SONEX: Ancillary Data for 1997 North Atlantic Aircraft Emissions Experiment

SONEX_Miscellaneous_DC8_Data contains ancillary GIF and PostScript files from the Subsonics Assessment Ozone and NOx Experiment (SONEX). This international mission in October-November 1997 studied the impact of subsonic aircraft emissions on atmospheric composition in the North Atlantic Flight Corridor. The files support in-situ measurements of NOx, ozone, aerosols, and other chemical species taken from NASA's DC-8 and DLR's Falcon 20 aircraft.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the spatial distribution of aircraft-emitted pollutants based on flight path visualizations.
• Studying correlations between aircraft emissions and ozone perturbations using ancillary meteorological plots.
• Investigating the impact of specific meteorological events like convection or lightning on pollution dispersion.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models with in-situ measurement support data from a targeted campaign.

Strengths

• Data originates from a major, documented international research mission involving NASA and the German Aerospace Agency (DLR).
• The dataset supports a wide array of specific in-situ measurements, including NOx, ozone, aerosols, hydrocarbons, and meteorological parameters.
• Mission employed targeted sampling strategies for air parcels affected by aircraft emissions and specific meteorological events.

Limitations

• Core data files are ancillary visualizations (GIF/PostScript), not the primary numerical measurement records.
• Metadata is incomplete: column names, row counts, and precise file sizes are not specified on any platform.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (1997 vs. 2026) create uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected from instrumented DC-8 and Falcon 20 aircraft during targeted flights.

Time Range

October-November 1997

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:16:16.573567 (from datagov, but conflicts with 1997 date from nasa_earthdata)

Geography

North Atlantic Flight Corridor, with primary staging in Bangor, Maine (USA) and Shannon, Ireland.