The Smoke/Sulfate, Clouds, and Radiation – Brazil (SCAR-B) field experiment was conducted in the Brazilian Amazon and Cerrado regions during August and September 1995. SCAR-B was a collaboration between American and Brazilian scientists that involved 4 NASA centers, 2 U.S. agencies, 5 U.S. universities, 12 Brazilian agencies, and 6 Brazilian universities. SCAR-B provided measurements of the emissions of trace gases and aerosol particles, as well as measurements about how those emissions evolved and interacted in the atmosphere. Using these measurements, SCAR-B characterized the impacts of biomass burning on direct and indirect forcing of solar radiation, atmospheric chemistry, and radiation. The research of SCAR-B was used to evaluate remote sensing techniques against in-situ measurements to prepare for future data collection using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) instrument, which launched aboard the Terra satellite in 1999. SCAR-B was third in a series of field experiments that were designed to understand the atmospheric impacts of aerosols that resulted from different events such as fossil fuel burning and wildfires.

SCAR-B established seven targeted science objectives to achieve its goals. First, SCAR-B collected in-situ and remote sensing measurements to understand the thermal properties of fires and their emissions. Second, SCAR-B quantified trace gas and particle emissions of biomass burning, and third, SCAR-B sought to improve understanding of the distribution and evolution of trace gases emitted from wildfires. The fourth objective was to obtain measurements of the optical and radiative properties of smoke. The fifth objective was to improve current models and to develop new models for the physical and radiative properties of smoke that could estimate direct radiative forcing. The sixth objective was to explore the impacts of smoke particles on water vapor, clouds, aerosols, and radiative forcing. Lastly, SCAR-B sought to understand how biomass burning impacts surface reflective properties and albedo, and to understand how smoke obstruction impacts remote sensing measurements of surface reflective properties.

The ASDC houses SCAR-B data collected from the enhanced Modis Airborne Simulator (eMAS) aboard the NASA ER-2 research aircraft, which conducted twelve science flights during SCAR-B from 13 August to 11 September, 1995. In addition to ER-2 eMAS data, the ASDC houses SCAR-B data collected from the University of Washington’s Convair C-131A research aircraft. The C-131A conducted 29 research flights from 17 August to 20 September, 1995, and collected navigational and flight characteristics in addition to general meteorological, cloud physics, aerosol, cloud and atmospheric chemistry, remote sensing, data processing, and display measurements. Ground-based in-situ and remote sensing measurements and satellite observations complemented airborne data in SCAR-B. The ASDC houses ground-based data from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) in addition to data related to satellite observations from GOES-8.