DISCOVER-AQ Colorado: Ground Site Air Quality Measurements

DISCOVER-AQ collected ground-level air quality data at 11 sites in Colorado, including Chatfield Park and Denver-LaCasa, during the 2014 Denver deployment. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment operated these ground sites to provide crucial surface-level measurements for validating satellite observations. This four-year NASA campaign aimed to improve the use of satellites to monitor ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde for public health.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite column observations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde based on surface-level measurements.
• Analyze diurnal variability of atmospheric pollutants based on ground site time-series data.
• Model urban plume dispersion and steep pollution gradients based on measurements from multiple Colorado locations.
• Correlate aerosol properties and meteorological variables with trace gas concentrations based on in-situ profiling.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for the Colorado deployment.
• Measurements were made at 11 distinct ground sites across the Colorado study area.
• Data supports the validation of current and future satellite air quality monitoring.

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 Colorado deployment and a single time period.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment at ground sites as part of the DISCOVER-AQ field study.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:14:59.400896; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Colorado (Denver) deployment, including Chatfield Park, Denver-LaCasa, Fort Collins, NREL-Golden, Aurora-East, Boulder, Denver-CAMP, Denver-I25, Rocky Flats, Welch, and Weld Co. Tower.