DC3: Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Aircraft Data

Miscellaneous data collected onboard the DC-8 aircraft during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign. The campaign was conducted from May to June 2012 with a base in Salina, Kansas, and observations in Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, and Alabama. DC3 sought to understand the processes of deep convective clouds and their impact on upper tropospheric composition.

Use Cases

• Modeling convective transport based on Global Forecast System (GFS) model data.
• Analyzing storm dynamics and physics based on in-situ aircraft measurements.
• Investigating lightning production of nitrogen oxides based on campaign objectives.
• Studying upper tropospheric chemistry changes after convection based on post-convection observation strategy.
• Characterizing cloud hydrometeor effects on wet deposition based on described science objectives.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete, as stated in the description.
• Campaign utilized multiple platforms including NSF/NCAR Gulfstream-V, NASA DC-8 aircraft, ground radar, lightning arrays, and satellite instruments.
• Observations covered a wide geographic sample across northeastern Colorado, west Texas to central Oklahoma, and northern Alabama.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided in multiple formats (BIN, XML, ISO, HTML, PDF) which may require specialized tools for processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected onboard the DC-8 aircraft during a field campaign.

Time Range

May to June 2012

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:18:18.959594; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Observations in northeastern Colorado, west Texas to central Oklahoma, and northern Alabama, with base in Salina, Kansas.