FIREX-AQ: Photolysis Rate Measurements from NOAA-CHEM Twin Otter Aircraft

North American wildfires were studied during the summer 2019 FIREX-AQ campaign. This dataset contains in situ photolysis rate (j value) data collected onboard the NOAA-CHEM Twin Otter aircraft, which focused on nighttime plume chemistry. The campaign was a NOAA/NASA interagency study to understand the impact of fire emissions on tropospheric chemistry and air quality.

Use Cases

• Modeling photochemical reaction rates in wildfire plumes based on in situ j value measurements.
• Analyzing nighttime plume chemistry transformations based on the NOAA-CHEM Twin Otter's focus.
• Validating satellite-derived fire emission estimates based on coordinated aircraft and ground-based campaign data.
• Studying the relationship between fire conditions and downwind air quality impacts based on the campaign's overarching goal.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete, as stated in the description.
• Part of a major interagency campaign (FIREX-AQ) utilizing multiple aircraft and ground instruments.
• Focuses on a specific, critical atmospheric measurement (photolysis rates) within wildfire plumes.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal and geographic bias inherent to the summer 2019 campaign period and sampled fire locations.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), archived at the NASA Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC).

Collection Method

In situ measurements collected onboard the NOAA-CHEM Twin Otter aircraft.

Time Range

Summer 2019.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 02:48:25.839395; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North America, with sampling likely focused on Western wildfires as mentioned.