AirSHARP_AircraftRemoteSensing_CIRPAS-TO_4STARB_Data is the in-situ aerosol data collected onboard the Twin Otter aircraft flying the CIRPAS suite of instruments during the Airborne aSsessment of Hyperspectral Aerosol optical depth and water-leaving Reflectance (AirSHARP) campaign. Data from the Spectrometers for Sky-Scanning, Sun-Tracking Atmospheric Research (4STAR) instrument is featured in this collection. Data collection for this product is complete.
NASA’s Airborne aSsessment of Hyperspectral Aerosol optical depth and water-leaving Reflectance (AirSHARP) observed the atmosphere and ocean for validating the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite’s Ocean Color Instrument (OCI). During October 2024 and May 2025, AirSHARP conducted simultaneous airborne and seaborne campaigns to collect data under different environmental conditions, validating as much of OCI’s range as possible. Over the two deployments, 14 flights were conducted utilizing the NPS CIRPAS Twin Otter Aircraft. The aircraft was equipped with facility instruments measuring meteorological and navigation parameters, along with the Spectrometer for sky-scanning sun Tracking Atmospheric Research B (4STAR-B) instrument. Additional radiometer package, C-AIR (Coastal Airborne In-Situ Radiometers), for sampling the water leaving radiances and remote sensing reflectances of the Monterey Bay were on board the Twin Otter during AirSHARP, with its data archived in the SeaBass archive (https://seabass.gsfc.nasa.gov/experiment/PVST_AIRSHARP). The overarching goal of both AirSHARP deployments was to assess hyperspectral aerosol optical depth and water-leaving reflectance products for PACE OCI and polarimeter validation.