GCMD Project Keyword Description Update Request

ASDC-EDL - gmojica · by **ASDC-EDL - gmojica** » Tue Jan 27, 2026 1:23 pm America/New_York

Hello, the ASDC is requesting the following Project Keyword Descriptions be updated in GCMD. The requested new descriptions are as follows:
Project: ACEPOL
New Description: The Aerosol Characterization from Polarimeter and Lidar (ACEPOL) campaign performed aerosol and cloud measurements over the USA from the NASA high altitude ER-2 aircraft using measurements from four spectro/photo polarimeters (RSP, AirMSPI, AirHARP, and AirSPEX) which differ in terms of spectral, angular, and spatial sampling. The measurements from these passive sensors were complemented by measurements from active sensors (airborne HSRL-2 and CPL lidars).

Project: BIO_BURN
New Description: Scientific Objectives: Biomass burning studies investigate the impact of particulates produced during biomass burning on the radiation budget of the Earth and global climate. Project Description: The Langley Research Center (LaRC) Biomass Burning project involved ground-based and airborne measurements of particulate and gaseous missions from burning in very diverse ecosystems. The impact of burning on the biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen gases (nitric oxide and nitrous oxide) from the soil and the atmosphere was also measured. Data Used and Produced: Biomass Burning 5x5 degree data are in the form of biomass matter burned in unites of teragrams of dry biomass matter per month for the peak burning month. For each 5 degree by 5 degree latitude by longitude box, the following data are given: total amount of biomass burned (T), amount of biomass in forest (F) fires, amount of biomass burned in Savanna (S) fires, and the month maximum burning. Data are available for 1980. Each granule consists of one year of data per region. Publications: J. S., 1992: Climate, The Encyclopedia of Earth System Science (W. A. Nierenberg, Editor), Academic Press, Inc., Volume 1, page 503-515.Levine, J. S. (Editor), 1991: Global Biomass Burning: Atmospheric, Climatic, and Biospheric Implications, The MIT Press, Inc., 569 pages. Levine, J. S., 1992: Ozone, Climate, and Global Atmospheric Change, Science Activities, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp 10-16.Levine, J. S., W. R. Cofer, D. R. Cahoon, and E. L. Winstead, 1995:Biomass Burning: A Driver for Global Change, Environmental Science and Technology, Volume 29, Number 3, pages 120A-125A.Wei Min Hao and Mei-Huey Liu, Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Tropical Biomass, Global Biogeochemical Cycles, Volume 8, No. 4,pages 495-503, December 1994.

Project: DC3
New Description: 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.

Project: KORUS-AQ
New Description: The KORUS-AQ field study was conducted in South Korea during May-June, 2016. The study was jointly sponsored by NASA and Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER). The primary objectives were to investigate the factors controlling air quality in Korea (e.g., local emissions, chemical processes, and transboundary transport) and to assess future air quality observing strategies incorporating geostationary satellite observations. To achieve these science objectives, KORUS-AQ adopted a highly coordinated sampling strategy involved surface and airborne measurements including both in-situ and remote sensing instruments. Surface observations provided details on ground-level air quality conditions while airborne sampling provided an assessment of conditions aloft relevant to satellite observations and necessary to understand the role of emissions, chemistry, and dynamics in determining air quality outcomes. The sampling region covers the South Korean peninsula and surrounding waters with a primary focus on the Seoul Metropolitan Area. Airborne sampling was primarily conducted from near surface to about 8 km with extensive profiling to characterize the vertical distribution of pollutants and their precursors. The airborne observational data were collected from three aircraft platforms: the NASA DC-8, NASA B-200, and Hanseo King Air. Surface measurements were conducted from 16 ground sites and 2 ships: R/V Onnuri and R/V Jang Mok. The major data products collected from both the ground and air include in-situ measurements of trace gases (e.g., ozone, reactive nitrogen species, carbon monoxide and dioxide, methane, non-methane and oxygenated hydrocarbon species), aerosols (e.g., microphysical and optical properties and chemical composition), active remote sensing of ozone and aerosols, and passive remote sensing of NO2, CH2O, and O3 column densities. These data products support research focused on examining the impact of photochemistry and transport on ozone and aerosols, evaluating emissions inventories, and assessing the potential use of satellite observations in air quality studies.

