TARFOX_UWC131A: Aircraft Measurements of Mid-Atlantic Haze Plume Aerosols

The 1996 TARFOX campaign sampled the US mid-Atlantic haze plume, revealing the unexpected importance of carbonaceous compounds and water condensed on aerosols. Coordinated measurements from four satellites and four aircraft captured gradients in aerosol optical thickness to isolate aerosol radiative effects. This dataset supports closure tests for satellite retrievals and provides in-situ measurements of aerosol optical depth, backscatter, and extinction.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite aerosol retrievals based on coordinated in-situ and satellite measurements
• Calculating aerosol radiative forcing using measured optical depth and extinction data
• Analyzing the chemical apportionment of aerosol optical depth from sampled plume conditions
• Studying gradients in aerosol optical thickness to isolate radiative effects
• Investigating the role of carbonaceous compounds and condensed water in haze plumes

Strengths

• Data originates from a coordinated multi-platform campaign involving four satellites and four aircraft
• Captured a variety of aerosol conditions, with optical depths exceeding 0.5 at mid-visible wavelengths
• Campaign was specifically designed to sample gradients for tighter constraint of closure tests

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in any source
• Exact row count and file size are unknown
• Metadata shows a conflict: one platform lists a last update in 2026, while another indicates the data is from 1996

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

In-situ measurements from a University of Washington instrumented C-131A aircraft during the TARFOX field campaign.

Time Range

July 10-31, 1996

Freshness

2026-04-09 21:33:13.279075 (datagov), but this conflicts with the 1996 campaign date from nasa_earthdata.

Geography

US mid-Atlantic region, specific flight paths not detailed