DISCOVER-AQ Colorado: P-3B Aircraft Meteorological and Navigational Data

A 2014 field campaign collected in situ meteorological and navigational data onboard NASA's P-3B aircraft during the DISCOVER-AQ Colorado deployment. The data were gathered by NASA Langley, Goddard, Ames Research Centers, and universities to validate satellite observations of near-surface pollution. The campaign targeted Denver, Colorado, a region in violation of National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite column observations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde based on in-situ aircraft measurements.
• Analyze diurnal variability of atmospheric pollutants based on surface-level and airborne data.
• Study horizontal scales of variability, such as urban plumes and steep gradients, based on spiral profiling data.
• Correlate surface measurements with satellite data to diagnose ground-level air quality conditions.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for the Colorado deployment.
• Part of a four-year NASA campaign involving multiple research centers and universities.
• Includes measurements from an existing network of surface monitors, AERONET photometers, and Pandora spectrometers.

Limitations

• Description metadata is limited; actual data quality requires manual inspection after download.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

In situ data collected onboard NASA's P-3B aircraft during spiral profiling flights.

Time Range

2014

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:21:54.855833; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Denver, Colorado, USA