CalWater was a multi-year campaign during the boreal winter over the Sierra Nevada mountain range from 2009 to 2015. NASA was a significant participant only for the 2015 deployment (CalWater 2015) by providing the NASA ER-2 and multiple instruments. The main objectives of CalWater were to study atmospheric rivers' impact on hydrometeorology and aerosols' effects on clouds and precipitation processes. Measurements of aerosols and cloud properties, precipitation, and water vapor were taken by utilizing airborne, ship-borne, and ground-based sensors. CalWater was a collaborative effort between NOAA, the Department of Energy (DoE), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and NASA.
This campaign had multiple deployments from 2009-2015, but only the 2015 deployment is included in this inventory as NASA did not participate in earlier deployments.
The Tail Doppler Radar (TDR) is a vertically scanning, pulse Doppler radar installed on the tail of research aircraft. The original instrument, designed by NOAA and NCAR, was tested on NOAA aircraft and has since expanded to multiple platforms. This X-band radar with a magnetron transmitter has a scan rate of either five or ten rotations per minute and a corresponding range gate of 150 or 300 meters.
A dropsondes or dropwindsondes are in situ instruments designed to be released from aircraft. They are equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and sensors to collect profile measurements of pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and direction. Dropsondes are important during field investigations because they allow researchers to collect vertical profiles in remote locations and during severe weather events. Dropsondes typically have a vertical resolution of 5 m and provide measurements of wind speed/direction every 0.25 seconds and temperature, pressure, and humidity every 0.5 seconds.
The Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer - Classic (AVIRIS-C) is a passive imaging spectrometer developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for Earth remote sensing. AVIRIC-C was designed to operate aboard NASA’s Earth Resources 2 (ER-2) aircraft. It has a spatial resolution of 20 meters and takes 12 scans per second. AVIRIS-C operated in the spectral region of 0.41 µm to 2.45 µm, making it particularly useful for a wide variety of Earth Science applications. It has been replaced by the Next Generation Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS-NG), though AVIRIS-C remains in operation.
The Airborne Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (AirMSPI) is a passive remote, airborne pushbroom camera developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and engineers from the University of Arizona and the University of Texas. AirMSPI operates across 8 spectral bands (355, 380, 445, 470, 555, 660, 865, 935 nm) to provide multiangle radiance and linear polarization imagery which can be used to retrieve aerosol and cloud microphysical properties. AirMSPI has a spatial resolution of 10-25 m depending on the scan mode and typically provides image frames at a rate of 23 Hz. AirMSPI was designed to fly on the nose of NASA’s ER-2 aircraft and has been utilized in several aerosol and cloud investigations.
The Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL) is an airborne lidar system designed specifically to provide multi-wavelength measurements of cirrus clouds, sub-visual cirrus clouds, and aerosols. It measures lidar backscatter across three wavelengths: 355 nm, 532 nm, and 1064 nm. These measurements can be used to derive cloud optical depth, particle size distribution, extinction profiles, aerosol layers, and other properties. CPL has a vertical resolution of 30 m and a typical horizontal resolution of 200 m.
The High Altitude Monolithic Microwave integrated Circuit (MMIC) Sounding Radiometer (HAMSR) is an airborne microwave sounder developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory under the NASA Instrument Incubator Program. HAMSR measures brightness temperature which can be used to derive three-dimensional profiles of temperature, water vapor, and cloud liquid water in the atmosphere. It operates across 25 spectral channels in 3 microwave bands (50-60 GHz, 118 GHz, 183 GHz) and has a sampling frequency of 5 seconds. HAMSR has a horizontal spatial resolution of 2 km at nadir and a field of view of about 40 km at an altitude of 20 km.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature
Rain gauges are ground-based instruments that provide in situ measurements of liquid precipitation amounts over a set time. There are multiple types of rain gauges that each collect and record data differently such as the tipping bucket rain gauge and weighing precipitation gauge. Rain gauges can be deployed in various locations due to their relatively small size and easy set-up and are typically colocated with other precipitation instruments such as disdrometers to provide more details about precipitation being collected such as precipitation rate and size distribution.
