NAAMES Ship-Based Aerosol Measurements Across Four Seasonal Deployments

In situ aerosol measurements were collected onboard the R/V Atlantis during the NASA NAAMES mission, which studied links between ocean ecosystems and atmospheric aerosols. Data spans four seasonal deployments from 2015 to 2018 over the North Atlantic Ocean, capturing the phytoplankton cycle. This dataset provides detailed characterization of atmospheric gases, particles, and related ocean properties from a coordinated ship-based campaign.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal variations in aerosol properties like aerosol optical depth and cloud condensation nuclei linked to phytoplankton blooms.
• Investigating concentrations of atmospheric trace gases such as carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds over the ocean.
• Studying the composition of atmospheric particles including sulfate, nitrate, and organic particles from marine sources.
• Correlating in situ atmospheric measurements with concurrent ship-based data on plankton stocks and ocean ecosystem processes.
• Validating satellite and model data subsets of marine aerosol and cloud properties using detailed, co-located ship observations.

Strengths

• Data collection is complete across four dedicated seasonal deployments, providing coverage of the full phytoplankton annual cycle.
• Measurements are part of a coordinated multi-platform NASA mission, ensuring data is linked with airborne, autonomous sensor, and remote sensing observations.
• Campaign design targets specific key processes: Winter Transition, Bloom Climax, Deceleration Phase, and Acceleration Phase.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and a complete list of measurement columns are not provided by the sources.
• Sources conflict on the precise end dates for some deployment phases (e.g., November 29 vs December 2, 2015).
• Most ocean data products from the mission reside in a separate archive (SeaBass), limiting the oceanographic variables directly available here.

Provenance

Source

NASA Langley Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC)

Collection Method

In situ measurements collected onboard the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution R/V Atlantis research vessel.

Time Range

2015-11-04 to 2018-04-13

Freshness

2026-03-13 00:03:41.575951

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean