Ozone And Nitrogen Dioxide Measurements From Chesapeake Bay Research Vessel

From July 5 to August 3, 2017 and June 6 to July 6, 2018, this dataset contains in-situ measurements of ozone, nitrogen dioxide, meteorology, and ship navigation data collected aboard the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center vessel during the OWLETS and OWLETS-2 field campaigns. The campaigns, supported by NASA's Science Innovation Fund, focused on characterizing pollutant gradients across the land-water interface of the Chesapeake Bay. Data collection is complete and was managed by the LARC_ASDC organization.

Use Cases

• Analyze ozone and nitrogen dioxide concentration gradients between over-water (Hart Miller Island) and over-land (UMBC, HUBV) sites using time-series measurements.
• Correlate meteorological parameters with pollutant levels to model air quality dynamics in the Chesapeake Bay coastal region.
• Validate satellite retrievals, such as for NASA's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution mission, using the in-situ ozone and nitrogen dioxide measurements.
• Study the impact of ship navigation patterns and locations on localized pollutant measurements collected via the onboard instrumentation.

Strengths

• Data originates from two dedicated NASA SIF-supported field campaigns (OWLETS and OWLETS-2) with defined intensive observation periods.
• Includes synchronous vertical measurements over both land and water sites, enabling direct gradient analysis.
• Combines multiple data types: chemical pollutant concentrations (ozone, NO2), meteorological parameters, and ship navigational data.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to two short campaigns totaling approximately 8 weeks across 2017 and 2018.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to the Chesapeake Bay region, limiting generalizability to other coastal areas.
• Specific sample sizes (row counts), column definitions, and data completeness metrics are unknown.

Provenance

Source

NASA Langley Research Center Atmospheric Science Data Center (LARC_ASDC).

Collection Method

Collected via in-situ instrumentation onboard the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) vessel, as part of the OWLETS-2 campaign.

Time Range

July 5, 2017 – August 3, 2017 and June 6, 2018 – July 6, 2018.

Freshness

Data collection was completed in July 2018, with no indication of ongoing updates.

Geography

Chesapeake Bay region, specifically including sites at Hart Miller Island (over-water), University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Howard University Beltsville (over-land).