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Dust/Ash/Smoke Data Access and Tools

Dust, ash, and smoke data from NASA range from aerosol indexes to fire and thermal anomaly detections. Our datasets and tools help users find and integrate the data they need to track airborne particles, locate their sources, determine their downstream effects and other important facts.

Commonly Used Dust Score Data at a Glance

Very large dust storms lasting hours or days can be observed and tracked using satellite imagery. The amount of dust transported by these storms can be quantified using the Dust Score, which is calculated from data acquired by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite. The AIRS Dust Score indicates the level of atmospheric aerosols in Earth’s atmosphere over the ocean. Dust is probable when the score is above 380, and higher scores indicate more certainty that dust is present. The numerical scale is a qualitative representation of the presence of dust in the atmosphere, an indication of where large dust storms may form, and the areas that may be affected.

An asterisk (*) next to an entry indicates that near real-time (NRT) data products are available through NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for EOS (LANCE). While not intended for scientific research, NRT data are good resources for monitoring ongoing or time-critical events. For more information about the differences between NRT and Standard Science Products, please see Near Real-Time versus Standard Products.

Spatial ResolutionSpatial CoverageTemporal ResolutionTemporal CoverageSpectral ResolutionSatellite/ PlatformName (Sensor, Model, etc.)Observation, Model, or ReanalysisFile Format
50 kmGlobal6 min, hourly, 3-hourly, 6-hourly2016-present for NRT, 2002 for other2,378 infrared channels in the 3.74 to 15.4 micron spectral rangeAqua*AIRSObservationHDF-EOS

Dust/Ash/Smoke Datasets

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Dataset Version Platform Instrument Temporal Extent Spatial Extent Spatial Resolution Data Format
ACCLIP WB-57 Aircraft Merge Data 1 NASA WB-57F Computer 2022-07-16 to 2022-09-14

N: 61.5 S: 16.6 E: 180 W: -180

ICARTT
ACCLIP WB-57 Aircraft Model Data 1 GEOS, NASA WB-57F Computer, MMS 2022-07-14 to 2022-09-14 ICARTT
ACT-America: HALO Lidar Measurements of AOP and ML Heights, 2019 1 C-130 DIAL, HSRL, HALO 2019-06-17 to 2019-07-28

N: 50 S: 28 E: -73 W: -102

multiple
AIRS/Aqua L1B Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances V005 (AIRIBRAD) at GES DISC 005 Aqua AIRS 2002-08-30 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
AIRS/Aqua L1B Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances V8.0 (AIRSAQIRL1B) at GES DISC at GES DISC 8.0 Aqua AIRS 2002-08-30 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
AIRS/Aqua L1B Near Real Time (NRT) Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances in BUFR format V005 (AIRIBRAD_NRT_BUFR) at GES DISC 005 Aqua AIRS 2015-12-15 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
AIRS/Aqua L1B Near Real Time (NRT) Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances V005 (AIRIBRAD_NRT) at GES DISC 005 Aqua AIRS 2015-12-15 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
AIRS/Aqua L1B Near Real Time (NRT) Infrared (IR) geolocated and calibrated radiances V8.0 (AIRSAQIRL1B_NRT) at GES DISC 8.0 Aqua AIRS 2002-08-30 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
AIRS/Aqua L1C Infrared (IR) resampled and corrected radiances V6.7 (AIRICRAD) at GES DISC 6.7 Aqua AIRS 2002-08-30 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
AIRS/Aqua L1C Near Real Time (NRT) Infrared (IR) resampled and corrected radiances V6.7 (AIRICRAD_NRT) at GES DISC 6.7 Aqua AIRS 2002-09-06 to Present

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

13.5 Kilometers x 13.5 Kilometers
Ancillary speciated PM data from the MAIA Surface Monitor Network C01 GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS SM Network 2021-01-01 to Present netCDF-4
Ancillary total PM data from the MAIA Surface Monitor Network C01 GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS SM Network 2021-01-01 to Present netCDF-4
ARCTAS Model Data 1 CLIMATE MODELS, GEOS-5, GEOS-Chem Computer 2008-03-30 to 2008-07-14 netCDF-3, ICARTT
ATom: DC-8 Forward Camera Videos, 2016-2017 1 NASA DC-8 CAMERAS 2016-08-01 to 2017-10-20

