DISCOVER-AQ: Aircraft In Situ Aerosol Data for Maryland

NASA's DISCOVER-AQ field study collected in situ aerosol data onboard a P-3B aircraft during its Maryland deployment. The data, gathered by nine instruments including a PSAP, APS, CPC, and Nephelometer, is intended to validate and expand the use of satellite observations for understanding near-surface air pollution. This specific data product contains data only for the completed Maryland deployment.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite column observations of air quality based on in situ aerosol measurements.
• Study diurnal variability of atmospheric aerosols using surface-level and aircraft measurements.
• Investigate correlations between surface pollution and vertical atmospheric profiles from spiral flights.
• Analyze horizontal scales of pollution variability, such as urban plumes, in the Baltimore-Washington region.

Strengths

• Data collected by nine specific instruments (PSAP, APS, CPC, Nephelometer, LAS, PILS, SMPS, SP2, UHSAS).
• Part of a targeted four-year NASA campaign (DISCOVER-AQ) involving multiple research centers and universities.
• Data collection for the Maryland deployment is explicitly stated as complete.

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 limited to a single geographic deployment (Maryland) from a multi-region campaign.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected onboard NASA's P-3B aircraft using in situ instruments during spiral profiling flights.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:13:58.841402; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Maryland (Baltimore-Washington) deployment.