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ACTIVATE Merged MODIS and MERRA-2 Dataset

Metadata Updated: July 11, 2025

ACTIVATE-MODIS-MERRA2 is the merged CERES MODIS and MERRA-2 dataset (pixel-level geostationary cloud products) produced by SatCORPS group at NASA Langley Research Center in support of ACTIVATE. ACTIVATE was a 5-year NASA Earth-Venture Sub-Orbital (EVS-3) field campaign. Marine boundary layer clouds play a critical role in Earth’s energy balance and water cycle. These clouds cover more than 45% of the ocean surface and exert a net cooling effect. The Aerosol Cloud meTeorology Interactions oVer the western Atlantic Experiment (ACTIVATE) project was a five-year project that provides important globally-relevant data about changes in marine boundary layer cloud systems, atmospheric aerosols and multiple feedbacks that warm or cool the climate. ACTIVATE studied the atmosphere over the western North Atlantic and sampled its broad range of aerosol, cloud and meteorological conditions using two aircraft, the UC-12 King Air and HU-25 Falcon. The UC-12 King Air was primarily used for remote sensing measurements while the HU-25 Falcon will contain a comprehensive instrument payload for detailed in-situ measurements of aerosol, cloud properties, and atmospheric state. A few trace gas measurements were also onboard the HU-25 Falcon for the measurements of pollution traces, which will contribute to airmass classification analysis. A total of 150 coordinated flights over the western North Atlantic occurred through 6 deployments from 2020-2022. The ACTIVATE science observing strategy intensively targets the shallow cumulus cloud regime and aims to collect sufficient statistics over a broad range of aerosol and weather conditions which enables robust characterization of aerosol-cloud-meteorology interactions. This strategy was implemented by two nominal flight patterns: Statistical Survey and Process Study. The statistical survey pattern involves close coordination between the remote sensing and in-situ aircraft to conduct near coincident sampling at and below cloud base as well as above and within cloud top. The process study pattern involves extensive vertical profiling to characterize the target cloud and surrounding aerosol and meteorological conditions.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date July 11, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from NASA Data.json

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date April 11, 2025
Metadata Updated Date July 11, 2025
Publisher NASA/LARC/SD/ASDC
Maintainer
Identifier 10.5067/ASDC/SUBORBITAL/ACTIVATE-MODIS-MERRA2_1
Data Last Modified 2025-07-09
Category Earth Science
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 026:00
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 06bfc481-af00-4447-9889-7cda5eaf58d9
Harvest Source Id 58f92550-7a01-4f00-b1b2-8dc953bd598f
Harvest Source Title NASA Data.json
Old Spatial "CARTESIAN",{"Boundary":{"Points":{"Latitude":0,"Longitude":-85},{"Latitude":0,"Longitude":-25},{"Latitude":60,"Longitude":-25},{"Latitude":60,"Longitude":-85},{"Latitude":0,"Longitude":-85}}}
Program Code 026:000
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 07a796a8ec718caaf3d4a97a9ca9903a5a8de2b36048100757322504919b1a15
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial

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