ASDC | ARCTAS_TraceGas_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data

ARCTAS Level 2

Entry Title: ARCTAS DC-8 Aircraft In-situ Trace Gas Data

Entry ID: ARCTAS_TraceGas_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data_1

Field Campaigns

Description

ARCTAS_TraceGas_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data is the in-situ trace gas data collected by the DC-8 aircraft during the Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft & Satellites (ARCTAS) mission. Data was collected by the Trace Organic Gas Analyzer (TOGA), Airborne Tropospheric Hydroxides Sensor (ATHOS), HOx Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (HOxCIMS), Thermal Dissociation - Laser Induced Fluorescence (TD-LIF), Differential Absorption of CO, CH4, N2) Measurements (DACOM), Differential Absorption Lider (DIAL), Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (CIMS), Non-dispersive Infrared Gas Analyzer (NDIR Gas Analyzer), NCAR NOxyO3, and the Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometer (PTR-MS). Data was also collected by gas chromatography and fluorescence spectroscopy. Data collection for this product is complete.

The Arctic is a critical region in understanding climate change. The responses of the Arctic to environmental perturbations such as warming, pollution, and emissions from forest fires in boreal Eurasia and North America include key processes such as the melting of ice sheets and permafrost, a decrease in snow albedo, and the deposition of halogen radical chemistry from sea salt aerosols to ice. ARCTAS was a field campaign that explored environmental processes related to the high degree of climate sensitivity in the Arctic. ARCTAS was part of NASA’s contribution to the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC) Polar Study using Aircraft, Remote Sensing, Surface Measurements, and Models of Climate, Chemistry, Aerosols, and Transport (POLARCAT) Experiment for the International Polar Year 2007-2008.

ARCTAS had four primary objectives. The first was to understand long-range transport of pollution to the Arctic. Pollution brought to the Arctic from northern mid-latitude continents has environmental consequences, such as modifying regional and global climate and affecting the ozone budget. Prior to ARCTAS, these pathways remained largely uncertain. The second objective was to understand the atmospheric composition and climate implications of boreal forest fires; the smoke emissions from which act as an atmospheric perturbation to the Arctic by impacting the radiation budget and cloud processes and contributing to the production of tropospheric ozone. The third objective was to understand aerosol radiative forcing from climate perturbations, as the Arctic is an important place for understanding radiative forcing due to the rapid pace of climate change in the region and its unique radiative environment. The fourth objective of ARCTAS was to understand chemical processes with a focus on ozone, aerosols, mercury, and halogens. Additionally, ARCTAS sought to develop capabilities for incorporating data from aircraft and satellites related to pollution and related environmental perturbations in the Arctic into earth science models, expanding the potential for those models to predict future environmental change.

ARCTAS consisted of two, three-week aircraft deployments conducted in April and July 2008. The spring deployment sought to explore arctic haze, stratosphere-troposphere exchange, and sunrise photochemistry. April was chosen for the deployment phase due to historically being the peak in the seasonal accumulation of pollution from northern mid-latitude continents in the Arctic. The summer deployment sought to understand boreal forest fires at their most active seasonal phase in addition to stratosphere-troposphere exchange and summertime photochemistry.

During ARCTAS, three NASA aircrafts, the DC-8, P-3B, and BE-200, conducted measurements and were equipped with suites of in-situ and remote sensing instrumentation. Airborne data was used in conjunction with satellite observations from AURA, AQUA, CloudSat, PARASOL, CALIPSO, and MISR.

The ASDC houses ARCTAS aircraft data, along with data related to MISR, a satellite instrument aboard the Terra satellite which provides measurements that provide information about the Earth’s environment and climate.

DOI

10.5067/ASDC/SUBORBITAL/ARCTAS_TraceGas_AircraftInSitu_DC8_Data_1

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GENERAL DOCUMENTATION

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ARCTAS Final Data Comparison Results

From GCMD Science Keywords:

NITROGEN DIOXIDE > NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC NITRIC ACID > NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES > NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
SULFUR DIOXIDE > SULFUR COMPOUNDS
METHANE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
Peroxyacyl Nitrate > NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS > HALOCARBONS AND HALOGENS
NITRIC OXIDE > NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC OZONE > OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROCHLOROFLUOROCARBONS > HALOCARBONS AND HALOGENS
TRACE GASES/TRACE SPECIES
METHANOL > HALOCARBONS AND HALOGENS
ATMOSPHERIC CARBON MONOXIDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
FORMALDEHYDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN CYANIDE > CARBON AND HYDROCARBON COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES > SULFUR COMPOUNDS
HYDROPEROXY > HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROFLUOROCARBONS > HALOCARBONS AND HALOGENS
NITROUS OXIDE > NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS

Data Distribution

File Format(s):

ICARTT

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Spatial Information

Spatial Coverage: (S: 32, N: 90), (W: -180, E: 180)
Spatial Coverage Type: Horizontal Vertical
Coordinate System: Cartesian
Granule Spatial Representation: Cartesian

Locations

CANADA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NORTH AMERICA WESTERN HEMISPHERE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE MID-LATITUDE TROPOSPHERE ARCTIC

Temporal Information

Temporal Coverage: 2008-03-18 - 2008-07-14

Platforms

Jet

NASA DC-8

NASA Douglas DC-8

TOGA

Trace Organic Gas Analyzer

GAS CHROMATOGRAPHS

ATHOS

Airborne Tropospheric Hydroxides Sensor

HOxCIMS

HOx Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer

TD-LIF

Thermal Dissociation Laser Induced Fluorescents developed by University of California, Berkley

DACOM

Differential Absorption CO, CH4, N2O Measurements

DIAL

Differential Absorption Lidar

CIMS

Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer

FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY

NDIR GAS ANALYZER

Nondispersive Infrared Gas Analyzer

NOxyO3

NCAR NOxyO3

PTR-MS

Proton Transfer Mass Spectrometer

Metadata Dates

Created on 2022-01-24

Last updated on 2023-02-28