Aircraft In-Situ Aerosol Measurements for Satellite Validation

In-situ aerosol data were collected onboard a NASA B-200 aircraft during the DEVOTE project in September and October 2011. The dataset includes measurements from instruments like the Polarized Imaging Nephelometer, Particle Soot Absorption Photometer, and Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer. It was produced by the LARC_ASDC organization to support satellite validation and algorithm improvement.

Use Cases

• Validate CALIPSO and ACE satellite aerosol retrievals using coincident in-situ PI-Neph and PSAP optical property measurements.
• Analyze aerosol size distributions by integrating data from the APS, SMPS, and UHSAS particle spectrometers.
• Study aerosol hygroscopic properties by correlating data from the Diode Laser Hygrometer with nephelometer scattering coefficients.
• Characterize aerosol absorption and scattering for climate models using combined PSAP and nephelometer column data.
• Investigate coordinated remote sensing and in-situ flight patterns by analyzing data from B-200 and UC-12 aircraft operations.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete from 11 dedicated science flights.
• Includes measurements from 8+ specialized instruments (PI-Neph, PSAP, APS, CPC, etc.) for comprehensive aerosol characterization.
• Campaign was specifically designed for satellite validation, with flights coordinated with CALIPSO overpasses and AERONET ground sites.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a two-month campaign in late 2011.
• Geographic coverage is constrained to flight paths originating from NASA Langley Research Center.
• Sample size is limited to the number of flights and instrument operational periods during the campaign.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected from an instrumented NASA B-200 aircraft during coordinated science flights.

Time Range

September to October 2011.

Freshness

Data collection ended in October 2011; the dataset is static.

Geography

Flight paths based from NASA Langley Research Center, over AERONET sites and CALIPSO satellite tracks.