ER-2 Navigation Data IMPACTS

The NASA ER-2 Navigation Data IMPACTS dataset contains information recorded by the onboard navigation and data collection systems of the NASA ER-2 high-altitude research aircraft. In addition to typical navigation data (e.g., date, time, latitude/longitude, and altitude) it also contains outside meteorological parameters such as wind speed, wind direction, and temperature. These data were collected during the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign, a three-year sequence of winter season deployments conducted to study snowstorms over the U.S. Atlantic coast. IMPACTS aimed to (1) Provide observations critical to understanding the mechanisms of snowband formation, organization, and evolution; (2) Examine how the microphysical characteristics and likely growth mechanisms of snow particles vary across snowbands; and (3) Improve snowfall remote sensing interpretation and modeling to advance prediction capabilities significantly. The IMPACTS navigation dataset files are available from January 15, 2020, through March 2, 2023, in ASCII-ict format.