Atmospheric Carbon and Transport - America (ACT-America) Data Sets: Description, Management, and Delivery.

The ACT-America project is a NASA Earth Venture Suborbital-2 mission designed to study the transport and fluxes of greenhouse gases. The open and freely available ACT-America data sets provide airborne in situ measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide, methane, trace gases, aerosols, clouds, and meteorological properties, airborne remote sensing measurements of aerosol backscatter, atmospheric boundary layer height and columnar content of atmospheric carbon dioxide, tower-based measurements, and modeled atmospheric mole fractions and regional carbon fluxes of greenhouse gases over the Central and Eastern United States. We conducted 121 research flights during five campaigns in four seasons during 2016-2019 over three regions of the US (Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and South) using two NASA research aircraft (B-200 and C-130). We performed three flight patterns (fair weather, frontal crossings, and OCO-2 underflights) and collected more than 1,140 h of airborne measurements via level-leg flights in the atmospheric boundary layer, lower, and upper free troposphere and vertical profiles spanning these altitudes. We also merged various airborne in situ measurements onto a common standard sampling interval, which brings coherence to the data, creates geolocated data products, and makes it much easier for the users to perform holistic analysis of the ACT-America data products. Here, we report on detailed information of data sets collected, the workflow for data sets including storage and processing of the quality controlled and quality assured harmonized observations, and their archival and formatting for users. Finally, we provide some important information on the dissemination of data products including metadata and highlights of applications of ACT-America data sets.

Spectral control of an alexandrite laser for an airborne water-vapor differential absorption lidar system.

A narrow-linewidth pulsed alexandrite laser has been greatly modified for improved spectral stability in an aircraft environment, and its operation has been evaluated in the laboratory for making water-vapor differential absorption lidar measurements. An alignment technique is described to achieve the optimum free spectral range ratio for the two étalons inserted in the alexandrite laser cavity, and the sensitivity of this ratio is analyzed. This technique drastically decreases the occurrence of mode hopping, which is commonly observed in a tunable, two-intracavity-étalon laser system. High spectral purity (> 99.85%) at 730 nm is demonstrated by the use of a water-vapor absorption line as a notch filter. The effective cross sections of 760-nm oxygen and 730-nm water-vapor absorption lines are measured at different pressures by usingthis laser, which has a finite linewidth of 0.02 cm(-1) (FWHM). It is found that for water-vapor absorption linewidths greater than 0.04 cm(-1) (HWHM), or for altitudes below 10 km, the laser line can be considered monochromatic because the measured effective absorption cross section is within 1% of the calculated monochromatic cross section. An analysis of the environmental sensitivity of the two intracavity étalons is presented, and a closed-loop computer control for active stabilization of the two intracavity étalons in the alexandrite laser is described. Using a water-vapor absorption line as a wavelength reference, we measure a long-term frequency drift (≈ 1.5 h) of less than 0.7 pm in the laboratory.

Airborne differential absorption lidar system for measurements of atmospheric water vapor and aerosols.

An airborne differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system has been developed at the NASA Langley Research Center for remote measurements of atmospheric water vapor (H(2)O) and aerosols. A solid-state alexandrite laser with a 1-pm linewidth and > 99.85% spectral purity was used as the on-line transmitter. Solid-state avalanche photodiode detector technology has replaced photomultiplier tubes in the receiver system, providing an average increase by a factor of 1.5-2.5 in the signal-to-noise ratio of the H(2)O measurement. By incorporating advanced diagnostic and data-acquisition instrumentation into other subsystems, we achieved additional improvements in system operational reliability and measurement accuracy. Laboratory spectroscopic measurements of H(2)O absorption-line parameters were perfo med to reduce the uncertainties in our knowledge of the absorption cross sections. Line-center H(2)O absorption cross sections were determined, with errors of 3-6%, for more than 120 lines in the 720-nm region. Flight tests of the system were conducted during 1989-1991 on the NASA Wallops Flight Facility Electra aircraft, and extensive intercomparison measurements were performed with dew-point hygrometers and H(2)O radiosondes. The H(2)O distributions measured with the DIAL system differed by ≤ 10% from the profiles determined with the in situ probes in a variety of atmospheric conditions.

