DISCOVER-AQ California Pandora Column Observations for NO2 and O3

DISCOVER-AQ collected Pandora spectrometer data at 12 ground sites across California's San Joaquin Valley in 2013. The dataset contains column measurements of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3) to validate satellite observations of near-surface pollution. This NASA-led campaign involved multiple research centers and universities to improve air quality monitoring.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite column observations of air pollutants based on ground-level NO2 and O3 measurements.
• Analyze diurnal variability of trace gases based on surface-level measurement data.
• Study horizontal pollution gradients and urban plumes across the 12 specified California sites.
• Diagnose ground-level air quality conditions influencing public health based on combined aircraft and ground data.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for the California deployment, as stated in the description.
• Includes measurements from 12 named ground sites, providing spatial coverage across the study area.
• Part of a multi-year NASA campaign involving aircraft, surface monitors, and model simulations for comprehensive validation.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is specific to the 2013 California deployment; other DISCOVER-AQ regions are separate datasets.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected by Pandora UV/vis spectrometers at ground sites during the DISCOVER-AQ field study.

Time Range

2013 (California deployment)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:14:39.093321; freshness should be verified.

Geography

San Joaquin Valley, California, USA (specifically Arvin-DiGiorgio, Bakersfield, Corcoran, Fresno, Hanford, Huron, Madera, Parlier, Porterville, Shafter, Tranquility, Visalia Airport)