FIREX-AQ: Satellite and Aircraft Data on North American Wildfire Emissions

FIREX-AQ was a NOAA/NASA interagency study combining instrumented airplanes, satellites, and ground stations to measure wildfire emissions. The campaign included 23 science flights by a NASA DC-8 aircraft measuring over 200 trace gas species and 11 flights by a NASA ER-2 with satellite analog instruments. Data collection was completed during the summer of 2019, focusing on fires in the Western United States.

Use Cases

• Validate satellite fire detection and emission estimates based on VIIRS and GOES data.
• Model chemical transformation of wildfire plumes downwind based on trace gas and aerosol measurements.
• Analyze relationships between fire conditions and plume rise using aircraft and ground-based instrumentation.
• Assess local weather impacts of fires based on air movement measurements at fire boundaries.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete, providing a finalized snapshot of the 2019 campaign.
• Integrates measurements from multiple platforms: 2 satellite systems (VIIRS, GOES-16/17), 4 aircraft, and ground stations.
• The NASA DC-8 aircraft payload was capable of measuring over 200 trace gas species.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Some data, like from the NOAA-MET Twin Otter, is noted for future archiving and may not be fully present.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected via a coordinated field campaign using instrumented aircraft (NASA DC-8, ER-2; NOAA Twin Otters), satellites (VIIRS, GOES-16/17), and ground-based stations.

Time Range

Summer 2019

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 02:48:29.587365; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North America, with specific operations from Boise, Idaho and Salina, Kansas, and a ground station in McCall, Idaho.