WNA-FLEXPART-BackTraj-2018: Back Trajectory Air Transport Model

WNA-FLEXPART-BackTraj-2018 provides backward simulations of airmass transport over Western North America using the FLEXPART Lagrangian particle dispersion model. The dataset calculates 15-day source-receptor relationships at hourly and 1° x 1° spatial resolution from the surface to 20 km altitude, driven by ERA5 reanalysis data. It supports analysis of source contributions to ozone and other atmospheric components observed from 1994 to 2021.

Use Cases

• Identifying source regions contributing to high ozone events based on backward trajectory calculations.
• Analyzing seasonal or decadal changes in atmospheric transport patterns over Western North America.
• Attributing observed pollutant concentrations to specific geospatial regions and vertical layers.
• Supporting source contribution analyses for other atmospheric components co-located with the ozone receptor grid.

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range from 1994 to 2021.
• Provides high-resolution global simulations at hourly temporal and 1° x 1° spatial scales.
• Includes detailed receptor information paired with gridded ozone observations.

Limitations

• Column names and data structure are not specified in any source.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2018-12-31 and 2026-04-09).
• Exact dataset size and row count are unknown.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Simulations using the FLEXible PARTicle (FLEXPART) dispersion model driven by ERA5 reanalysis data.

Time Range

1994-2021

Freshness

2026-04-09

Geography

Global simulations with receptor focus on Western North America.