DISCOVER-AQ: BAO Tower Ground Site Air Quality Data for Colorado

NASA's DISCOVER-AQ field study collected this ground-based data to validate satellite observations of near-surface pollution. The four-year campaign involved two NASA aircraft and multiple surface sites, with this specific dataset from the 2014 Denver, Colorado deployment. Data collection is complete and focuses on ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde to understand surface-to-column relationships.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite column observations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde based on surface-level measurements.
• Analyze diurnal variability of air pollutants based on the campaign's objective to understand controlling factors.
• Study horizontal pollution gradients and urban plumes based on the stated aim to explore scales of variability.
• Correlate in-situ atmospheric profiling data with ground measurements based on the described P-3B aircraft spiral profiles.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for the Colorado deployment, providing a finalized dataset.
• Produced by NASA Langley, Goddard, and Ames Research Centers in collaboration with multiple universities.
• Designed to integrate aircraft, ground-based, and satellite observations for a multi-platform perspective.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• File formats include BIN, PDF, ISO, and HTML, which may require specific tools for processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected at the BAO Tower ground site during the Colorado deployment of the DISCOVER-AQ field campaign, involving targeted airborne and ground-based observations.

Time Range

2014 (Colorado deployment)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:14:23.388829; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Denver, Colorado, USA