Global Tropospheric Experiment Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition 3B (ABLE 3B) Langley ASDC Data Set Document
|
Global Tropospheric Experiment Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition 3B (ABLE 3B) Langley ASDC Data Set Document |
|
This document provides information on data products obtained during the GTE ABLE 3B atmospheric science expedition conducted over northeastern Canada during July and August, 1990. The objective of the mission was to assess the importance of the Hudson Bay lowlands as a source of global methane. Measurements were made primarily by investigators' instruments located on the NASA WFF Electra airplane. Also provided are a list of principal investigators and a list of publications.
This document provides information for the following three data sets:
NASA funded the investigators involved in the ABLE 3B mission. The funded investigators, their organization and grant, agreement or contract number were:
| Area | Investigator | Organization | Grant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft | John Barrick | NASA Langley | N/A |
| John Bradshaw | Georgia Tech | N/A | |
| Edward Browell | NASA Langley | N/A | |
| Gerald Gregory | NASA Langley | N/A | |
| John Ritter | NASA Langley | N/A | |
| Sherwood Rowland | U of California-Irvine | N/A | |
| Glen Sachse | NASA Langley | N/A | |
| Hanwant Singh | NASA Ames | N/A | |
| Robert Talbot | U of New Hampshire | N/A | |
| Surface | David Fitzjarrald | State U of New York-Albany | N/A |
| Robert Talbot | U of New Hampshire | N/A | |
| Steven Wofsy | Harvard | N/A | |
| Mission Scientist | Robert Harriss | U of New Hampshire | N/A |
Aircraft data sets are available for each investigation for each flight. Ground-based data are usually available on a daily basis. Airborne measurements were typically obtained at constant altitude over northern Canada during transit flights (i.e. "survey" flights), and over multiple altitudes during flights closer to the intensive sites. Flight missions were conducted during ABLE 3B from July 6 through August 15 1990. Section 4.b lists the flight. The duration, altitude range, ascent and descent rate, and flight path for each mission varied depending on mission objectives and environmental (weather) conditions. Ground-based measurements are discussed in Harriss et al., [1994]. The automated ground sites provided daily measurements during the time frame when airborne measurements were being made and weekly averaged samples before and after. Further information about the measurement region and time frame may be found in the Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 99, No. D1, 1635-1643, January 20, 1994.
This data set contains all of the WFF Electra aircraft data and ground data collected from a tower in Schefferville, Ontario submitted to the GTE data archive by the ABLE 3B investigators listed in Section 1.d. Included are the atmospheric chemistry, meteorological and navigational data recorded aboard the NASA Wallops Electra airborne laboratory and data obtained from a surface level site in Schefferville, Ontario. Isentropic back trajectories and merged data sets are not included in this archive. Those data can be found at the GTE data archive.
The atmospheric species and other parameters measured are listed in Section 4.c. Also listed for each are the name and affiliation of the principal investigator.
ABLE 3B investigators have individually reported the results of their investigations in the Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 99, No. D1, January 20, 1994.
There are data sets available from the Langley ASDC for 13 other GTE missions conducted from 1983 to 2001. See the GTE home page and/or the ASDC GTE Data and Information page for a description of the available data.
Global Tropospheric Experiment Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition 3B (ABLE 3B)
If the person is known to be retired, deceased or no longer at the organization responsible for the investigation, it is noted and the contact information may be omitted. The contact information provided was current during the mission, but may no longer be current.
