DISCOVER-AQ: Texas Ground Site Air Quality Measurements

NASA's DISCOVER-AQ campaign collected surface-level measurements at a LaPorte Airport ground site to validate satellite observations of near-surface pollution. The Texas deployment data includes in-situ spiral profiling of aerosol properties, meteorological variables, and trace gas species from aircraft and ground-based platforms. This four-year campaign targeted regions violating National Ambient Air Quality Standards, including Houston in 2013.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite column observations of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde based on surface-level measurements.
• Analyze diurnal variability of atmospheric pollutants based on ground and aircraft observations.
• Study correlations between surface pollution and satellite data to diagnose ground-level conditions.
• Investigate horizontal scales of variability, such as urban plumes and steep gradients, using targeted airborne observations.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for the Texas deployment, providing a finalized dataset.
• Campaign employed two NASA aircraft (P-3B and King Air) and many surface monitoring sites for multi-platform observations.
• Data incorporates measurements from an existing network of surface air quality monitors, AERONET sun photometers, and Pandora UV/vis spectrometers.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• File formats include BIN, PDF, ISO, HTML, which may require specialized tools for processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Data collected at the LaPorte Airport ground site during the Texas (Houston) deployment of NASA's DISCOVER-AQ field study.

Time Range

Data collection corresponds to the Texas deployment in 2013.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 03:20:39.289572; freshness should be verified.

Geography

LaPorte Airport ground site in Houston, Texas, USA.