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TRACE-A DC-8 Remotely Sensed Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) Data

Metadata Updated: April 9, 2026

TRACE-A_AircraftRemoteSensing_DC8_DIAL_Data is the remotely sensed Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL) data collected onboard the DC-8 aircraft during the Transport and Atmospheric Chemistry near the Equator - Atlantic (TRACE-A) suborbital campaign. Data collection for this product is complete. The TRACE-A mission was a part of NASA’s Global Tropospheric Experiment (GTE) – an assemblage of missions conducted from 1983-2001 with various research goals and objectives. TRACE-A was conducted in the Atlantic from September 21 to October 24, 1992. TRACE-A had the objective of determining the cause and source of the high concentrations of ozone that accumulated over the Atlantic Ocean between southern Africa and South America from August to October. NASA partnered with the Brazilian Space Agency (INPE) to accomplish this goal. The NASA DC-8 aircraft and ozonesondes were utilized during TRACE-A to collect the necessary data. The DC-8 was equipped with 19 instruments. A few instruments on the DC-8 include the Differential Absorption Lidar (DIAL), the Laser-Induced Fluorescence, the O3-NO Ethylene/Forward Scattering Spectrometer, the Modified Licor, and the DACOM IR Laser Spectrometer. The DIAL was responsible for a variety of measurements, which include Nadir IR aerosols, Nadir UV aerosols, Zenith IR aerosols, Zenith VS aerosols, ozone, and ozone column. The Laser-Induced Fluorescence instrument collected measurements on NxOy in the atmosphere. Measurements of ozone were recorded by the O3-NO Ethylene/Forward Scattering Spectrometer while the Modified Licor recorded CO2. Finally, the DACOM IR Laser Spectrometer gathered an assortment of data points, including CO, O3, N2O, CH4, and CO2. Ozonesondes played a role in data collection for TRACE-A along with the DC-8 aircraft. The sondes were dropped from the DC-8 aircraft in order to gather data on ozone, temperature, and atmospheric pressure.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: See this page for license information.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date April 9, 2026

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date April 9, 2026
Publisher NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
Maintainer
Identifier 10.5067/ASDC/SUBORBITAL/TRACE-A/AircraftRemoteSensing_DC8_DIAL_Data_1
Data Last Modified 2026-04-06
Category Earth Science
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 026:00
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id d35b9f13-d5c4-4fe3-94c7-0e58100b1f6d
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
License https://www.usa.gov/government-works
Old Spatial "CARTESIAN",{"NorthBoundingCoordinate":35.7,"WestBoundingCoordinate":-119.98,"EastBoundingCoordinate":39.56,"SouthBoundingCoordinate":-37.99}
Program Code 026:000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 1fbb36d8eb62f0a316c8dc35bed133060e3c3da9bd6dc52d3877ddffced375eb
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial
Temporal 1992-09-22/1992-10-28

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