| Investigator Area | Investigator Information |
|---|---|
| Airborne Meteorological/Position Data | John D. Barrick MS 483 NASA Langley Research Center Hampton VA 23681-0001 Telephone: 757-864-5831 Fax: 757-864-5841 E-mail: john.d.barrick@nasa.gov |
| Nitric Oxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, NOY | John Bradshaw (Principal Investigator, Deceased) Scott Sandholm (Co-Investigator) Georgia Institute of Technology Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Baker Building, Room 107 923 Dalney Street Atlanta GA 30332-0340 Telephone: 404-894-3895/3824 Fax: 404-894-5073 E-mail: ss27@prism.gatech.edu |
| Aerosols and Ozone Profiles | Edward V. Browell Mail Stop 401A NASA Langley Research Center Hampton VA 23681-0001 Telephone: 757-864-1273 Fax: 757-864-7790 E-mail: edward.v.browell@nasa.gov |
| In-situ Ozone and Aerosol Size Distribution | Gerald L. Gregory (retired) NASA Langley Research Center |
| Turbulent Flux of CO, O3, H2O | John Ritter (no longer at LaRC) Kenneth Lee Thornhill (Current) MS 483 NASA Langley Research Center Hampton VA 23681-0001 Telephone: 757-864-5169 Fax: 757-864-5841 E-mailkenneth.l.thornhill@nasa.gov |
| Non-methane Hydrocarbons (to C6), Halocarbons, Terpenes, CO, CH4 | F. Sherwood Roland University of California-Irvine Department of Chemistry Irvine, CA 92717 Telephone: 714-856-6016 Fax: 714-725-2905 E-mail: rowland@uci.edu |
| Carbon Monoxide, Methane | Glen W. Sachse MS 472 NASA Langley Research Center Hampton VA 23681-0001 Telephone: 757-864-1566 Fax: 757-864-8818 E-mail: glen.w.sachse@nasa.gov |
| PAN, PPN, C2Cl4, acetone, aldehyde, ketones | Hanwant Singh NASA Ames Research Center Singh Group Mail Stop 245-5 Moffett Field CA 94035 Telephone: 415-604-6769 Fax: 415-604-3265 E-mail: hanwant.b.singh@nasa.gov |
| Aerosol Composition, Nitric Acid, Organic Acids | Robert W. Talbot University of New Hampshire Institute of Earth, Oceans, Space Morse Hall Complex Systems Research Center Durham NH 03820 Telephone: 603-862-1546 Fax: 603-862-0188 E-mail: rwt@christa.unh.edu |
| S. C. Wofsy Center for Earth and Planetary Physics Pierce Hall 29 Oxford Street Harvard University Cambridge MA 02138 Telephone: 617-495-4566 Fax: 617-495-9837 E-mail: scw@io.harvard.edu |
D. R. Fitzjarrald Atmospheric Sciences Research Center SUNY-Albany 100 Fuller Road Albany NY 12005 Telephone: 518-437-8735 Fax: 518-442-3867 E-mail: fitz@asrc.cestm.albany.edu |
R. W. Talbot UNH (See prior entry above) |
P. M. Crill UNH |
|
|
|
| Canadian Northern Wetlands Project (CNWP) Northern Wetlands Study (NOWES) |
NASA Biospheric Research of Emissions from Wetlands (BREW) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
The following persons have more specialized knowledge about the data in the data sets or in their field or general knowledge about the mission, its execution and the data sets.
| Investigator or Knowledge Area | Investigator and Contact Information | |
|---|---|---|
| Non-methane hydrocarbon measurements aboard the Electra | Donald Blake University of California-Irvine Department of Chemistry Irvine CA 92717 Telephone: 714-856-4195 Fax: 714-725-2905 E-mail: drblake@uci.edu |
|
| ABLE 3B Mission Scientist and Associate Mission Scientist | R. C. Harriss Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space Science and Engineering Research Center University of New Hampshire 929 College Road Durham NH Telephone: 603-862-3875 |
S. C. Wofsy (See prior listing above) |
| ABLE 3B Program Manager | Robert J. McNeal (retired) NASA Headquarters |
|
| ABLE 3B Project Manager | James M. Hoell, Jr. (retired) NASA Langley Research Center |
|
| ABLE 3B Mission Meteorologist | Mark Shipham (no longer at NASA) NASA Langley Research Center |
|
| ABLE 3B Expedition Manager | Richard J. Bendura (retired) NASA Langley Research Center |
|
| Electra Aircraft Operations and Systems Integration | Roger Navarro (retired) NASA Wallops Flight Facility |
Wallops Flight Facility Aircraft Office NASA Wallops Flight Facility Wallops Island VA 23337-5099 Telephone: 757-824-1529 |
| Project Coordinator | Helen Ann Thompson (no longer at ST Systems) | |
| ABLE 3B Data Manager | Joseph W. Drewry (retired) NASA Langley Research Center |
|
Potential usage and applications of the described data sets can be seen in the articles that comprise the Journal of Geophysical Research ABLE 3B Special Section (Vol.99, No. D1 January 20, 1994), the 1991 Spring AGU Meeting.
For convenience of the users, the calculated variables below are provided.
Mach Number, M: |
|
 |
M = Mach Number Ps = Static Pressure Qc = Differential Pressure |
Static Air Temperature, Ts: | |
 |
TS = Static Air Temperature (°K) TT = Total Air Temperature (°K) γ = 1.4, ratio of specific heat of air at constant pressure and volume |
True Air Speed, TAS: | |
 |
TAS = True Air Speed (knots) TS = Static Air Temperature (°K) M = Mach Number a = Speed of Sound |
Potential Temperature, θ: | |
 |
θ = Potential Temperature (°K) TS = Static Air Temperature (°K) Ps = Static Pressure (mb) |
Vapor Pressure, e :
ewater (mb) = [1.0007 + (3.46 * 10-6 * PS)] * 6.1121* EXP[17.502 * T/(240.97 + T)]
eice (mb) = [1.0003 + (4.18 * 10-6 * PS)] * 6.1115* EXP[22.452 * T/(272.55 + T)]
e = Partial Pressure of Water Vapor (mb)
PS = Static Pressure (mb)
T = Static Air Temperature (°C) for Saturation Vapor Pressure
or
T = Dew/Frost Point (°C) for Partial Pressure of Water Vapor
ProjDP of zero or greater should be used to derive the partial pressure of water vapor w.r.t water (ewater ) and the ProjDP less than zero should be used to derive the partial pressure of water vapor w.r.t ice (eice).
