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visualization of carbon columns
methane emissions data over the eastern hemisphere
carbon emissions data over the Americas

ASCENDS

Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons

The Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) Airborne Campaign was a multi-year effort conducted between 2011 and 2017 to support the science definition study of the ASCENDS mission, whose objective was to make global atmospheric column carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements without a seasonal, latitudinal, or diurnal bias. 

Through the airborne campaign, several NASA Lidar teams made substantial advances in developing suitable Lidar techniques and instruments, demonstrating Lidar capabilities from aircraft, improving the understanding of the characteristics needed in the measurements, and advancing the technologies needed for the space Lidar. 

The 2017 ASCENDS airborne deployment was flown on the NASA DC-8 in late July and early August 2017 and was planned in coordination with the Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) 2017 field campaign.

Principal Investigator

James Abshire, Edward Browell, Gary Spiers

Data Centers

ORNL DAAC

Funding Programs

NASA Upper Atmosphere Research Program
The ASCENDS logo is superimposed above an image of a plane's fuselage above clouds and Earth.
Study DatesJune 7, 2010 - August 8, 2017
Season of StudyYear round
RegionUnited States, Canada
Spatial Bounds

N: 69°N

S: 31°N

W: 153°W

E: 87°W

Focus Areas

Atmospheric Composition

Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems

Geophysical Concepts

Atmospheric Chemicals and Trace Gases

Carbon Storage and Processes

Scientific Topics

Carbon

Carbon Monoxide

Ozone

Carbon Sinks

Carbon Stores

PlatformInstrument(s)
Douglas DC-8

Multi-functional Fiber Laser Lidar (MFLL)

Carbon Dioxide Laser Absorption Spectrometer (CO2LAS)

CO2 Sounder Lidar

Picarro Gas Analyzer

Atmospheric Vertical Observations of CO2 in the Earth’s Troposphere (AVOCET)

Diode Laser Hygrometer (DLH)

Airborne Cavity Enhanced Spectrometer (ACES)

The following resources provide additional information about the ASCENDS airborne campaign.