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MACPEX WB-57 Aircraft In-situ Trace Gas Data

Metadata Updated: August 30, 2025

MACPEX_TraceGas_AircraftInSitu_WB57_Data is the in-situ trace gas data collection during the Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX). Data was collected by the NOAA O3 Photometer (NOAA O3), the NOAA UAS O3 Photometer (UASO3), and the Aircraft Laser Infrared Absorption Spectrometer (ALIAS). Data collection for this product is complete.The MACPEX mission was an airborne field campaign that deployed from March 18th to April 26th, 2011. MACPEX sought to investigate cirrus cloud properties and the processes that affect their impact on radiation. The campaign conducted science flights using the NASA WB-57 aircraft based out of Ellington Airfield, Texas. Science flights were focused on the central North America vicinity, with an emphasis over the Southern Great Plains atmospheric observatory (established by the Department of Energy’s (DoE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility) site in Oklahoma. MACPEX was a joint effort between NASA, the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and several U.S. universities.The WB-57 contained a comprehensive instrument payload for detailed in-situ measurements that were targeted to answer MACPEX’s four major science questions. The first science question that MACPEX explored was how prevalent the smaller crystals are in cirrus clouds, and how important they are for extinction, radiative forcing, and radiative heating. MACPEX also sought to understand how cirrus microphysical properties (particle size distribution, ice crystal habit, extinction, ice water content) are related to the dynamical forcing driving cloud formation. Researchers also investigated how cirrus microphysical properties are related to aerosol loading and composition, including the abundance of heterogeneous ice nuclei. Lastly, this campaign examined how cirrus microphysical properties evolve through the lifecycles of the clouds, and the role radiatively driven dynamical motions play.In addition to the in-situ measurements, four flights were coordinated to validate the NASA EOS/A-Train satellite observations. NOAA also launched balloon sondes and ozonesondes, which were used to acquire data about the frost point and water vapor in the atmosphere. The balloon sondes and ozonesondes also acquired pressure, temperature, and humidity data, as well as measurements regarding the ozone in the atmosphere.

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 April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date August 30, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date August 30, 2025
Publisher NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
Maintainer
Identifier 10.5067/ASDC/SUBORBITAL/MACPEX_TraceGas_AircraftInSitu_WB57_Data_1
Data Last Modified 2025-08-28
Category Earth Science
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 026:00
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 204b2b36-25ac-4b43-b3d6-2445fca4c28c
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
Homepage URL https://espo.nasa.gov/macpex
Old Spatial "CARTESIAN",{"Boundary":{"Points":{"Latitude":15,"Longitude":-107},{"Latitude":15,"Longitude":-80},{"Latitude":45,"Longitude":-80},{"Latitude":45,"Longitude":-107},{"Latitude":15,"Longitude":-107}}}, Maximum Altitude, 20 km
Program Code 026:000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 5a2087eab2e616da446f7c3f5db62bea664bd830f75d726132670922deb7b27b
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial
Temporal 2011-03-18/2011-03-18

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