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

MP4
ATom: Dominant Role of Mineral Dust in Cirrus Cloud Formation 1 CESM, GEOS-Chem, NCEP-GFS, NASA DC-8 Computer, PALMS 2014-01-01 to 2019-01-01

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

multiple
ATom: In Situ Tropical Aerosol Properties and Comparable Global Model Outputs 1 COMPUTERS, NASA DC-8 Computer, PALMS 2016-07-29 to 2017-02-21

N: 80.5222 S: -65.3316 E: 180 W: -180

multiple
ATom: In-Situ Measurements of Airflow and Aerosols from Multiple Airborne Campaigns 1 NASA DC-8 MMS, CAPS 2013-06-10 to 2018-05-21

N: 90 S: -90 E: 180 W: -180

CSV
CAMP2Ex Miscellaneous Data 1 SATELLITES 2018-08-01 to 2019-10-08 NetCDF-4, ICARTT, GIF, PNG, JPEG
CARVE: Fire-Related Aerosol and Soil Elemental and Isotopic Composition, Alaska, 2013 1 FIELD INVESTIGATION MASS SPECTROMETERS 2013-06-27 to 2013-08-10

N: 70.5 S: 61.5 E: -140 W: -168

CSV
Climatological Monthly Frequency of Dust Storm over Land for Varying Intensities, Based on MODIS Aqua Deep Blue Level 2 Aerosol Products MYD04_L2 Collection 6.1, on a Global 0.1 by 0.1 Degree Grid, Level 3 Version 1 (MYDFDS_CLM_GLB_L3) at GES DISC 1 Aqua MODIS 2003-01-01 to 2022-12-31

N: 79.9 S: -80 E: 174.9 W: -175

0.1 Decimal Degrees x 0.1 Decimal Degrees
Climatological Monthly Frequency of Dust Storm over Land for Varying Intensities, Based on MODIS Terra Deep Blue Level 2 Aerosol Products MOD04_L2 Collection 6.1, on a Global 0.1 by 0.1 Degree Grid, Level 3 Version 1 (MODFDS_CLM_GLB_L3) at GES DISC 1 Terra MODIS 2000-01-01 to 2022-12-31

N: 79.9 S: -80 E: 174.9 W: -175

0.1 Decimal Degrees x 0.1 Decimal Degrees
DC3 In-Situ DC-8 Aircraft Aerosol Data 1 NASA DC-8 PSAP, APS, TSI CPC-3010, SMPS, UHSAS, LASER SPECTROMETER, AMS, DMT SP2, PALMS, PI-NEPH, DASH-SP, LWCC, CCN 2012-05-04 to 2012-08-28 ICARTT
DC3 Merge Data Files 1 DLR-Falcon, NSF/NCAR GV HIAPER, NASA DC-8 2012-05-18 to 2012-06-30 ICARTT
DISCOVER-AQ Texas Deployment P-3B Aircraft Merged Data Files 1 P-3B Computer 2011-06-30 to 2013-10-01 ICARTT
FIREX-AQ MACH2 Surface Mobile In-Situ Measurements 1 NASA MACH-2 Aerodyne CAPS, APS, OPS, E-BAM, SPECTROMETERS, MAAP, TAP, GPS, TEMPERATURE SENSORS, TSI-3563 Neph, SpEx, ION CHROMATOGRAPHS, DMT UHSAS 2019-07-21 to 2019-08-30 ICARTT
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AIRS
The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) is a hyperspectral sounder that collects daily global measurements of water vapor and temperature profiles. Its aerosol-detecting capabilities mean that it produces data useful to the detection and tracking of dust, ash, and smoke.
Learn More About AIRS
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AIRS Near Real-Time Data

Near real-time 3D atmospheric data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument are available through NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near real-time Capability for Earth observation (LANCE).
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Access AIRS data from GES DISC via OPeNDAP

Learn how to access and visualize Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) grid data from NASA's Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC) in Python.

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