Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Project

The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign sought to understand the dynamical, physical, and lightning processes of deep, mid-latitude continental convective clouds and to define the impact of these clouds on upper tropospheric composition and chemistry. DC3 was conducted from May to June 2012 with a base location of Salina, Kansas. Observations were conducted in northeastern Colorado, west Texas to central Oklahoma, and northern Alabama in order to provide a wide geographic sample of storm types and boundary layer compositions, as well as to sample convection.

DC3 had two primary science objectives. The first was to investigate storm dynamics and physics, lightning and its production of nitrogen oxides, cloud hydrometeor effects on wet deposition of species, surface emission variability, and chemistry in anvil clouds. Observations related to this objective focused on the early stages of active convection. The second objective was to investigate changes in upper tropospheric chemistry and composition after active convection. Observations related to this objective focused on the 12-48 hours following convection. This objective also served to explore seasonal change of upper tropospheric chemistry.

In addition to using the NSF/NCAR Gulfstream-V (GV) aircraft, the NASA DC-8 was used during DC3 to provide in-situ measurements of the convective storm inflow and remotely-sensed measurements used for flight planning and column characterization. DC3 utilized ground-based radar networks spread across its observation area to measure the physical and kinematic characteristics of storms. Additional sampling strategies relied on lightning mapping arrays, radiosondes, and precipitation collection. Lastly, DC3 used data collected from various satellite instruments to achieve its goals, focusing on measurements from CALIOP onboard CALIPSO and CPL onboard CloudSat. In addition to providing an extensive set of data related to deep, mid-latitude continental convective clouds and analyzing their impacts on upper tropospheric composition and chemistry, DC3 improved models used to predict convective transport. DC3 improved knowledge of convection and chemistry, and provided information necessary to understanding the processes relating to ozone in the upper troposphere.

DC3 field campaign data available at the ASDC includes data collected onboard the DC-8 aircraft.

DC3 Project Page

Disciplines:   Field Campaigns
Collection Disciplines Spatial Temporal
DC3_Miscellaneous_DC8_Data_1
DC3 Miscellaneous DC-8 Aircraft Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -125, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-04 - 2012-06-23
DC3_Miscellaneous_NSF-GV-HIAPER_Data_1
DC3 Miscellaneous NSF/NCAR GV-HIAPER Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 20, N: 45), (W: -110, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-18 - 2012-06-30
Collection Disciplines Spatial Temporal
DC3_Merge_Data_1
DC3 Merge Data Files 		Aerosols,  Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 20, N: 45), (W: -121, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-18 - 2012-06-30
Collection Disciplines Spatial Temporal
DC3_Aerosol_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ DC-8 Aircraft Aerosol Data 		Aerosols Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -122, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-04 - 2012-08-28
DC3_Aerosol_AircraftInSitu_DLR-Falcon_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ DLR-Falcon Aerosol Data 		Aerosols Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 70), (W: -110, E: 15)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-25 - 2012-06-19
DC3_Aerosol_AircraftInSitu_NSF-GV-HIAPER_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ NSF/NCAR GV-HIAPER Aerosol Data 		Aerosols Spatial Coverage:
(S: 20, N: 45), (W: -125, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-14 - 2012-06-30
DC3_AircraftRemoteSensing_DIAL_DC8_Data_1
DC3 Remotely Sensed DC-8 Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) Data 		Aerosols Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -110, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-14 - 2012-06-23
DC3_Cloud_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ DC-8 Cloud Data 		Clouds Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -125, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-04 - 2012-06-23
DC3_Cloud_AircraftInSitu_NSF-GV-HIAPER_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ NSF/NCAR GV-HIAPER Cloud Data 		Aerosols,  Clouds Spatial Coverage:
(S: 20, N: 45), (W: -110, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-18 - 2012-06-30
DC3_jValue_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ DC-8 Photolysis Frequency Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -125, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-04 - 2012-06-23
DC3_jValue_AircraftInSitu_NSF-GV-HIAPER_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ NSF/NCAR GV-HIAPER Photolysis Rate Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 20, N: 45), (W: -125, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-01 - 2012-06-30
DC3_MetNav_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ DC-8 Meteorological and Navigational Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -125, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-04 - 2012-06-23
DC3_MetNav_AircraftInSitu_DLR-Falcon_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ DLR Falcon Meteorological and Navigational Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -110, E: -90)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-29 - 2012-06-14
DC3_MetNav_AircraftInSitu_NSF-GV-HIAPER_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ NSF/NCAR GV-HIAPER Meteorological and Navigational Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 20, N: 45), (W: -110, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-18 - 2012-06-30
DC3_Miscellaneous_DLR-Falcon_Data_1
DC3 Miscellaneous DLR-Falcon Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -110, E: -90)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-29 - 2012-06-14
DC3_Radiation_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ DC-8 Aircraft Radiation Data 		Radiation Budget Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -125, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-04 - 2012-06-23
DC3_TraceGas_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ DC-8 Aircraft Trace Gas Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 25, N: 45), (W: -125, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-04 - 2012-06-23
DC3_TraceGas_AircraftInSitu_DLR-Falcon_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ DLR-Falcon Trace Gas Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 20, N: 70), (W: -125, E: -20)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-29 - 2012-06-18
DC3_TraceGas_AircraftInSitu_NSF-GV-HIAPER_Data_1
DC3 In-Situ NSF/NCAR GV-HIAPER Trace Gas Data 		Field Campaigns Spatial Coverage:
(S: 20, N: 45), (W: -125, E: -75)
Temporal Coverage:
2012-05-11 - 2012-07-01