Project: MACPEX
New Description: The Mid-Latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX) is an airborne field campaign that investigated cirrus cloud properties and the processes that affect their impact on radiation. Utilizing the NASA WB-57 based at Ellington Field, TX, the campaign took place from March 18 to April 26, 2011. Science flights focused on central North Marica with an emphasis over the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Southern Great Plains (DoE ARM SGP) site in Oklahoma. In addition to the in-situ measurements, flights were coordinated with the NASA EOS / A-Train satellite observations for validation, as well as evaluation of new remote-sensing retrievals for future Earth Science Decadal satellites. The detailed measurements acquired by MACPEX will also be used to improve cloud model parameterizations in Global Climate Models (GCMs).

Project: NARSTO
New Description: The NSTC’s Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) identified ground-level ozone as an initiative in 1995. A signing ceremony for the charter of the North American Research Strategy for Tropospheric Ozone (NARSTO) was held at the White House in February of that year. The establishment of NARSTO is a direct response to the identification by the National Research Council (NRC) of the need for a better fundamental understanding of urban and regional ozone and its call for a coordinated national program. NARSTO is a unique public/private partnership whose membership spans government, industry, the utilities, and academia throughout North America, including Mexico and Canada. Its primary mission is to coordinate and enhance policy-relevant scientific research and assessment of tropospheric ozone behavior, with the central goal of providing the information needed for workable, efficient and effective strategies and policies for local and regional ozone management. NARSTO provides cross-organization planning to set a prioritized research agenda and determine the most effective strategy for scientific investigation, coordinates member investments where they voluntarily take responsibility for all needed research activity, and conduct periodic assessments of scientific advances and progress toward fulfilling its goal. NARSO sponsored field campaigns have already been completed in the summers of both 1995 and 1996 by the Southern Oxidants Study. NARSTO-North East (NE) and NARS! TO-NE coordinating with NARSTO-Canada East. In addition to coordinating funding for field research, NARSO is currently preparing a State-of-Science Assessment that will comprehensively review advances in the chemical, physical, and meteorological science of tropospheric ozone. Throughout 1997, seventeen critical review papers were prepared by experts in the relevant research areas. These were presented at a NARSTO Science Symposium in November 1997 and also appeared in a special issue of an air quality journal. The Assessment Report, which is a synthesis of review papers, was completed in December 1998. It addressed how recent scientific progress can be used to develop improved options for ozone management. U. S. Federal agencies participating in NARSTO include the Department of Agriculture, Commerce (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Energy (Office of Energy Research), the Interior, and Transportation, as well as independent agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority, These agencies combined efforts with those of the air quality departments of several State governments, as well as private companies, to perform cooperative research and analysis of pertinent facets of the ozone management issue. Private sector participants include over 30 utilities, automotive, chemical, and other companies. In addition, numerous universities and private sector research organizations are NARSTO partners.

Project: PACE-PAX
New Description: The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment (PACE-PAX) is a field campaign that gathered data for the validation of the PACE mission. PACE-PAX was conducted in September 2024, roughly nine months after the launch of PACE. The operational area was Southern and Central California and nearby coastal regions. Sixty flight hours were conducted by the NASA ER-2 and the CIRPAS Twin Otter. Both were based in their home airports at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center and Marina Municipal Airport, respectively. Flights were coordinated between the aircraft, with PACE overflights, and with surface-based observations including ship-based measurements and floats.

