IMPACTS Campaign Stereo Images of Snowstorm Cloud Particles

January 18, 2020, through February 28, 2023, is the time range for this dataset of stereo imagery of individual cloud particles. The Particle Habit Imaging and Polar Scattering (PHIPS) probe collected these images onboard a NASA P-3 aircraft during the multi-year Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) campaign. The dataset provides post-processed PNG files for analyzing particle shape, size, and habit to study snowband formation and evolution.

Use Cases

• Analyzing particle shape and habit classification from stereo images to understand snow growth mechanisms.
• Studying the variation of microphysical characteristics across different snowbands using particle-by-particle imagery.
• Validating and improving remote sensing algorithms for snowfall by providing ground-truth particle size and shape data.
• Supporting numerical weather prediction models by characterizing the size distribution and type of ice crystals within winter storms.

Strengths

• Provides a multi-year temporal coverage from 2020 to 2023 across three winter seasons of the IMPACTS campaign.
• Contains particle-by-particle stereo imagery, enabling detailed analysis of individual crystal morphology from two angles.
• Data originates from a NASA-led field campaign with specific scientific objectives for studying Atlantic Coast snowstorms.
• Cross-platform presence on data.gov and NASA Earthdata signals its importance and curation within official repositories.

Limitations

• Conflicting metadata exists: primary descriptions focus on the 2020-2023 IMPACTS campaign over the U.S. Atlantic Coast, while a secondary entry references 2003 measurements in the Gulf of Mexico, creating uncertainty about dataset scope.
• Key quantitative details like total row count, file size, and specific column names are not provided across any source.
• The license is listed as 'other-license-specified' without explicit terms, requiring users to investigate further.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Collected by the Particle Habit Imaging and Polar Scattering (PHIPS) probe onboard the NASA P-3 aircraft during flight campaigns.

Time Range

January 18, 2020 to February 28, 2023 (primary). A conflicting source mentions 2003.

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:55:31.233359

Geography

U.S. Atlantic Coast region, specifically areas affected by snowstorms studied in the IMPACTS campaign.