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Image from AJAX fire compendium highlighting measurements taken from wildfire plumes
Flight paths from AJAX showing wind direction along the flight track
Image of the Alpha Jet from AJAX

AJAX

Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment

The Alpha Jet Atmospheric eXperiment (AJAX) was a long-term partnership between NASA's Ames Research Center and H211, L.L.C., facilitating routine in-situ measurements over California, Nevada, and the coastal Pacific in support of satellite validation. The standard payload complement included rigorously-calibrated ozone (O3), formaldehyde (HCHO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) mixing ratios, as well as meteorological data including 3-D winds. Multiple vertical profiles (to ~8.5 km) could be accomplished in each 2-hr flight. 

The AJAX project collected trace gas data on a regular basis in all seasons for over a decade, helping to assess satellite sensors' health and calibration over significant portions of their lifetimes, and complementing surface and tower-based observations collected elsewhere in the region.

AJAX supported NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO-2/3) and Japan's GOSAT and GOSAT-2, and collaborated with many other research organizations (e.g. CARB, NOAA, USFS, EPA). AJAX celebrated its 200th science flight in 2016, and studies have investigated topics as varied as stratospheric-to-tropospheric transport, forest fire plumes, atmospheric river events, long-range transport of pollution from Asia to the western US, urban outflow, and emissions from gas leaks, oil fields, and dairies.

For more information regarding data collected to investigate wildfires, please visit the AJAX Wildfire Compendium.

  • Collect trace gas data on a regular bases in all seasons for over a decade
  • Assess satellite sensors' health and calibration
  • Complement surface and tower-based observations

AJAX scientists collected data using a variety of platforms, including airborne, mobile, and ground-based. These measurements collected with the instruments on the platforms were used in conjunction with various satellite data. The following table goes briefly into the instruments and payloads used in AJAX:

PlatformInstruments
H211 Alpha JetCOmpact Formaldehyde FluorescencE Experiment (COFFEE)
Picarro G2301-m CH4, CO2, H2O Instrument
Meteorological Measurement System (MMS)
2B Technologies Ozone Monitor

Related Instruments

Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) The Meteorological Measurement System (MMS) is an in situ airborne instrument used for measuring atmospheric state parameters.