Project: Polar Winds I
New Description: Beginning in the fall of 2014, NASA sponsored two airborne field campaigns, collectively called Polar Winds, designed to fly the Doppler Aerosol WiNd (DAWN) lidar and other instruments to take airborne wind measurements of the Arctic atmosphere, specifically over and off the coasts of Greenland during Oct-Nov 2014 and May 2015. In particular, Polar Winds conducted a series of science experiments focusing on the measurement and analyses of lower tropospheric winds and aerosols associated with coastal katabatic flows, barrier winds, the Greenland Tip Jet, boundary layer circulations such as rolls and OLEs (Organized Large Eddies), and near surface winds over open water, transitional ice zones and the Greenland Ice Cap. Polar Winds I was based in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland and flew DAWN on board the NASA King Air UC-12B during Oct-Nov 2014 while Polar Winds II was based in Keflavik, Iceland and utilized the NASA DC-8 aircraft to fly DAWN and Dropsondes over the Arctic in May 2015. In total, twenty-four individual missions with over 80 hours of research flights were flown in the Arctic region near Greenland and Iceland during Polar Winds. The focus instrument for the wind measurements taken over the Arctic during Polar Winds was the DAWN airborne wind lidar. At a wavelength of 2.05 microns and at 250 mj per pulse, DAWN is the most powerful airborne Doppler Wind Lidar available today for airborne missions. DAWN has previously been flown on the NASA DC-8 during the 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) campaign and on the NASA UC-12 for wind field characterization off the coast of Virginia. In addition to DAWN, Polar Winds utilized the High Definition Sounding System (HDSS) dropsonde delivery system developed by Yankee Environmental Services to drop almost 100 dropsondes during Polar Wind II to obtain additional high-resolution vertical wind profiles during most missions. These dropsondes also provided needed calibration/validation for the much newer DAWN measurements. The Polar Winds II data sets were validated by comparison with dropsondes deployed during the campaign. Results are published in peer-reviewed journals.

Project: Polar Winds II
New Description: Beginning in the fall of 2014, NASA sponsored two airborne field campaigns, collectively called Polar Winds, designed to fly the Doppler Aerosol WiNd (DAWN) lidar and other instruments to take airborne wind measurements of the Arctic atmosphere, specifically over and off the coasts of Greenland during Oct-Nov 2014 and May 2015. In particular, Polar Winds conducted a series of science experiments focusing on the measurement and analyses of lower tropospheric winds and aerosols associated with coastal katabatic flows, barrier winds, the Greenland Tip Jet, boundary layer circulations such as rolls and OLEs (Organized Large Eddies), and near surface winds over open water, transitional ice zones and the Greenland Ice Cap. Polar Winds I was based in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland and flew DAWN on board the NASA King Air UC-12B during Oct-Nov 2014 while Polar Winds II was based in Keflavik, Iceland and utilized the NASA DC-8 aircraft to fly DAWN and Dropsondes over the Arctic in May 2015. In total, twenty-four individual missions with over 80 hours of research flights were flown in the Arctic region near Greenland and Iceland during Polar Winds. The focus instrument for the wind measurements taken over the Arctic during Polar Winds was the DAWN airborne wind lidar. At a wavelength of 2.05 microns and at 250 mj per pulse, DAWN is the most powerful airborne Doppler Wind Lidar available today for airborne missions. DAWN has previously been flown on the NASA DC-8 during the 2010 Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) campaign and on the NASA UC-12 for wind field characterization off the coast of Virginia. In addition to DAWN, Polar Winds utilized the High Definition Sounding System (HDSS) dropsonde delivery system developed by Yankee Environmental Services to drop almost 100 dropsondes during Polar Wind II to obtain additional high-resolution vertical wind profiles during most missions. These dropsondes also provided needed calibration/validation for the much newer DAWN measurements. The Polar Winds II data sets were validated by comparison with dropsondes deployed during the campaign. Results are published in peer-reviewed journals.

Project: SPADE
New Description: The Stratospheric Photochemistry Aerosols and Dynamics Expedition (SPADE) is the first in a series of field experiments designed to support the NASA High-Speed Research Program (HSRP). This program was designed to assess the impact of emissions from supersonic aircraft operating in the lower stratosphere. SPADE was tasked with determining the key chemical processes that affect ozone levels in the stratosphere. A variety of chemical measurements were made from NASA’s ER-2 high-altitude aircraft based at the NASA Ames Research Center. These measurements were used to address the fundamental reactions between various chemicals in the stratosphere.

If you have any questions please let me know, thank you!
Gabe Mojica

by **GCMD - tstevens** » Wed Jan 28, 2026 7:53 am America/New_York

Thank you for your keyword request. We will review it and let you know when it is complete.

by **GCMD - tstevens** » Thu Feb 05, 2026 9:48 am America/New_York

by **ASDC - gmojica** » Thu Feb 05, 2026 11:08 am America/New_York

These look great, thank you!

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GCMD Project Keyword Description Update Request

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