Ozone and aerosol changes during the 1991-1992 airborne arctic stratospheric expedition.

Stratospheric ozone and aerosol distributions were measured across the wintertime Arctic vortex from January to March 1992 with an airborne lidar system as part of the 1992 Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE II). Aerosols from the Mount Pinatubo eruption were found outside and inside the vortex with distinctly different distributions that clearly identified the dynamics of the vortex. Changes in aerosols inside the vortex indicated advection of air from outside to inside the vortex below 16 kilometers. No polar stratospheric clouds were observed and no evidence was found for frozen volcanic aerosols inside the vortex. Between January and March, ozone depletion was observed inside the vortex from 14 to 20 kilometers with a maximum average loss of about 23 percent near 18 kilometers.

Raman shifting of KrF laser radiation for tropospheric ozone measurements.

The differential absorption lidar (DIAL) measurement of tropospheric ozone requires use of high average power ultraviolet lasers operating at two appropriate DIAL wavelengths. Laboratory experiments have demonstrated that a KrF excimer laser can be used to generate several wavelengths with good energy conversion efficiencies by stimulated Raman shifting using hydrogen (H2) and deuterium (D(2)). Computer simulations for an airborne lidar have shown that these laser emissions can be used for the pecise (less than 5% random error) high resolution (200-m vertical, 3-km horizontal) measurement of ozone across the troposphere using the DIAL technique. In the region of strong ozone absorption, laser wavelengths of 277.0 and 291.7 nm were generated using H(2) and D(2), respectively. In addition, a laser wavelength at 302.0 nm was generated using two cells in series, with the first containing D(2) and the second containing H(2). The energy conversion efficiency for each wavelength was between 14 and 27%.

Temperature sensitivity of differential absorption lidar measurements of water vapor in the 720-nm region.

Recently measured properties of water vapor (H(2)O) absorption lines have been used in calculations to evaluate the temperature sensitivity of differential absorption lidar (DIAL) H(2)O measurements. This paper estimates the temperature sensitivity of H(2)O lines in the 717-733-nm region for both H(2)O mixing ratio and number density measurements, and discusses the influence of the H(2)O line ground state energies E'', the H(2)O absorption linewidths, the linewidth temperature dependence parameter, and the atmospheric temperature and pressure variations with altitude and location on the temperature sensitivity calculations. Line parameters and temperature sensitivity calculations for sixty-seven H(2)O lines in the 720-nm band are given which can be directly used in field experiments. Water vapor lines with E'' values in the 100-300-cm(-1) range were found to be optimum for DIAL measurements of H(2)O number densities, while E'' values in the 250-500-cm(-1) range were found to be optimum for H(2)O mixing ratio measurements.

Light scattering characteristics of various aerosol types derived from multiple wavelength lidar observations.

The present study demonstrates the potential of a multiple wavelength lidar for discriminating between several aerosol types such as maritime, continental, stratospheric, and desert aerosols on the basis of wavelength dependence of the aerosol backscatter coefficient. In the analysis of lidar signals, the two-component lidar equation was solved under the assumption of similarity in the derived profiles of backscatter coefficients for each wavelength, and this made it possible to reduce the uncertainty in the extinction/backscatter ratio, which is a key parameter in the lidar solution. It is shown that a three-wavelength lidar system operating at 300, 600, and 1064 nm can provide unique information for discriminating between various aerosol types such as continental, maritime, Saharan dust, stratospheric aerosols in a tropopause fold event, and tropical forest aerosols. Measurement error estimation was also made through numerical simulations. Mie calculations were made using in situ aerosol data and aerosol models to compare with the lidar results. There was disagreement between the theoretical and empirical results, which in some cases was substantial. These differences may be partly due to uncertainties in the lidar data analysis and aerosol characteristics and also due to the conventional assumption of aerosol sphericity for the aerosol Mie calculations.

