SEAC4RS: DC-8 Aircraft In-Situ Aerosol Measurements

SEAC4RS_Aerosol_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data contains in-situ aerosol measurements collected onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the August–September 2013 SEAC4RS airborne field study based in Houston, Texas. The dataset was designed to investigate pollutant redistribution by deep convection, aerosol evolution, and aerosol-climate feedbacks from biomass burning and anthropogenic pollution. It serves as a calibration and validation test bed for satellite instruments and includes measurements of aerosol properties, trace gases, cloud properties, radiative fluxes, and meteorological parameters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing aerosol particle properties (nitrate, sulfate, organic) to understand chemical composition in convective outflow.
• Studying aerosol optical properties (backscatter, extinction) for satellite instrument calibration and validation.
• Investigating cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) data to assess aerosol indirect effects on clouds.
• Examining the co-located trace gas and meteorological data to model pollutant transport via deep convection.
• Using the temporal evolution of aerosols from pollution and biomass burning to evaluate climate feedbacks.

Strengths

• Data originates from a major, well-documented NASA field campaign (SEAC4RS) with clear science objectives.
• Provides co-located in-situ measurements of aerosols, trace gases, clouds, and meteorology from an instrumented aircraft platform.
• The dataset is hosted on multiple authoritative platforms (NASA Earthdata, Data.gov), indicating curation and importance.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in the available metadata, hindering precise assessment.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist (2013-11-25 and 2026-04-09), creating uncertainty about data versioning or maintenance.
• Key quantitative metadata like row count, file size, and a precise license name are missing from all sources.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected by instruments onboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft during prescribed flight plans.

Time Range

August 2013 to September 2013.

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:34:58.972090

Geography

Campaign was based in Houston, Texas; flight plans covered regions influenced by biomass burning and anthropogenic pollution.