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DISCOVER-AQ Maryland Deployment Analysis and Ancillary Ground Site Data

Metadata Updated: December 6, 2023

DISCOVERAQ_Maryland_Ground_Analysis_Ancillary_Data contains data collected at ancillary ground sites during the Maryland (Baltimore-Washington) deployment of NASA's DISCOVER-AQ field study. This data product contains data for only the Maryland deployment and data collection is complete.

Understanding the factors that contribute to near surface pollution is difficult using only satellite-based observations. The incorporation of surface-level measurements from aircraft and ground-based platforms provides the crucial information necessary to validate and expand upon the use of satellites in understanding near surface pollution. Deriving Information on Surface conditions from Column and Vertically Resolved Observations Relevant to Air Quality (DISCOVER-AQ) was a four-year campaign conducted in collaboration between NASA Langley Research Center, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Ames Research Center, and multiple universities to improve the use of satellites to monitor air quality for public health and environmental benefit. Through targeted airborne and ground-based observations, DISCOVER-AQ enabled more effective use of current and future satellites to diagnose ground level conditions influencing air quality.

DISCOVER-AQ employed two NASA aircraft, the P3-B and King Air, with the P-3B completing in-situ spiral profiling of the atmosphere (aerosol properties, meteorological variables, and trace gas species). The King Air conducted both passive and active remote sensing of the atmospheric column extending below the aircraft to the surface. Data from an existing network of surface air quality monitors, AERONET sun photometers, Pandora UV/vis spectrometers and model simulations were also collected. Further, DISCOVER-AQ employed many surface monitoring sites, with measurements being made on the ground, in conjunction with the aircraft. The B200 and P-3B conducted flights in Baltimore-Washington, D.C. in 2011, Houston, TX in 2013, San Joaquin Valley, CA in 2013, and Denver, CO in 2014. These regions were targeted due to being in violation of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

The first objective of DISCOVER-AQ was to determine and investigate correlations between surface measurements and satellite column observations for the trace gases ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and formaldehyde (CH2O) to understand how satellite column observations can diagnose surface conditions. DISCOVER-AQ also had the objective of using surface-level measurements to understand how satellites measure diurnal variability and to understand what factors control diurnal variability. Lastly, DISCOVER-AQ aimed to explore horizontal scales of variability, such as regions with steep gradients and urban plumes.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date November 30, 2022
Metadata Updated Date December 6, 2023

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date November 30, 2022
Metadata Updated Date December 6, 2023
Publisher NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
Maintainer
Identifier C2358952642-LARC_ASDC
Data First Published 2021-06-10
Language en-US
Data Last Modified 2022-07-20
Category DISCOVER-AQ, geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 026:00
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://data.nasa.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Citation 2022-07-20. Archived by National Aeronautics and Space Administration, U.S. Government, NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC. https://doi.org/10.5067/ASDC/SUBORBITAL/DISCOVERAQ_Maryland_Ground_Analysis_Ancillary_Data_1.
Harvest Object Id 480b119f-a6e4-497e-bdf4-962026b8ad96
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
Homepage URL https://doi.org/10.5067/ASDC/SUBORBITAL/DISCOVERAQ_Maryland_Ground_Analysis_Ancillary_Data_1
Metadata Type geospatial
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Program Code 026:001
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 1323440fc3f4b0fe89141f2d111c0ce8a4cb6017fde910d7ffc7a155c949352e
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial
Temporal 2011-06-30T00:00:00Z/2011-08-02T23:59:59.999Z

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