Data In Action

Data In Action

Read concise articles that allow users to quickly locate useful or relevant data and information. Each Data in Action article includes pointers to related data, user resources, and tools available from the ASDC archive.


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Introduction to the Synergistic Tempo Air Quality Science (STAQS) Field Campaign

NASA's Synergistic TEMPO Air Quality Science (STAQS) mission aimed to integrate satellite observations from the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite with traditional air quality monitoring to improve understanding of air quality science and enhance societal benefits. STAQS was conducted during summer 2023, targeting urban areas, primarily Los Angeles, …

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Characterization of Particle Size Distribution Uncertainties using SAGE III/ISS Extinction Spectra

A new algorithm was developed to infer particle size distribution parameters from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III on the International Space Station (SAGE III/ISS) extinction spectra using a lookup table (LUT) approach. Here, the SAGE-based extinction ratios were matched to LUT values and, using these matches, weighted statistics …

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MISR Observations of Wildfire Smoke Plumes during the CalFiDE Field campaign

Satellite Multi-angle Observations of Wildfire Smoke Plumes During the CalFiDE Field Campaign: Aerosol Plume Heights, Particle Property Evolution, and Aging Timescales

K. T. Junghenn Noyes and R.A. Kahn

JGR: Atmospheres (in press.)

Summary:

Wildfire-related aircraft field campaigns frequently offer opportunities to validate remote-sensing retrievals of aerosol properties and other quantities …

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MISR L1 and L2 Product Generation Resumes with New Product Format

The change in Terra orbit altitude in October 2022 required a major update to the generation of MISR L1 and L2 products because the spacecraft orbit tracks are no longer tied to a fixed set of 233 WRS-2 paths. L1 and L2 products from October 14, 2022 (orbit 121388) and …

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Firing Up Our Understanding of the Atmosphere: A Look into FIREX-AQ

With the occurrence of every annual fire season, fire becomes a more pressing issue as the news in inundated with stories of wildfires raging across the western coast of North America. Though visible smoke from fires dissipates, emissions from the fires can remain in the air longer after fires stop …

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ACTIVATE Travels to Bermuda

The Aerosol Cloud meTeorology INteractions oVer the western Atlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE) provides much needed knowledge on the relationships between aerosols and clouds. Expanding this knowledge is crucial in understanding the different cloud properties and their resulting impact on climate and weather. Throughout the campaign, two aircraft were deployed: the King …

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A Global Climatology of Wildfire Smoke Injection Height

A Global Climatology of Wildfire Smoke Injection Height Derived from Space-based Multi-angle Imaging

Maria Val Martin, Ralph A. Kahn, and Mika G. Tosca

Remote Sensing; 10, 1609; doi:10.3390/rs10101609

Summary:

The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) aboard the NASA Earth Observing System’s Terra satellite offers several unique products relating to airborne …

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New MISR Research Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm

The New MISR Research Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm: A Multi-Angle, Multi-Spectral, Bounded-Variable Least Squares Retrieval of Aerosol Particle Properties over Both Land and Water

J.A. Limbacher, R.A. Kahn, and J. Lee

Atmosph. Meas. Tech., 2022 (in press)

Summary

Since well before the MISR instrument was launched on NASA’s Terra …

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Understanding the North American Monsoon Anticyclone with DCOTSS

Each summer, the North American Monsoon Anticyclone (NAMA) dominates the circulation of the North-Western Hemisphere and acts to partially confine and isolate air from the surrounding atmosphere. Because of NAMA, strong convective storms develop over North America and overshoot the tropopause into the lower stratosphere. These storms carry water and …

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Accessing Airborne and Field Campaign Data with the Sub-Orbital Order Tool

Suborbital campaigns serve as a key component of the integrated observing system of the atmosphere by linking satellite observations and surface measurements, as well as probing atmospheric phenomena critical to climate change and air quality issues. These suborbital campaigns often deploy many instruments on different platforms, including aircraft, ships, sondes, …

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Advancing Aerosol-Cloud-Meteorology Knowledge through ACTIVATE

Despite the crucial role of clouds in maintaining the Earth’s energy balance and water cycle, their formation and evolution processes still have large uncertainties among the international scientific research community. Expanding knowledge on the relationships between aerosols and clouds is key to understanding different cloud properties and their resulting impact …

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A Look into the North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES)

  • The NASA North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) project was the first NASA Earth Venture – Suborbital mission focused on studying the coupled ocean ecosystem and atmosphere. NAAMES utilizes a combination of ship-based, airborne, autonomous sensor, and remote sensing measurements that directly link ocean ecosystem processes, emissions of …

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Observing Sea-to-Air Aerosol Gas Fluxes Under Extreme Weather Conditions

NAAMES was the first NASA Earth Venture – Suborbital mission focused on studying the coupled ocean ecosystem and atmosphere. NAAMES utilized a combination of ship-based, airborne, autonomous sensor, and remote sensing measurements that directly linked ocean ecosystem processes, emissions of ocean-generated aerosols and precursor gases, and subsequent atmospheric evolution and …

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Exploring the Impact of the 2020 West Coast Wildfires

On September 9, 2020, the fire known as 'The August Complex' became the largest wildfire in California’s history. The fire started as a series of separate fires ignited by lightning strikes. Fueled by periods of drought, record-breaking high temperatures, and drier-than-usual air, the individual fires combined into a single blaze …

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