OWLETS-2: Aerosol Measurements Over Chesapeake Bay

June 6 to July 6, 2018, the Ozone Water-Land Environmental Transition Study 2 (OWLETS-2) collected aerosol data at ground sites in the upper Chesapeake Bay region. The campaign used ceilometers and PILS-IC instruments to measure aerosol backscatter and composition, focusing on pollutant gradients across the land-water interface. This dataset is part of a broader NASA SIF-funded effort to understand coastal air quality processes.

Use Cases

• Analyzing aerosol backscatter vertical profiles from ceilometer data.
• Studying pollutant gradients between over-water (Hart Miller Island) and over-land (UMBC, HUBV) sites.
• Investigating the chemical composition of aerosols via PILS-IC measurements.
• Modeling the impact of coastal transitions on local air quality and ozone formation.

Strengths

• Data collection is explicitly stated as complete across all sources.
• Campaign employed a unique multi-platform approach including aircraft, lidars, and mobile measurements.
• Provides synchronous vertical measurements from specifically named research sites (UMBC, HMI, HUBV).

Limitations

• Column names and data structure are unknown, limiting immediate usability.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata between platforms (2018-07-07 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026-04-09 on Data.gov).
• Specific file size and row counts are not provided.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), supported by the NASA Science Innovation Fund (SIF).

Collection Method

Field campaign data collected via ground-based ceilometers and PILS-IC instruments.

Time Range

June 6, 2018 – July 6, 2018 (OWLETS-2). Descriptions also reference the prior OWLETS campaign from July 5, 2017 – August 3, 2017.

Freshness

2026-04-09 23:24:48.552233 (from Data.gov, though this may be a metadata update)

Geography

Upper Chesapeake Bay region, specifically at University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), Hart Miller Island (HMI), and Howard University Beltsville (HUBV).