WNA-FLEXPART-BackTraj-2010: Western North America Air Mass Trajectories

FLEXPART dispersion model simulations provide 15-day backward trajectories for air masses arriving at ozone observation points across Western North America. Driven by ERA5 reanalysis, this 2010 dataset offers hourly, global simulations at 1° x 1° spatial resolution from the surface to 20 km altitude. The data links source regions and atmospheric layers to downwind ozone measurements, supporting analysis of pollution transport over nearly three decades.

Use Cases

• Attributing ozone pollution events in Western North America to upwind source regions based on the 15-day backward trajectory calculations.
• Analyzing seasonal or decadal changes in atmospheric transport patterns influencing ozone levels using the high temporal (hourly) resolution.
• Investigating the vertical contribution of different atmospheric layers to surface ozone by utilizing the model's coverage from the surface to 20 km.
• Supporting source contribution analyses for other atmospheric components co-located with the defined ozone receptor sites.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution global simulations with hourly temporal and 1° x 1° spatial granularity.
• Covers a long observational context, with receptor locations matched to ozone data spanning from 1994 to 2021.
• Generated using the established FLEXPART model driven by the authoritative ERA5 reanalysis dataset.

Limitations

• Key metadata conflicts exist: the 'last updated' date differs significantly between platforms (2010-12-31 vs. 2026-04-09).
• Specific column names, data volume (row count, file size), and a precise license are not provided in the available metadata.
• The dataset's primary focus is 2010, though it supports analysis within a broader multi-decadal framework.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Simulations from the FLEXible PARTicle (FLEXPART) Lagrangian Particle Dispersion Model, driven by ERA5 reanalysis data.

Time Range

1994-2021 (for matched ozone observations); model simulations are for 2010.

Freshness

2026-04-09 20:39:07.837745

Geography

Global simulation domain, with receptor locations focused on Western North America (WNA).