DISCOVER-AQ Maryland: Aircraft Air Quality Measurements for Satellite Validation

DISCOVER-AQ_Maryland_UMDAircraft_Data contains data collected onboard a University of Maryland Cessna aircraft during NASA's DISCOVER-AQ field study. The data product is specific to the Maryland deployment and collection is complete. The campaign aimed to improve the use of satellites to monitor air quality by incorporating surface-level measurements from aircraft and ground-based platforms.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite column observations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde based on in-situ aircraft measurements.
• Analyze diurnal variability of air pollutants based on surface-level and aircraft data.
• Study horizontal scales of variability, such as urban plumes and steep pollution gradients, based on targeted airborne observations.
• Diagnose ground-level conditions influencing air quality based on spiral profiling of aerosol properties and trace gases.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for the Maryland deployment.
• Data was collected as part of a targeted four-year NASA campaign involving multiple research centers and universities.
• Campaign targeted regions in violation of National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

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 a single deployment (Maryland) and may not represent other regions.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected onboard a University of Maryland Cessna aircraft during the DISCOVER-AQ field study.

Geography

Maryland, specifically Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area.