The Hydrological Cycle in Mediterranean Experiment (HyMeX) was an International campaign that focused on gaining an understanding of the hydrological cycle in the Mediterranean to better forecast hydrometeorological extremes, such as flash flooding and subsequent landslides, and help mitigate the societal impact of those extremes. Although HyMeX was a multi-year venture, NASA served as a significant participant during SOP-1, which occurred between September and November of 2012. During this time, NASA provided ground instrumentation across several locations while French and German organizations provided airborne and water-based instrumentation. The NASA portion of HyMeX was funded in support of the Global Precipitation Mission (GPM).
The HyMeX campaign actually began in 2010, but NASA only participated during one of the deployments. The information in this inventory may contain some information about the larger HyMeX campaign. The NASA effort is considered part of the Ground Validation activities for the GPM satellite.
Radiosondes are a balloon-borne instrument package used to collect profile measurements of pressure, temperature, humidity, and winds. These sensors are connected to a radio transmitter that sends the measurements to a ground receiver typically operating in the 400-406 MHz range. They typically provide measurements at 1-6 seconds, depending on the type and manufacturer of the radiosonde. Radiosondes are used for weather forecasting, ground truth satellite data, atmospheric research, and input for weather prediction models.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Profiles
The CDP-ROBUST is a combination of the Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP) and the ROBUST TWC probe. It allows for measurements of both particle size concentration/distribution and total liquid water content in the clouds. It was tested and successfully operated during the HyMeX campaign.
The Precipitation and Imaging Probe (PIP) is an airborne optical spectrometer manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. It measures the size and shape of particles in the size range of 100-6200 μm. It provides 2-dimensional imagery with a pixel resolution of 100 μm. PIP operates at the 660 nm wavelength and has a typical sampling frequency of 1 second. It has a sample area of 260 mm x 6.2 mm and can operate at airspeeds of 10-200 meters per second.
The Radar Airborne System Tool for Atmosphere (RASTA) is an airborne W-band pulsed Doppler cloud radar. It consists of a multibeam antenna system that allows for three-dimensional retrievals of wind profiles above and below the aircraft. RASTA operates at the 95.04 GHz frequency and has a beam width of 0.6 degrees. It has a range of 15 km with a range resolution of 60m. RASTA is typically flown on the French ATR-42 aircraft.
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 Cloud Particle Imager (CPI) is an airborne imager manufactured by SPEC Inc. CPI collects high-resolution (2.3 μm pixel size) images of cloud particles that pass through its sample volume. It uses a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera that operates at 810 nm to record images and can take up to 74 frames per second with a refresh rate of 40 Hz. The imagery from CPI can be used to derive microphysical properties such as particle size and habit.
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 Conveyable Low-noise Infrared Radiometer for Measurements of Atmosphere and Ground Surface Targets (CLIMAT) radiometer was designed to detect thermal infrared, multispectral bands during field projects on either aircraft or balloons. The incident radiometric signal to the thermopile detector leads to a low noise and weakly temperature dependent output. The CLIMAT radiometer was designed to applied to various studies such as vegetation, cloud-cover, and calibration of satellite-based remote sensing instrumentation.
Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) sensors are in situ instrument packages that are used to measure water depth, pressure, salinity, temperature, and density in the ocean. CTD sensors can be deployed on various water-based platforms such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), buoys, gliders, or research vessels. When deployed on a vessel, CTD sensors are typically attached to a rosette and then lowered to the seafloor to measure water properties. CTD sensors have a typical sampling rate of 30 Hz and can collect precise measurements for a specific water depth depending on the researcher's needs.
Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Pressure > Water Pressure
Earth Science > Oceans > Bathymetry/seafloor Topography > Water Depth
Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) sensors are in situ instrument packages that are used to measure water depth, pressure, salinity, temperature, and density in the ocean. CTD sensors can be deployed on various water-based platforms such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), buoys, gliders, or research vessels. When deployed on a vessel, CTD sensors are typically attached to a rosette and then lowered to the seafloor to measure water properties. CTD sensors have a typical sampling rate of 30 Hz and can collect precise measurements for a specific water depth depending on the researcher's needs.
Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Pressure > Water Pressure
Earth Science > Oceans > Bathymetry/seafloor Topography > Water Depth
Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) sensors are in situ instrument packages that are used to measure water depth, pressure, salinity, temperature, and density in the ocean. CTD sensors can be deployed on various water-based platforms such as autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), buoys, gliders, or research vessels. When deployed on a vessel, CTD sensors are typically attached to a rosette and then lowered to the seafloor to measure water properties. CTD sensors have a typical sampling rate of 30 Hz and can collect precise measurements for a specific water depth depending on the researcher's needs.
Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Pressure > Water Pressure
Earth Science > Oceans > Bathymetry/seafloor Topography > Water Depth
Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Water Temperature
Earth Science > Oceans > Salinity/density
Generic-Atmospheric State (Gen-AtmsState) refers to non-specific instruments on a platform used for measurements of atmospheric state parameters. These are typically in situ sensors that measure temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind speed/direction. Types of atmospheric state instruments include thermometers, hygrometers, barometers, and anemometers.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Pressure
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Humidity
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Air Temperature
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature
The Community Aerosol Inlet (CAI) is an airborne in situ sampler used to collect aerosol samples during large airborne research campaigns. It is a shrouded inlet that is typically mounted on the nose of an aircraft to be able to collect samples ahead of the aircraft fuselage. It has a design flow rate of 8000 liters per minute and can sample aerosol particles up to 5 μm in size.
The Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP) is an in situ cloud probe manufactured by Droplet Measurement Technologies. It measures the particle size distribution and concentration for cloud particles in the 2-50 μm size range. CDP detects pulses of light scattered from a laser (658 nm) to count and size individual cloud droplets. CDP has a typical measurement rate of 1 Hz and can detect concentrations of up to 2000 particles per cubic centimeter.
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.
The Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) is an in situ airborne or ground-based aerosol sensor manufactured by TSI Incorporated. SMPS uses a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) to measure the electrical mobility diameter of aerosol particles to determine the size distribution. It also measures the number of aerosol particles by using a condensation particle counter (CNC). It can detect particles within the size range of 10-1000 nm and can provide measurements typically around 10 seconds per scan.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Aerosols
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Aerosols > Chemical Composition
The Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) is a spectrometer that measures the chemical composition and properties of sub-micron aerosol particles. AMS has a maximum data collection of 100 Hz and can detect particles with a size range of 40 nm to 1 micron. It operates by switching between mass spectrum (MS) mode and particle time-of-flight (PToF) mode to determine the chemical makeup of aerosol samples. The AMS can be deployed on aircraft, ships, mobile laboratories, or placed directly at a field site.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Aerosols > Chemical Composition
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 Particule Volume Matter (PVM-100A) is an in situ airborne cloud probe manufactured by Gerber Scientific. It measures liquid water content and the effective radius of cloud droplets by measuring the scattering intensity proportional to the droplets' density and particle surface area density. PVM-100A operates at 780 nm and has a measurement rate of up to 5000 Hz. It can measure droplets in the size range of 3-50 μm diameter. The ground-based model of this instrument is PVM-100.
The Two Stage Viable Andersen Cascade Impactor (ACI) is an in situ impactor for aerosol sampling. It is used when the size distribution is not required and only the total particle counts are needed for analysis. The sampled air flows through the instrument, and the aerosol particles are collected on the corresponding plates within the two sampling stages. Larger particles (> 8 μm) are collected in the first stage, while smaller particles (0.8-8 μm) are collected in the second stage. It has an exact flow rate of 28.3 liters per minute.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Aerosols
The Condensation Nuclei Counter (CNC) is optical method for
counting atmospheric aerosol particles.
Earth Science > >
The Fast Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) is an in situ spectrometer manufactured by TSI Incorporated. It measures aerosol particle size distribution within the 5.6 to 560 nm size range with 32 channels of resolution. FMPS has a data rate of 1 Hz and a sample flow rate of 10 liters per minute. FMPS can be deployed on airborne and ground-based platforms and is best suited for studying relatively stable aerosols.
The Forward Scattering Spectrometer Probe (FSSP) is an in situ airborne optical particle counter originally designed by Particle Measuring Systems, Inc. It provides particle size distribution by measuring the intensity of the light scattered by individual particles within the cloud. FSSP can detect particles within a diameter range of 0.5 to 47 μm. It operates at a wavelength of 633 nm and has a typical sampling frequency of 1 Hz.