Aethalometer is an in situ aerosol instrument manufactured by Magee Scientific that can be deployed on either airborne or ground-based platforms. It samples aerosols through a filter tape and measures the attenuation of transmitted light to determine the concentration of black carbon particles. The Aethalometer operates across seven optical wavelengths (370, 470, 520, 590, 660, 880, and 950 nm) and can provide data at a rate of 1 Hz. It has a measurement range of 0-500 μg per cubic meter and a resolution of 0.1 μg per cubic meter.
If instrument model information is not available, can use this instrument entry for temperature, pressues, wind speed, wind direction, humidity
Earth Science > >
The Condensation Nuclei Counter (CNC) is optical method for
counting atmospheric aerosol particles.
Earth Science > >
The UHF Wind Profile is a Doppler radar that uses electromagnetic signals to remotely detect wind speed and direction. It operates at a frequency of 915 MHz and has a radar range of 75-300m. At this frequency, it provides continuous wind profile measurements up to the boundary layer.
If instrument name or model is not available but documents show that specific chemical compounds or constituents or their properties were observed, can use instrument entry. Examples include: CO, CO2, NO, NO2, N2O, HNO3, HNO4, OH, H2SO4, CH3CN, O3, H2O, halocarbons, VOCs, nitrates, aerosols (including CCN), aerosol optical properties, etc...
The Airborne eXpendable BathyThermograph (AXBT) is an in situ sensor that measures ocean temperature and conductivity. It is deployed from an aircraft using a small parachute and floats to the ocean surface after impact. The floating portion of the instrument then releases a probe into the ocean that collects profile measurements to a depth of about 1000 meters. AXBT has a vertical descent of about 1.5 meters per second.
Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Water Temperature
The Tail Doppler Radar (TDR) is a vertically scanning, pulse Doppler radar installed on the tail of research aircraft. The original instrument, designed by NOAA and NCAR, was tested on NOAA aircraft and has since expanded to multiple platforms. This X-band radar with a magnetron transmitter has a scan rate of either five or ten rotations per minute and a corresponding range gate of 150 or 300 meters.
A dropsondes or dropwindsondes are in situ instruments designed to be released from aircraft. They are equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers and sensors to collect profile measurements of pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and direction. Dropsondes are important during field investigations because they allow researchers to collect vertical profiles in remote locations and during severe weather events. Dropsondes typically have a vertical resolution of 5 m and provide measurements of wind speed/direction every 0.25 seconds and temperature, pressure, and humidity every 0.5 seconds.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature
The Stepped Frequency Microwave Radiometer (SFMR) is a passive airborne C-band radiometer manufactured by ProSensing Inc. SFMR measures brightness temperature across six frequency bands in the 4.6 to 7.2 GHz range. These measurements can be used to derive rain rates and surface winds. SFMR is typically used for research missions into hurricanes and tropical storms, especially by NOAA’s Hurricane Research Division (HRD). SFMR has a spatial resolution of about 1.5 km and a temporal resolution of about 4 s.
Earth Science > Spectral/engineering > Microwave > Brightness Temperature
Condensation Particle Counters (CPCs) are in situ sensors that measure aerosol particle concentration. CPCs measure aerosol concentration by condensing fluid onto the particles, allowing them to grow to more detectable sizes for optical scattering. Typically, CPCs can detect particles with a size range of 7 nm-3 μm, can measure particle concentrations up to 100,000 particles/cc, and can provide measurements at 1-second intervals. CPCs are manufactured by TSI Incorporated and can be deployed on airborne, shipborne, and ground-based platforms.
If instrument model information is not available, can use this instrument entry for temperature, pressues, wind speed, wind direction, humidity
Earth Science > >
The microwave radiometers (MWRs) are ground-based radiometers manufactured by Radiometrics Corporation and operated by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Research Facility. MWR measures brightness temperature at 23.8 and 31.4 GHz to derive column-integrated amounts of water vapor and liquid water in the atmosphere. MWR has a field of view (FOV) from about 5.9 to 4.5 degrees depending on the channel and has a typical time resolution of 20 s for sky-view observations.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Water Vapor
Earth Science > Spectral/engineering > Microwave > Brightness Temperature
The Condensation Nuclei Counter (CNC) is optical method for
counting atmospheric aerosol particles.
Earth Science > >
The Total Sky Imager (TSI) is a ground-based, optical instrument that is manufactured by Yankee Environmental Systems (YES), Inc. TSI can provide full-color, hemispheric images of the sky during the day by using a charge-coupled device (CCD) imager. It also can provide measurements of fractional sky cover and sun obscuration by cloud. TSI can be mounted on mobile platforms such as trailers and research vehicles, allowing it to collect cloud cover measurements in various locations during a field investigation.
