DISCOVER-AQ: Ground Site Air Quality Measurements for Satellite Validation

NASA's DISCOVER-AQ campaign collected ground-based atmospheric data at the Padonia site during its 2011 Maryland deployment to validate satellite observations. The four-year study employed two NASA aircraft and multiple ground instruments to investigate correlations between surface pollution and satellite column measurements. Data collection is complete for this specific deployment, focusing on ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite column observations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde based on concurrent ground measurements.
• Analyze diurnal variability of near-surface pollutants based on the campaign's objective to understand factors controlling daily cycles.
• Investigate horizontal scales of pollution variability, such as urban plumes, based on the study's aim to explore regions with steep gradients.
• Diagnose ground-level conditions influencing air quality based on the integration of aircraft and surface-level measurements.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for the Maryland deployment, providing a finalized snapshot.
• Produced by NASA Langley, Goddard, and Ames Research Centers in collaboration with multiple universities, indicating institutional credibility.
• Designed to address specific objectives for validating and expanding the use of satellite data for public health benefit.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Data is from a single ground site (Padonia) during one deployment, limiting spatial representativeness.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Collected via ground-based monitoring site, aircraft in-situ profiling, and remote sensing during the DISCOVER-AQ field campaign.

Time Range

2011 (Maryland deployment)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:13:41.496553; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Padonia ground site, Baltimore-Washington, D.C. region, USA.