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 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 LEANDRE II is an airborne lidar system developed at the Service d’Ae´ronomie du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris. It uses the differential absorption lidar technique to provide profile measurements of water vapor mixing ratio. LEANDRE II operates in a double-pulse, double-wavelength mode in the 727-770 nm spectral range. It has a vertical resolution of 300 m and a horizontal resolution of 800 m. LEANDRE II has a double-pulse temporal separation of 50 microseconds and a repetition rate of 10 Hz.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Water Vapor
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Profiles > Water Vapor Mixing Ratio Profiles
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Profiles
The Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Wind Profiler is a ground-based Doppler radar. It measures electromagnetic signals to detect wind speed and direction. UHF Wind Profilers operate at the 300-1000 MHz frequency range. Due to operating at a high frequency, they allow for high-resolution wind measurements within the boundary layer.
The University of Basilicata Lidar System (BASIL) is a ground-based Ramen lidar located in Potenza, Italy. It was developed by the Department of Environmental Engineering and Physics at the University of Basilicata. It provides measurements of atmospheric temperature and water vapor mixing ratio using the rotational Raman lidar technique. BASIL also provides measurements of aerosol backscatter, extinction, and depolarization. It operates across the 355 nm, 532 nm, and 1064 nm wavelengths and can collect measurements during the daytime and nighttime. BASIL has a typical spatial resolution of 30 m and a temporal resolution of 1 minute.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature
Generic-Atmospheric State (Gen-AtmsState) refers to non-specific instruments on a platform used for measurements of atmospheric state parameters. These are typically in situ sensors that measure temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind speed/direction. Types of atmospheric state instruments include thermometers, hygrometers, barometers, and anemometers.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Pressure
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Humidity
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Air Temperature
An Electric Field Mill (EFM) is an in situ airborne and ground-based electric sensor designed and built at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). It measures the full vector components of the atmospheric electric field and provides details about the electrical structure within and around a storm. EFMs can detect both intracloud and cloud-to-ground lightning and can operate during large thunderstorm fields (thousands of volts/meter). An EFM has a typical time response of about 10 Hz.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Electricity > Electric Field
The Lightning Mapping Array (LMA) is a ground-based network of lightning detection sensors. An LMA network consists of very high frequency (VHF) antennas, GPS receivers, and processing systems that measure the location, time, and structure of total lightning. LMA has a horizontal spatial resolution of approximately 6-12 meters, a vertical resolution of approximately 20-30 meters, and a spatial extent of about 200 km from the network center. It has a typical sampling frequency of 10 µs with around 95% accuracy within 100 km of the network. LMA networks exist in several locations including Oklahoma, New Mexico, North Alabama, West Texas, Colorado, and Southern Ontario.
The Water vapor and Aerosol LIdar (WALI) is a mobile ground-based Raman lidar developed at the Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement (LSCE). It measures lidar backscatter to determine aerosol optical properties and water vapor mixing ratio profiles. WALI operates at the 354.7 nm wavelength and has a temporal sampling of about 1 minute. It has a vertical resolution of about 30 meters and a field of field of view of about 2.3 mrad.
W-band radars are highly sensitive radars used for atmospheric research. They operate around the 94-95 GHz frequency band, allowing for the detection of small water droplets. W-band radars are used for cloud and precipitation studies since they can provide more detailed observations than typical weather radars. They can be deployed on research vessels, aircraft, and mobile ground-based platforms.
X-band radars are ground-based radars that operate in the 8-12 GHz frequency range. They provide measurements of radar reflectivity, Doppler velocity, and other radar parameters to characterize precipitation and clouds. Due to operating on a smaller wavelength, the X-band radars are more sensitive and can detect smaller particles, making them useful for studying light precipitation and cloud development.
S-band radars are ground-based or shipborne radars that operate at the frequency range of 2-4 GHz. They provide measurements of radar reflectivity, Doppler velocity, and other radar parameters to characterize precipitation and clouds. They are not easily attenuated making them useful for near and far-range weather observations.
