DISCOVER-AQ: Aircraft Meteorological Data for California Air Quality Study

Data collection is complete for the California deployment in 2013. This dataset contains in situ meteorological and navigational data collected onboard NASA's B-200 aircraft during the DISCOVER-AQ field study in the San Joaquin Valley. It was produced by NASA to validate satellite observations of near-surface pollution.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite-based air quality observations based on in situ aircraft measurements.
• Analyze meteorological conditions influencing near-surface pollution based on collected in situ data.
• Study atmospheric profiles for air quality modeling based on spiral profiling and targeted observations.
• Correlate ground-level pollution with atmospheric column data based on coordinated airborne and ground-based measurements.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for the California deployment.
• Data originates from a NASA field study involving multiple research centers and universities.
• Targeted observations were conducted in regions violating National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is limited to the California deployment and does not include other DISCOVER-AQ regions.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected onboard NASA's B-200 aircraft via APPLANIX during targeted airborne observations.

Time Range

2013

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:22:29.180861; freshness should be verified.

Geography

San Joaquin Valley, California