, with a focus on areas around St. Croix for Aeolus validation and the InterTropical Convergence Zone.