StatTempDegC and ProjDP parameters recorded in the P-3B data set are substituted to calculate saturation vapor pressure and partial pressure of water vapor, respectively.
TSDEGC and ProjDP parameters recorded in the DC-8 data set are substituted to calculate saturation vapor pressure and partial pressure of water vapor, respectively. Also notice in the DC-8 data set there is a redundant static air temperature measurement, TSCALC, which is calculated by DADS. Although TSDEGC and TSCALC track closely they can diverge by ≈ 1° at the low and high ends of the measurement range.
Specific Humidity, q: | |
 |
 |
Mixing Ratio, r: | |
 |
 |
| Note: ppmv = 1.608 * ppmw ppmw = 0.622 * ppmv | |
Relative Humidity, %: | |
w.r.t. water, |
w.r.t. ice, |
Interested readers should see the Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 99, No. D1, January 20, 1994, and documents referenced therein, for plots and the results of analysis of data.
See the GTE Data Format Document.
A general description of data granularity as it applies to the IMS appears in the EOSDIS Glossary. Aircraft data sets are available for each investigation for each flight. Surface level data are available on a daily basis.
All of the WFF Electra aircraft and ground (tower) data for the ABLE 3 mission is contained in the archive. No additional data products relevant to ABLE 3 are anticipated. Isentropic back trajectories and merged data sets are not included in this archive. Those data can be found at the GTE data archive.
This data is available online through the GTE Data and Information table or on a CDROM via the LaRC ASDC and from the GTE data archive.
The Atmospheric Science Data Center at NASA's Langley Research Center.
Publication of a portion(s) of the data archive should acknowledge the principal investigator(s) responsible for the data by referencing the appropriate manuscript in the Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 99, No. D1, January 20, 1994.
Airborne measurements were made over northern Canada. A more detailed description of the surface level environmental characteristics for the experiment region is provided in the individual papers for each investigation included in the Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 99, No. D1, January 20, 1994. Additional information may be found in other publications authored by the principal investigators or on the GTE home page.
Fight missions were conducted during July and August 1990. The duration, altitude range, assent and descent rate, and flight path of each mission varied depending on mission objective and environmental conditions. The nominal air speed ranged from 239 knots (approximately 275 mph) at 5.5 km altitude to 196 knots (approximately 226 mph) at 0.13 km.
| Data Set Name | Min Lat | Max Lat | Min Lon | Max Lon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTE_A3B_Elec_Chem | 37.05N | 63.75N | 106.17W | 49.40W |
| GTE_A3B_Elec_Flux | 45.99N | 58.78N | 94.58W | 60.21W |
| GTE_A3B_Tower* | 55.00N | 55.00N | 67.00W | 67.00W |
Resolution varies for each measurement. See the individual headers associated with each data file for specific information.
No data gridding or binning of data to a geographic grid occurred during data processing.
Twenty-two aircraft missions were conducted from July 6 to August 15, 1990. Harris et al., [1994] shows dates and times for each mission. Ground site measurements at the Schefferville tower station were obtained from June 11 to August 17, 1990.
| Data Set Name | Begin Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| GTE_A3B_Elec_Chem | 7/6/90 | 8/15/90 |
| GTE_A3B_Elec_Flux | 7/11/90 | 8/11/90 |
| GTE_A3B_Tower | 6/11/90 | 8/17/90 |
Not all of the parameters are in each data set granule. Also, the ranges vary between data sets and between granules within each data set. Species measured are given in Harriss et al., [1994].
The sources of error vary depending on species and measurement environment and are addressed in the papers included in the ABLE 3B special issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 99, No. D1, January 20, 1994, and/or papers referenced in that publication and readme files and/or header records associated with each data file.
None reported for the current archive version. See the readme files and header records included with each data set for information provided by the responsible investigator.
The data sets submitted to the ASDC are considered final and no further updates are planned. However, modifications will be considered if requested by the investigators or otherwise justified.
Details of data acquisition and materials are addressed in the Journal of Geophysical Research ABLE 3B Special Section (Vol.99, No. D1 January 20, 1994), and the 1991 AGU Spring Meeting.
AGU Spring Meeting, Baltimore, MD, 28-31 May 1991.
ABLE 3B Special Section, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol.99, No. D1 January 20, 1994.
Harriss, R. C., S. C. Wofsy, J. M. Hoell, , R. J. Bendura, J. W. Drewry, R. J. McNeal, D. Pierce, V. Rabine, and R. L. Snell, The Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition (ABLE 3B): July-August 1990, J. Geophys. Res., Vol. 99, No. D1, 1635-1643, 20 January, 1994.
