HAQES: 3-Hourly Ensemble Forecast of PM2.5 Organic Carbon for North America

A real-time ensemble forecast of surface PM2.5 Organic Carbon concentration at 3-hourly intervals over the continental United States. The Hazardous Air Quality Ensemble System (HAQES) combines models from NASA, NOAA, and the Naval Research Laboratory to predict hazardous air quality events like wildfires and dust storms. The prototype was developed by George Mason University as part of the NASA Health Air Quality Applied Science Team.

Use Cases

• Forecasting public health risks from wildfire smoke based on ensemble PM2.5 Organic Carbon predictions.
• Modeling regional air quality trends based on 3-hourly concentration data.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models using multi-agency ensemble forecasts.
• Assessing population exposure to particulate matter at the census level.

Strengths

• Data is an ensemble forecast combining models from multiple authoritative agencies including NASA, NOAA, and the Naval Research Laboratory.
• Provides 3-hourly temporal resolution for real-time analysis of air quality events.
• Focuses on PM2.5 Organic Carbon, a specific component of particulate matter linked to health impacts.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and spatial resolution specifics are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) via the GES DISC platform.

Collection Method

Ensemble forecast combining outputs from multiple regional and global atmospheric models.

Time Range

Real-time forecast data.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 01:43:56.954792; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Continental United States (CONUS) at the census level.