NAAMES: Aerosol Measurements from C-130 Aircraft Over the North Atlantic

November 2015 to September 2017 aerosol measurements collected onboard a NASA C-130 aircraft during the North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES). The dataset was created by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to link ocean ecosystem processes with atmospheric aerosol evolution. Data collection is complete, with flights conducted over the North Atlantic Ocean from a base in Newfoundland, Canada.

Use Cases

• Modeling aerosol-cloud-climate interactions based on in situ aerosol optical and extinction measurements.
• Studying seasonal phytoplankton bloom impacts on atmospheric composition based on data from targeted deployments.
• Linking local-scale airborne process measurements to larger-scale satellite records as described in the project objective.
• Analyzing the evolution of ocean-generated aerosols and precursor gases in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic.

Strengths

• Data collected during four distinct seasonal deployments targeting key phases of the phytoplankton cycle.
• Part of a coordinated mission combining ship-based, airborne, autonomous sensor, and remote sensing measurements.
• Measurements cover a multi-year time range from November 2015 to September 2017.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• File formats include BIN, PDF, ISO, HTML, which may require specialized tools for processing.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

In situ measurements collected onboard a NASA C-130 Hercules aircraft.

Time Range

November 4, 2015 – November 29, 2015; May 11, 2016 – June 5, 2016; August 30, 2017 – September 22, 2017

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:34:25.260636; freshness should be verified.

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, with aircraft based at St. John's International Airport, Newfoundland, Canada.