DC3 Mission Publications

Corr, C. A.; Ziemba, L. D.; Scheuer, E.; Anderson, B. E.; Beyersdorf, A. J.; Chen, G.; Crosbie, E.; Moore, R. H.; Shook, M.; Thornhill, K. L.; Winstead, E.; Lawson, R. P.; Barth, M. C.; Schroeder, J. R.; Blake, D. R.; Dibb, J. E. (2022). Observational evidence for the convective transport of dust over the Central United States.


Dubovik, Oleg; Li, Zhengqiang; Mishchenko, Michael I.; Tanré, Didier; Karol, Yana; Bojkov, Bojan; Cairns, Brian; Diner, David J.; Espinosa, W. Reed; Goloub, Philippe; Gu, Xingfa; Hasekamp, Otto; Hong, Jin; Hou, Weizhen; Knobelspiesse, Kirk D.; Landgraf, Jochen; Li, Li; Litvinov, Pavel; Liu, Yi; Lopatin, Anton; Marbach, Thierry; Maring, Hal; Martins, Vanderlei; Meijer, Yasjka; Milinevsky, Gennadi; Mukai, Sonoyo; Parol, Frederic; Qiao, Yanli; Remer, Lorraine; Rietjens, Jeroen; Sano, Itaru; Stammes, Piet; Stamnes, Snorre; Sun, Xiaobing; Tabary, Pierre; Travis, Larry D.; Waquet, Fabien; Xu, Feng; Yan, Changxiang; Yin, Dekui (2022). Polarimetric remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols: Instruments, methodologies, results, and perspectives. Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer, 474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2018.11.024


Nair, Arshad Arjunan; Yu, Fangqun; Campuzano‐Jost, Pedro; DeMott, Paul J.; Levin, Ezra J. T.; Jimenez, Jose L.; Peischl, Jeff; Pollack, Ilana B.; Fredrickson, Carley D.; Beyersdorf, Andreas J.; Nault, Benjamin A.; Park, Minsu; Yum, Seong Soo; Palm, Brett B.; Xu, Lu; Bourgeois, Ilann; Anderson, Bruce E.; Nenes, Athanasios; Ziemba, Luke D.; Moore, Richard H.; Lee, Taehyoung; Park, Taehyun; Thompson, Chelsea R.; Flocke, Frank; Huey, Lewis Gregory; Kim, Michelle J.; Peng, Qiaoyun (2021). Machine Learning Uncovers Aerosol Size Information From Chemistry and Meteorology to Quantify Potential Cloud‐Forming Particles.


Aldhaif, Abdulmonam M.; Stahl, Connor; Braun, Rachel A.; Moghaddam, Mohammad A.; Shingler, Taylor; Crosbie, Ewan; Sawamura, Patricia; Dadashazar, Hossein; Ziemba, Luke; Jimenez, Jose L.; Campuzano-Jost, Pedro; Sorooshian, Armin (2021). Characterization of the Real Part of Dry Aerosol Refractive Index Over North America From the Surface to 12 km.