Ceilometers are ground-based, remote-sensing sensors that provide measurements of cloud ceilings and vertical visibility. They use either a laser beam or another light source to detect backscatter of clouds, precipitation, and aerosols. Ceilometers can provide detailed and accurate measurements in all types of weather conditions and have low operating costs. Ceilometers are typically used in boundary layer and cloud research applications.
The High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) is an airborne lidar system developed at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). It utilizes the HSRL technique at 532 nm and the standard backscatter technique at 1064 nm to provide profile measurements of aerosol backscatter, extinction, and depolarization. The profiles of aerosol backscatter and depolarization have a typical vertical resolution of 30 m and a horizontal resolution of about 1 km. For the extinction profiles, the vertical resolution is 300 m with a horizontal resolution of about 6 km. HSRL is typically flown on investigations to validate observations from the CALIPSO spaceborne lidar.
Earth Science > Spectral/engineering > Lidar > Lidar Depolarization Ratio
The Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP) is an in situ airborne photometer manufactured by Radiance Research. It uses Beer's Law to measure the change in light transmission of aerosol particles. These measurements can be used to derive aerosol absorption and extinction. PSAP operates across three wavelengths (467, 530, and 660 nm) and has a temporal resolution of 1 second. It is typically deployed on aircraft, but it can be deployed on other platforms such as ships and vehicles.
The Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (TDMA) is an in situ airborne and ground-based analyzer that measures the physical properties of aerosol particles such as size distribution and concentration. It can measure particles in the size range of 0.013 to 0.75 mm at a size resolution of 0.013 mm at 0.2 mm. The TDMA is sometimes combined with an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) to allow measurements of particles in the submicron range. A typical measurement sequence of TDMA can take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
Nephelometers are in situ airborne or ground-based optical sensors. They measure the total scattering and backscattering of aerosol particles in the atmosphere. Nephelometers operate across three wavelengths: 450 nm, 550 nm, and 700 nm, and have a typical time resolution of 1 Hz.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature
This data will be added in future versions.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Pressure
The AIMMS - 20 delivers precise real-time meteorological data at rates up to 20Hz. Formed by a combination of four modules: an Inertial Measurement Unit module (IMU) that delivers six degree-of-freedom rate data at 40Hz; a GPS Phase Module that processes satellite navigation signals from two antennas; an Air-Data-Probe (ADP) that measures temperature, humidity, barometric pressure and the aircraft-relative flow vector; and, a Central Processing Module (CPM) to process GPS data, inertial signals and air-data information that yield accurate wind data when combined.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Humidity > Relative Humidity
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Air Temperature
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Air Quality
This data will be added in future versions
Earth Science > >
a miniature, lightweight, low-power cloud particle spectrometer that measures droplets in the range of 2-50 µm in concentrations as high as 2000 particles/cm3
Earth Science > >
This data will be added in future versions
Earth Science > >
The Cloud Spectrometer and Impactor (CSI) combines the counterflow virtual impactor with a new lightweight cloud droplet probe to allow for detailed studies of total condensed water (TCW), liquid and ice, in clouds. The CSI can measure TCW from ~ 1 mg/m3 to several g/m3 depending on the configuration; in addition particle sizes from 2 to 50 μm are resolved with the droplet probe. The instrumentation can be mounted externally on most aircraft.
Condensation Particle Counters (CPCs) are in situ sensors that measure aerosol particle concentration. CPCs measure aerosol concentration by condensing fluid onto the particles, allowing them to grow to more detectable sizes for optical scattering. Typically, CPCs can detect particles with a size range of 7 nm-3 μm, can measure particle concentrations up to 100,000 particles/cc, and can provide measurements at 1-second intervals. CPCs are manufactured by TSI Incorporated and can be deployed on airborne, shipborne, and ground-based platforms.
If instrument model information is not available, can use this instrument entry for temperature, pressues, wind speed, wind direction, humidity
Earth Science > >
This data will be added in future versions
Earth Science > >
The Optical Particle Counter is an instrument based on the principle of light scattering from particles. It is a real time instrument that is typically used to measure particles above 0.05 μm in diameter.
