Weather and flight-path data from a wildfire aircraft

FIREXAQ_MetNav_AircraftInSitu_N48_Data are in situ meteorological and navigational data collected onboard the NOAA-CHEM Twin Otter during FIREX-AQ. This product includes data collected via GPS and meteorology probes. Data collection for this product is complete. Completed during summer 2019, FIREX-AQ utilized a combination of instrumented airplanes, satellites, and ground-based instrumentation. Detailed fire plume sampling was carried out by the NASA DC-8 aircraft, which had a comprehensive instrument payload capable of measuring over 200 trace gas species, as well as aerosol microphysical, optical, and chemical properties. The DC-8 aircraft completed 23 science flights, including 15 flights from Boise, Idaho and 8 flights from Salina, Kansas. NASA’s ER-2 completed 11 flights, partially in support of the FIREX-AQ effort. The ER-2 payload was made up of 8 satellite analog instruments and provided critical fire information, including fire temperature, fire plume heights, and vegetation/soil albedo information. NOAA provided the NOAA-CHEM Twin Otter and the NOAA-MET Twin Otter aircraft to measure chemical processing in the lofted plumes of Western wildfires. The NOAA-CHEM Twin Otter focused on nighttime plume chemistry, from which data is archived at the NASA Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC). The NOAA-MET Twin Otter collected measurements of air movements at fire boundaries with the goal of understanding the local weather impacts of fires and the movement patterns of fires. NOAA-MET Twin Otter data will be archived at the ASDC in the future. Additionally, a ground-based station in McCall, Idaho and several mobile laboratories provided in-situ measurements of aerosol microphysical and optical properties, aerosol chemical compositions, and trace gas species. The Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality (FIREX-AQ) campaign was a NOAA/NASA interagency intensive study of North American fires to gain an understanding on the integrated impact of the fire emissions on the tropospheric chemistry and composition and to assess the satellite’s capability for detecting fires and estimating fire emissions. The overarching goal of FIREX-AQ was to provide measurements of trace gas and aerosol emissions for wildfires and prescribed fires in great detail, relate them to fuel and fire conditions at the point of emission, characterize the conditions relating to plume rise, and follow plumes downwind to understand chemical transformation and air quality impacts.