TARFOX: Aerosol Particle Size Measurements from 1996 Mid-Atlantic Campaign

NASA's TARFOX_WALLOPS_SMPS dataset contains Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) measurements from the Wallops Island ground station during the July 1996 Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational eXperiment. The campaign sampled the US mid-Atlantic haze plume under varied pollution levels to study aerosol composition, optical properties, and their impact on climate forcing. Early results highlighted the importance of carbonaceous compounds and condensed water in the aerosol plume.

Use Cases

• Analyzing aerosol particle size distributions in a coastal pollution plume.
• Validating satellite aerosol optical depth retrievals with coordinated ground-based measurements.
• Studying the chemical apportionment of aerosol optical depth and its radiative forcing component.
• Investigating gradients in aerosol optical thickness to isolate aerosol effects from other radiative influences.

Strengths

• Data originates from a coordinated, multi-platform field campaign involving four satellites and four aircraft.
• Covers a specific time range (July 10-31, 1996) with a variety of sampled aerosol conditions.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData signals its importance and curation.

Limitations

• Column names and data structure are not specified in any source description.
• Exact row count and file size are unknown, limiting assessment of dataset scale.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (1996 vs. 2026) create uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Ground-based measurements from the Wallops station using a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) during the TARFOX Intensive Field Campaign.

Time Range

July 10-31, 1996

Freshness

Last updated metadata dates conflict: 2026-04 09 on Data.gov vs. 1996-07-26 on NASA EarthData.

Geography

Wallops Island ground station, US mid-Atlantic region.