UIB-BGO ALOFT: Gamma-Ray Counts from Airborne Thunderstorm Campaign

July 3, 2023, through July 29, 2023, gamma-ray count data collected by the University of Bergen's Bismuth-Germanium Oxide detector aboard a NASA ER-2 aircraft during the ALOFT field campaign. The dataset monitors transient luminous events and gamma-ray glows in thunderstorms to support the study of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes and validation of space-based lightning sensors. Data is provided by the GHRC_DAAC and was last updated on July 29, 2023.

Use Cases

• Detect and analyze terrestrial gamma-ray flash events based on gamma-ray count data.
• Study gamma-ray glow phenomena associated with thunderstorms based on the airborne monitoring campaign.
• Validate observations from the ISS Lightning Imaging Sensor and Geostationary Lightning Mapper based on concurrent airborne measurements.
• Correlate gamma-ray signatures with transient luminous events like sprites and elves based on the campaign's observational goals.

Strengths

• Data covers a specific 27-day field campaign from July 3 to July 29, 2023.
• Collected via a dedicated gamma-ray detector package on a high-altitude NASA research aircraft, suggesting controlled measurement conditions.
• Data was available in real-time via downlink, which may indicate quality monitoring during collection.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect temporal and geographic bias inherent to the specific 27-day airborne campaign.

Provenance

Source

University of Bergen, collected via NASA ER-2 aircraft, distributed by GHRC_DAAC on nasa_earthdata.

Collection Method

Airborne measurements from a gamma-ray detector package during the ALOFT field campaign.

Time Range

July 3, 2023, through July — 29, 2023

Freshness

Last updated 2023-07-29 22:00:00; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Likely regions overflown by the NASA ER-2 aircraft during the ALOFT campaign; specific coverage is not stated.