TROPESS CrIS-SNPP L2 PAN: Vertical Profiles During 2020 West Coast Wildfires

August to October 2020 data captures the vertical distribution of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) over the contiguous United States during major wildfire outbreaks. This satellite-derived dataset provides daily atmospheric profiles at 16 vertical levels, retrieved from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) on the Suomi-NPP platform using the MUSES optimal estimation algorithm. It is designed for analyzing the transport and chemistry of a key ozone precursor generated by biomass burning.

Use Cases

• Tracking wildfire-emitted PAN transport based on daily vertical profiles over CONUS.
• Studying tropospheric ozone formation chemistry using peroxyacetyl nitrate concentration data.
• Validating atmospheric chemistry models with satellite-retrieved state and formal uncertainty fields.
• Analyzing spatial patterns of biomass burning plumes from the 14 km resolution nadir footprints.

Strengths

• Provides focused temporal coverage (2020-08-01 to 2020-10 31) during a significant wildfire event.
• Offers vertically resolved data with 16 levels from the surface to 0.1 hPa.
• Data is processed with a sophisticated retrieval algorithm (MUSES) and includes formal uncertainties.

Limitations

• Column names and row counts are unspecified, limiting precise understanding of data structure.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata (2026-04-09 vs. 2020-10-26) creates uncertainty about provenance.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to the CONUS region (20N-60N, 150W-40W).

Provenance

Source

NASA TROPESS project, principal investigator Kevin W. Bowman, data from CrIS instrument on Suomi-NPP satellite.

Collection Method

Satellite remote sensing using an optimal estimation retrieval algorithm (MUSES).

Time Range

2020-08-01 to 2020-10-31

Freshness

Last updated metadata conflicts between 2026-04-09 and 2020-10-26.

Geography

Contiguous United States (CONUS): 20N-60N latitude, 150W-40W longitude.