DISCOVER-AQ: Ground Site Air Quality Measurements for Satellite Validation in Denver, 2014

The 2014 DISCOVER-AQ Colorado deployment collected ground-based measurements at the NREL-Golden site to validate satellite observations of near-surface pollution. This dataset, produced by NASA in collaboration with multiple research centers and universities, contains data on aerosol properties, meteorological variables, and trace gas species like ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde. It is part of a four-year campaign targeting regions in violation of National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite column observations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde based on concurrent surface measurements.
• Analyze diurnal variability of near-surface pollutants based on the campaign's objective to understand factors controlling daily changes.
• Investigate correlations between surface-level and columnar atmospheric data to diagnose ground-level air quality conditions.
• Study horizontal scales of variability, such as urban plumes, using targeted ground and aircraft observations.

Strengths

• Data collection is explicitly stated as complete for the Colorado deployment.
• Part of a targeted four-year NASA campaign involving multiple aircraft and extensive ground-based platforms.
• Focuses on key trace gases (O3, NO2, CH2O) relevant to public health and environmental monitoring.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and data size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is specific to the 2014 Denver deployment and the NREL-Golden site, limiting geographic generalizability.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected via ground-based monitoring site (NREL-Golden) during the DISCOVER-AQ field campaign, coordinated with aircraft and other surface networks.

Time Range

2014 (Colorado deployment)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:14:18.920919; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Denver, Colorado, USA (NREL-Golden ground site)