The Two-Dimensional Video Disdrometer (2DVD) is a stationary ground-based optical disdrometer. It is equipped with two line-scan cameras that provide continuous measurements of various precipitation properties such as droplet shape, fall velocity, and size distribution. The 2DVD is capable of accurate measurements for all precipitation particles with a diameter > 0.2 mm, making it well-suited for various precipitation studies.
The Autonomous Parsivel Unit (APU) is an in situ ground-based optical disdrometer. APU measures the size and fall velocity of hydrometeors with a size range of 0-25mm and fall velocities between 0-20 m/s. From these measurements, the drop size distribution, type, intensity, and amount of precipitation can be determined. APU operates in the 650-780 nm wavelength range and has a typical sampling frequency of 10 s.
The Micro Rain Radar (MRR) is a ground-based, vertically pointing, continuous wave K-band (24.23 GHz) radar that measures various parameters of precipitation such as liquid water content and rain rate from near ground level to the lower troposphere. The backscatter received by the MRR’s antenna can measure precipitation size distributions in the range of 0.25 mm to 4.53 mm, as well as calculate the frequency shift of falling precipitation to be used to calculate its velocity. Additional applications of the MRR include locating bright bands, nowcasting precipitation, and capturing chemical transport during precipitation events.
The Dual-frequency Dual-polarized Doppler Radar (D3R) is a mobile Ku-/Ka-band radar that was developed for NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission Ground Validation (GV) program. D3R is an active remote, ground-based sensor that measures radar backscatter to provide reflectivity, Doppler velocity, differential reflectivity, correlation coefficient, and other radar observations. These measurements can be used to derive droplet size distribution and determine hydrometer type. D3R has a beam width of around 0.9 degrees, a maximum range of 30 km, and a gate spacing of 150 m. D3R operates at similar wavelengths as the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) on the GPM Core satellite and can be used for validation of DPR observations.
A pyrgeometer is a ground-based or airborne passive radiation sensor. It measures downward and upward longwave radiation in the 4-50 μm spectral range. Pyrgeometers measure changes in resistance/voltage using a thermopile sensor to determine longwave radiation. These measurements can be used to calculate the infrared radiation flux. Pyrgeometers are typically used for climatological, meteorological, and agricultural applications.
A pyrometer is a remote-sensing infrared thermometer that measures the temperature of distant objects. It determines the temperature of an object by detecting its thermal radiation. It can be deployed on aircraft, ground, or water-based platforms for surface and sea surface temperature observations. For atmospheric studies, the pyrometer typically operates in the 9.6 to 11.5 µm spectral range and has a temperature range of -25 to 200 degrees Celsius. Pyrometers have a typical response time of 5 ms to 600 s.
Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Temperature > Sea Surface Temperature
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Skin Temperature
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature
Earth Science > Spectral/engineering > Infrared Wavelengths > Brightness Temperature
This data will be added in future versions.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Pressure
The Lyman-alpha Hygrometer is an in situ hygrometer that can be deployed on airborne or ground-based platforms. It measures water vapor absorption at the Lyman-alpha wavelength (121.6 nm) of atomic hydrogen to determine the total water in the atmosphere. It has a detection limit of 0.1 ppmv and a typical data rate of 1 second. The Lyman-alpha hygrometer provides water vapor measurements with an accuracy of 6% and a precision of 5%.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Water Vapor
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Profiles > Water Vapor Mixing Ratio Profiles
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Total Precipitable Water
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor
The Picarro gas concentration analyzer is an in situ airborne or ground-based sensor manufactured by Picarro, Inc. It uses Wavelength-Scanned-Cavity Ring Spectroscopy (WS-CRDS) to measure trace gases such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and water vapor. For carbon dioxide measurements, the laser within Picarro operates at 1603 nm wavelength and 1651 nm wavelength for methane and water vapor measurements. Picarro has a typical sampling time of 2.5 seconds. Depending on the model, Picarro can also provide measurements of carbon isotopes for gas concentrations.
Generic-Atmospheric State (Gen-AtmsState) refers to non-specific instruments on a platform used for measurements of atmospheric state parameters. These are typically in situ sensors that measure temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind speed/direction. Types of atmospheric state instruments include thermometers, hygrometers, barometers, and anemometers.
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Pressure
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Water Vapor > Water Vapor Indicators > Humidity
Earth Science > Atmosphere > Atmospheric Temperature > Surface Temperature > Air Temperature
