MACPEX: WB-57 Aircraft Trace Gas Measurements

The Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX) deployed from March 18th to April 26th, 2011, collecting in-situ trace gas data over central North America. Measurements from the NOAA O3 Photometer, NOAA UAS O3 Photometer, and the Aircraft Laser Infrared Absorption Spectrometer (ALIAS) aboard the NASA WB-57 aircraft targeted cirrus cloud properties and their radiative impact. This dataset supports research into the relationships between cirrus microphysics, aerosol loading, and dynamical forcing.

Use Cases

• Analyzing ozone and nitrous oxide concentrations within cirrus cloud systems.
• Investigating the relationship between trace gas abundance and cirrus microphysical properties like particle size distribution.
• Studying the evolution of cirrus cloud composition through different cloud lifecycle stages.
• Correlating in-situ aircraft trace gas data with ground-based observations from the Southern Great Plains atmospheric observatory.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete for a defined campaign period spanning March 18 to April 26, 2011.
• In-situ measurements were made using specialized instruments (NOAA O3, UASO3, ALIAS) aboard a high-altitude research aircraft.
• Campaign was a joint effort between NASA, NOAA ESRL, NCAR, and several U.S. universities, indicating collaborative data collection.

Limitations

• Column names and a precise row count are not provided by any source, limiting immediate analysis.
• Conflicting metadata exists: one source lists a last update date in 2026, while another shows 2011, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• The license is specified only as 'other-license-specified' without explicit details.

Provenance

Source

NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC), NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

Collection Method

Airborne in-situ measurements collected by instruments aboard the NASA WB-57 aircraft during targeted science flights.

Time Range

March 18, 2011 to April 26, 2011

Freshness

2026-04-10 01:25:14.766960

Geography

Central North America, with emphasis over the Southern Great Plains atmospheric observatory in Oklahoma.