ATom: Ultrafine Aerosol Characteristics and Formation, Lower Stratosphere, 2016-2018

Histograms of the total number of aerosols between 3 and 4500 nm in the LMS (ozone 250-400 ppbv, altitude > 8 km) for the SH and NH) for all ATom deployments (a-d), by season. Modified from fig. 2 of Williamson et al. (2021).

Histograms of the total number of aerosols between 3 and 4500 nm in the LMS (ozone 250-400 ppbv, altitude > 8 km) for the SH and NH) for all ATom deployments (a-d), by season. Modified from fig. 2 of Williamson et al. (2021).

The ORNL DAAC recently released the following Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom) dataset by Williamson, C.J., et al. (2022):

This dataset consists of (a) selected aerosol and gas-phase observations made on all four deployments of NASA Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom), (b) thermodynamic properties related to aerosol formation derived from these measurements, (c) 48-h back trajectories for ATom-4 observations, and (d) output from the Model of Aerosols and Ions in the Atmosphere (MAIA). ATom observations, thermodynamics, and back trajectories were inputs for MAIA model runs. MAIA runs focused on data from ATom-4 deployment, and output includes aerosol formation rates, and ultrafine particle size distributions and number concentrations in the lowermost stratosphere (LMS). ATom 1-4 deployments included all four seasons from 2016 to 2018. This investigation sought to understand how new particle formation (NPF) can occur in the LMS, factors influencing the amount of NPF, and other potential sources of ultrafine aerosols in this region of the atmosphere. The data are provided in comma-separated value (CSV) format.

The Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom) is a NASA Earth Venture Suborbital-2 mission to study the impact of human-produced air pollution on greenhouse gases and on chemically reactive gases in the atmosphere. ATom deployed an extensive gas and aerosol payload on the NASA DC-8 aircraft for systematic, global-scale sampling of the atmosphere, profiling continuously from 0.2 to 12 km altitude. Around-the-world flights were conducted in each of four seasons between 2016 and 2018.

Additional data from ATom and other relevant links can be found on the ORNL DAAC's ATom Project Page.

Citation: Williamson, C.J., A. Kupc, A.W. Rollins, J. Kazil, K.D. Froyd, E.A. Ray, D.M. Murphy, G.P. Schill, J. Peischl, C.R. Thompson, I. Bourgeois, T.B. Ryerson, G.S. Diskin, J.P. DiGangi, D.R. Blake, T.P. Bui, M. Dollner, B.B. Weinzierl, and C.A. Brock. 2022. ATom: Ultrafine Aerosol Characteristics and Formation, Lower Stratosphere, 2016-2018. ORNL DAAC, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA. https://doi.org/10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1868