FIREX-AQ: In-Situ Radiation Measurements from DC-8 Aircraft, Summer 2019

Summer 2019 radiation data collected by the CCD-based Actinic Flux Spectroradiometer (CAFS) onboard a NASA DC-8 aircraft during the FIREX-AQ campaign. The campaign was a NOAA/NASA interagency study of North American fires, involving 23 DC-8 science flights from Boise, Idaho and Salina, Kansas. It aimed to understand the impact of fire emissions on tropospheric chemistry and assess satellite detection capabilities.

Use Cases

• Modeling actinic flux in wildfire plumes based on the CAFS spectroradiometer measurements.
• Analyzing the chemical transformation of fire emissions downwind based on the campaign's focus on trace gases and aerosols.
• Validating satellite-derived fire data based on the campaign's goal of assessing satellite detection capabilities.
• Studying the relationship between fuel conditions and emission profiles based on the detailed measurement goals of FIREX-AQ.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete, providing a finalized dataset.
• Part of a major interagency campaign (FIREX-AQ) combining aircraft, satellite, and ground-based measurements.
• Features data from a specific, named instrument (CCD-based Actinic Flux Spectroradiometer - CAFS).
• Campaign involved 23 dedicated science flights by the primary DC-8 aircraft.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is from a specific summer campaign (2019), limiting temporal generalizability.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected by instrument payload onboard a NASA DC-8 aircraft.

Time Range

Summer 2019

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:49:04.313434; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North America, with flights originating from Boise, Idaho and Salina, Kansas.