Pai, Sidhant J.; Heald, Colette L.; Pierce, Jeffrey R.; Farina, Salvatore C.; Marais, Eloise A.; Jimenez, Jose L.; Campuzano-Jost, Pedro; Nault, Benjamin A.; Middlebrook, Ann M.; Coe, Hugh; Shilling, John E.; Bahreini, Roya; Dingle, Justin H.; Vu, Kennedy (2021). An evaluation of global organic aerosol schemes using airborne observations.


Day, Douglas A.; Campuzano-Jost, Pedro; Nault, Benjamin A.; Palm, Brett B.; Hu, Weiwei; Guo, Hongyu; Wooldridge, Paul J.; Cohen, Ronald C.; Docherty, Kenneth S.; Huffman, J. Alex; de Sá, Suzane S.; Martin, Scot T.; Jimenez, Jose L. (2021). A systematic re-evaluation of methods for quantification of bulk particle-phase organic nitrates using real-time aerosol mass spectrometry.


Marais, Eloise A.; Jacob, Daniel J.; Choi, Sungyeon; Joiner, Joanna; Belmonte-Rivas, Maria; Cohen, Ronald C.; Beirle, Steffen; Murray, Lee T.; Schiferl, Luke D.; Shah, Viral; Jaeglé, Lyatt (2020). Nitrogen oxides in the global upper troposphere: interpreting cloud-sliced NO2 observations from the OMI satellite instrument.


Brune, W. H.; McFarland, P. J.; Bruning, E.; Waugh, S.; MacGorman, D.; Miller, D. O.; Jenkins, J. M.; Ren, X.; Mao, J.; Peischl, J. (2020). Extreme oxidant amounts produced by lightning in storm clouds.


Liu, Yaman; Dong, Xinyi; Wang, Minghuai; Emmons, Louisa K.; Liu, Yawen; Liang, Yuan; Li, Xiao; Shrivastava, Manish (2020). Analysis of secondary organic aerosol simulation bias in the Community Earth System Model (CESM2.1).


Liao, Jin; Hanisco, Thomas F.; Wolfe, Glenn M.; St. Clair, Jason; Jimenez, Jose L.; Campuzano-Jost, Pedro; Nault, Benjamin A.; Fried, Alan; Marais, Eloise A.; Gonzalez Abad, Gonzalo; Chance, Kelly; Jethva, Hiren T.; Ryerson, Thomas B.; Warneke, Carsten; Wisthaler, Armin (2018). Towards a satellite formaldehyde – in situ hybrid estimate for organic aerosol abundance.


Chen, Xin; Millet, Dylan B.; Singh, Hanwant B.; Wisthaler, Armin; Apel, Eric C.; Atlas, Elliot L.; Blake, Donald R.; Bourgeois, Ilann; Brown, Steven S.; Crounse, John D.; de Gouw, Joost A.; Flocke, Frank M.; Fried, Alan; Heikes, Brian G.; Hornbrook, Rebecca S.; Mikoviny, Tomas; Min, Kyung-Eun; Müller, Markus; Neuman, J. Andrew; O'Sullivan, Daniel W.; Peischl, Jeff; Pfister, Gabriele G.; Richter, Dirk; Roberts, James M.; Ryerson, Thomas B.; Shertz, Stephen R.; Thompson, Chelsea R.; Treadaway, Victoria; Veres, Patrick R.; Walega, James; Warneke, Carsten; Washenfelder, Rebecca A.; Weibring, Petter; Yuan, Bin (2018). On the sources and sinks of atmospheric VOCs: an integrated analysis of recent aircraft campaigns over North America.


Brune, William H.; Ren, Xinrong; Zhang, Li; Mao, Jingqiu; Miller, David O.; Anderson, Bruce E.; Blake, Donald R.; Cohen, Ronald C.; Diskin, Glenn S.; Hall, Samuel R.; Hanisco, Thomas F.; Huey, L. Gregory; Nault, Benjamin A.; Peischl, Jeff; Pollack, Ilana; Ryerson, Thomas B.; Shingler, Taylor; Sorooshian, Armin; Ullmann, Kirk; Wisthaler, Armin; Wooldridge, Paul J. (2018). Atmospheric oxidation in the presence of clouds during the Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) study.