Airborne and spaceborne lidar measurements of water vapor profiles: a sensitivity analysis.

This paper presents an evaluation of the random and systematic error sources associated with differential absorption lidar (DIAL) measurements of tropospheric water vapor (H(2)O) profiles from airborne and spaceborne platforms. The results of this analysis are used in the development and performance evaluation of the Lidar Atmospheric Sensing Experiment (LASE) H(2)O DIAL system presently under development at the NASA Langley Research Center for operation on a high altitude ER-2 (advanced U-2) aircraft. The analysis shows that a <10% H(2)O profile measurement accuracy is possible for the LASE system with a vertical and horizontal resolution of 200 m and 10 km, respectively, at night and 300 m and 20 km during the day. Global measurements of H(2)O profiles from spaceborne DIAL systems can be made to a similar accuracy with a vertical resolution of 500 m and a horizontal resolution of 100 km.

Raman-shifted dye laser for water vapor DIAL measurements.

For improved DIAL measurements of water vapor in the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere, we have generated narrowband (~0.03-cm(-1)) laser radiation at 720- and 940-nm wavelengths by stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) using the narrow linewidth (~0.02-cm(-1)) output of a Nd:YAG-pumped dye laser. For a hydrogen pressure of 350 psi, the first Stokes conversion efficiencies to 940 nm were 20% and 35% when using a conventional and waveguide Raman cell, respectively. We measured the linewidth of the first Stokes line at high cell pressures and inferred collisional broadening coefficients that agree well with those previously measured in spontaneous Raman scattering.

Pulsed injection control of a titanium-doped sapphire laser.

Injection control of a tunable Ti:sapphire laser using a narrow-bandwidth pulsed dye laser operating at a wavelength removed from the peak of the Ti:sapphire-laser gain curve is reported. The free-running Ti:sapphire laser had broadband laser emission from 750 to 790 nm. Injection at 727 nm resulted in essentially complete energy extraction at that wavelength in a 2.5-pm bandwidth matching the injection source.

Ultraviolet DIAL measurements of O3 profiles in regions of spatially inhomogeneous aerosols.

The differential absorption lidar (DIAL) technique generally assumes that atmospheric optical scattering is the same at the two laser wavelengths used in the DIAL measurement of a gas concentration profile. Errors can arise in this approach when the wavelengths are significantly separated, and there is a range dependence in the aerosol scattering distribution. This paper discusses the errors introduced by large DIAL wavelength separations and spatial inhomogeneity of aerosols in the atmosphere. A Bernoulli solution for determining the relative distribution of aerosol backscattering in the UV region is presented, and scattering ratio boundary values for these solutions are discussed. The results of this approach are used to derive a backscatter correction to the standard DIAL analysis method. It is shown that for the worst cases of severe range dependence in aerosol backscattering, the residual errors in the corrected DIAL O3 measurements were <10 ppbv for DIAL wavelengths at 286 and 300 nm.

NASA multipurpose airborne DIAL system and measurements of ozone and aerosol profiles.

An airborne differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system has been developed for the remote measurement of gas and aerosol profiles in the troposphere and lower stratosphere. The multipurpose DIAL system can operate from 280 to 1064 nm for measurements of ozone, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, water vapor, temperature,pressure, and aerosol backscattering. The laser transmitter consists of two narrow linewidth Nd: YAG pumped dye lasers with automatic wavelength control. The DIAL wavelengths are transmitted with a 00-,usec temporal separation to reduce receiver system complexity. A coaxial receiver system is used to collect and optically separate the DIAL and aerosol lidar returns. Photomultiplier tubes detect the backscattered laser returns after optical filtering, and the analog signals from three tubes are digitized and stored on high-speed magnetic tape. Real-time gas concentration profiles or aerosol backscatter distributions are calculated and displayed for experiment control. Operational parameters for the airborne DIAL system are presented for measurements of ozone, water vapor, and aerosols in the 290-, 720-, and 600-nm wavelength regions, respectively. The first ozone profile measurements from an aircraft using the DIAL technique are discussed in this paper. Comparisons between DIAL and in situ ozone measurements show agreement to within +/-5 ppbv in the lower troposphere. Lidar aerosol data obtained simultaneously with DIAL ozone measurements are presented for a flight over Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay. DIAL system performance for profiling ozone in a tropopause folding experiment is evaluated, and the applications of the DIAL system to regional and global-scale tropospheric investigations are discussed.

