NARSTO PAC2001: Aircraft-Measured Air Quality and Meteorological Profiles

PAC2001 data from a Cessna 188 aircraft captured vertical profiles of ozone, volatile organic compounds, and particle counts over British Columbia in August 2001. The study aimed to understand the chemical and thermal structure of the atmospheric boundary layer by integrating these aloft measurements with ground-based sites. NARSTO, a tri-national public/private partnership, coordinated this policy-relevant research on tropospheric pollution.

Use Cases

• Modeling vertical gradients of ozone and particle concentrations based on altitude profiles mentioned in the description
• Analyzing the relationship between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and meteorological parameters from integrated flight data
• Studying particle size distribution evolution over time based on trajectory-following flight patterns
• Investigating boundary layer chemistry by integrating aircraft data with ground-based measurements from specific sites

Strengths

• Data collected during a focused, 18-day field campaign (August 14-31, 2001) with specific scientific objectives
• Includes specialized flight patterns like profiling and race-track patterns for targeted sampling
• Measurements integrated with ground sites to provide a three-dimensional view of the boundary layer

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Data is from a specific, short-term campaign in 2001, limiting temporal generalizability

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Aircraft-based measurements from a Canadian Forest Service Cessna 188 during the Pacific 2001 Air Quality Study (PAC2001)

Time Range

August 14 to August 31, 2001

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-12 23:58:21.760664; freshness should be verified

Geography

Lower Fraser Valley (LFV), British Columbia, Canada, focusing on sites at Slocan Park, Langley Ecole Lochiel, and Sumas Eagle Ridge