The Passive-Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer Probe (PCASP) is an in situ airborne optical spectrometer manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. It measures the light scattered by particles to determine the aerosol size distribution and concentration in the 0.1 to 3.0 μm size range. PCASP operates at the 632 nm wavelength and has a typical sampling rate of 10 Hz.
The PVM-100 instrument developed by Gerber Scientific conducts particulate volume measurements using a forward-scattering laser spectrometer. A laser is used to measure the forward light scattering within a 3 cubic centimeter volume, and a liquid water content is inferred from the calculated scattering flux of the volume. Droplets in the 3-50 µm Diameter range can be detected with the instrument, and measurements can be taken up to 200 times a second.
The Cloud Aerosol and Precipitation Spectrometer (CAPS) is an in situ airborne spectrometer manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. It combines the Cloud Imaging Probe (CIP), the Cloud and Aerosol Spectrometer (CAS), and the Hotwire Liquid Water Content (LWC) Sensor into one instrument. CAPS measures the size distribution of aerosol, cloud, and liquid droplets for particles between the sizes of 50-1600 μm at a time resolution of 1 Hz. It can also record images of cloud particles and provide measurements of temperature, pressure, and LWC.
A TUNABLE DIODE LASER is a solid-state laser in which as lasing is achieved by passing an injection current through the active region of a semiconductor across the p-n junction; tunable meaning it is used with a technique based upon the measurement of light absorption upon irrigating a sample using a tunable laser source.
The High Volume Precipitation Spectrometer 3 (HVPS-3) is an in situ airborne particle imager manufactured by SPEC Inc. It uses a 128-photodiode array to provide imagery of precipitation particles. The imagery can be used to determine the shape, size, and concentration of the particles. HVPS-3 has a pixel resolution of 150 μm and a maximum field of view of 1.92 cm.
The Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer (UHSAS) is an in situ spectrometer manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. It can be utilized on both airborne and ground-based platforms to measure aerosol size distribution and concentration. UHSAS determines the particle size by detecting the peak light signals of the aerosol particles which are illuminated by a 1054 nm laser. UHSAS can sample particles within the 60 - 1000 nm size range and has a sampling frequency of 10 Hz.
The Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) is a laser-induced photometer manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. SP2 provides measurements of the black carbon (BC) mass content of individual aerosol particles as well as the optical and physical properties of the particles containing BC. SP2 can be utilized on airborne or ground-based platforms and can be deployed with a paired Humidified-Dual SP2 (HD-SP2). It can detect aerosol particles with a diameter size of 200-400 nm and can measure 25,000 particles/second.
The Condensation Nuclei Counter (CNC) is optical method for
counting atmospheric aerosol particles.
Earth Science > >
The Cloud Imaging Probe (CIP) is an in situ airborne optical array probe manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. CIP records cloud particle images by capturing the shadow of the particles as they pass through the laser. It also provides information on the particle size distribution and cloud liquid water content. CIP has a typical resolution of 25 μm and can measure particles in the size range of 12.5 μm - 1.55 mm.
The Fast Cloud Droplet Probe (FCDP) is an in-situ airborne cloud probe manufactured by SPEC Inc. FCDP measures the concentration and size of cloud droplets by detecting the amount of light scattered by the particles. It measures particles within the diameter size range of 1.5-50 microns and has a typical measurement frequency of 1 Hz.
The 2D-Stereo Particle Probe (2D-S) is an in situ airborne optical imaging probe developed by SPEC Inc. The 2D-S uses two diode laser beams to produce stereo cloud particle images through linear array shadowing. Through the imagery, cloud particle size distribution, particle number concentration, and ice/liquid water content can be determined. It has a resolution of 10 µm and can measure hydrometeors in the 25-1280 µm range.
The Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP) is an in situ airborne photometer manufactured by Radiance Research. It uses Beer's Law to measure the change in light transmission of aerosol particles. These measurements can be used to derive aerosol absorption and extinction. PSAP operates across three wavelengths (467, 530, and 660 nm) and has a temporal resolution of 1 second. It is typically deployed on aircraft, but it can be deployed on other platforms such as ships and vehicles.
Nephelometers are in situ airborne or ground-based optical sensors. They measure the total scattering and backscattering of aerosol particles in the atmosphere. Nephelometers operate across three wavelengths: 450 nm, 550 nm, and 700 nm, and have a typical time resolution of 1 Hz.