Shuttle lidar resonance fluorescence investigations. 1: Analysis of Na and K measurements.

A Shuttle lidar technique based on the detection of backscattered resonance fluorescence radiation has been numerically modeled and applied to the measurements of sodium (Na) and potassium (K) number density in the upper atmosphere (80-110 km). The simulations use recently defined lidar system parameters and take into account the effect of saturation of atomic absorption due to the high intensity of laser pulses. Such an effect is shown to be important in daytime measurements, when there is a need to narrow the laser beam divergence in order to reduce the background light. When the saturation effect is important, an optimal laser beam divergence can usually be found as a result of a trade off between the reduction of signal return (due to saturation) and the reduction of background level (by narrowing the receiver field of view). A procedure for calibration of the saturation effect is discussed. The Shuttle lidar measurement capability for Na and K is compared to conventional techniques and requirements for conducting scientific investigations in the mesosphere.

Shuttle lidar resonance fluorescence investigations. 2: Analysis of thermospheric Mg(+) measurements.

Shuttle lidar measurements of magnesium-ion (Mg+) number density in the ionosphere (80-500 km) have been numerically simulated. A set of recently defined system parameters are used to assess the system performance. These simulations take into account the saturation effect of atomic absorption due to the high intensity of the laser, which is seen to be important in making near-field or daytime measurements. When the saturation is important, a calibration procedure must be used to correct the systematic error introduced by this effect. Both the nadir- and zenith-viewing configurations have been considered because the altitude of the Shuttle was assumed to be 300 km. The background level in these two configurations is discussed, and we show that the background level for zenith-viewing with the assumed lidar system parameters is negligible. The calibration of the lidar system parameters by means of Rayleigh backscattering from atmospheric molecules in the stratosphere is examined. This method is shown to require extra care because of the wavelength used (2796 A), which lies within a strong absorption band of ozone causing large transmission errors. The Shuttle lidar capability for Mg(+) measurement is compared with the requirements for conducting scientific investigations in the thermosphere.

Water vapor differential absorption lidar development and evaluation.

A ground-based differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system is described which has been developed for vertical range-resolved measurements of water vapor. The laser transmitter consists of a ruby-pumped dye laser, which is operated on a water vapor absorption line at 724.372 nm. Part of the ruby laser output is transmitted simultaneously with the dye laser output to determine atmospheric scattering and attenuation characteristics. The dye and ruby laser backscattered light is collected by a 0.5-m diam telescope, optically separated in the receiver package, and independently detected using photomultiplier tubes. Measurements of vertical water vapor concentration profiles using the DIAL system at night are discussed, and comparisons are made between the water vapor DIAL measurements and data obtained from locally launched rawinsondes. Agreement between these measurements was found to be within the uncertainty of the rawinsonde data to an altitude of 3 km. Theoretical simulations of this measurement were found to give reasonably accurate predictions of the random error of the DIAL measurements. Confidence in these calculations will permit the design of aircraft and Shuttle DIAL systems and experiments using simulation results as the basis for defining lidar system performance requirements.

First- and second-order backscattering from clouds illuminated by finite beams.

Calculations have been carried out for first- and second-order backscattering from water clouds illuminated by a continuous 0.9-micro beam with a finite divergence angle. In the single-scattering calculations several cloud types were used, while only an approximation to fair weather cumulus clouds was used for double scattering. It was found that the intensity and hence the reflectivity varied with the transceiver-cloud distance for both orders of scattering. Second-order backscattering also varied with field of view. From these results a criterion is suggested for determining when the plane parallel atmosphere theories can be used with finite beams.