Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere Balloon Data Products

DCOTSS-Balloon-Data features the balloon data collected during the Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere sub-orbital campaign. DCOTSS-Ozone-H2O features balloon flights that include both ozone and water vapor trace gas measurements while DCOTSS-Ozone features balloons with only ozone measurements. Balloons were launched from the following locations: Boulder, CO; Salina, KS: Corpus Christi, TX; and Grand Forks, ND. Data collection for this product is ongoing and currently only features the first deployment.

Each summer the North American Monsoon Anticyclone (NAMA) dominates the circulation of the North-Western Hemisphere and acts to partially confine and isolate air from the surrounding atmosphere. Strong convective storms in the NAMA regularly reach altitudes deep into the lower stratosphere, with some ascending above 20 km. These storms carry water and pollutants from the troposphere into the otherwise very dry stratosphere, where they can have a significant impact on radiative and chemical processes, potentially including destruction of stratospheric ozone. The Dynamics and Chemistry of the Summer Stratosphere (DCOTSS) field campaign is a NASA Earth Venture Suborbital research project aimed at investigating these thunderstorms. DCOTSS utilizes NASA’s ER-2 aircraft and conducted two ~8-week science deployments based out of Salina, KS spanning early to late summer.