Arctic Cloud Formation Data from NASCENT Campaign

NASCENT campaign data integrates aerosol size distribution, chemical composition, and updraft velocity measurements to study droplet formation in Arctic low-level clouds. The dataset, described in a 2023 paper by Motos et al., is hosted by ENVIDAT and includes particle number size distribution from DMPSs, composition from a Tof-ACSM, and updraft data from an ultrasonic anemometer and wind lidar. It also contains cloud droplet number concentration from HOLIMO and standard meteorological parameters.

Use Cases

• Analyze relationships between particle number size distribution (DMPS) and cloud droplet number concentration (HOLIMO) to model cloud activation.
• Correlate aerosol chemical composition data (Tof-ACSM) with updraft velocity (ultrasonic anemometer/wind lidar) to investigate nucleation processes.
• Use meteorological data (wind speed/direction, temperature) as covariates for modeling the impact of dynamics on cloud properties.
• Validate or parameterize models of Arctic low-level cloud formation using the co-located aerosol, dynamics, and cloud microphysics measurements.

Strengths

• Data is co-located, integrating aerosol, cloud, and dynamical measurements from a single field campaign.
• Described and validated in a peer-reviewed 2023 publication (EGUSphere).

Limitations

• Dataset size and specific row/column counts are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.
• Some related aerosol data (filter pack, high volume sampler, MAAP) is excluded and available only on EBAS, requiring joins for a complete picture.

Provenance

Source

ENVIDAT, associated with the NASCENT field campaign and the referenced 2023 scientific paper.

Collection Method

Instrument measurements from field campaign, including DMPS, Tof-ACSM, ultrasonic anemometer, wind lidar, and HOLIMO.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated in 2023.

Geography

Arctic region (specific location not stated).