ATom: Back Trajectories and Influences of Air Parcels Along Flight Track, 2016-2018

This dataset contains back trajectories, boundary layer influences, and convective influences of air parcels along NASA DC-8 aircraft's flight tracks during the four ATom campaigns that occurred from 2016 to 2018. Back trajectories were interpolated using National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Global Forecast System (GFS) and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA2) meteorology. Back trajectory analysis determines the origin of air masses by modeling the path of an air parcel backward in time. It can be used to better understand the sources of atmospheric compounds. Boundary layer Influences were determined based on 30 Day Back Trajectories. The atmospheric boundary layer is the lowest part of the troposphere that is directly influenced by earth's surface. The boundary layer influences wind patterns and thus the dispersal of pollutants and other atmospheric compounds of interest. Convective influences were based on 10 Day Back Trajectories and NASA Langley cloud products. Convective influences model the effects of convection on the movement of water vapor through the atmosphere, which influences cloud behavior.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Maintainer Earthdata Forum
Last Updated September 15, 2026, 02:49 (UTC)
Created April 1, 2025, 14:37 (UTC)
accessLevel public
bureauCode {026:00}
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
harvest_object_id 3854c1b6-bf80-472d-8f9e-6753c40757d1
harvest_source_id b99e41c6-fe79-4c19-bbc3-9b6c8111bfac
harvest_source_title Science Discovery Engine
identifier 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1889
license https://www.usa.gov/government-works
modified 2026-09-07T22:16:01Z
programCode {026:000}
publisher ORNL_DAAC
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 938cadb8a2a6b12273b84d0265c14529e75e6cab560a7c4cf8e43ff52d1611c9
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial ["CARTESIAN", [{"WestBoundingCoordinate": -180.0, "NorthBoundingCoordinate": 90.0, "EastBoundingCoordinate": 180.0, "SouthBoundingCoordinate": -90.0}]]
temporal 2016-07-29/2018-05-21
theme {"Earth Science"}