Advanced Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System Dropsondes (AVAPS) IMPACTS

The Advanced Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS) IMPACTS dataset consists of vertical atmospheric profile measurements collected by the Advanced Vertical Atmospheric Profiling System (AVAPS) dropsondes released from the NASA P-3 aircraft during the Investigation of Microphysics and Precipitation for Atlantic Coast-Threatening Snowstorms (IMPACTS) field campaign. IMPACTS was a three-year sequence of winter season deployments conducted to study snowstorms over the U.S Atlantic Coast (2020-2023). The campaign 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 significantly advance prediction capabilities. AVAPS uses a Global Positioning System (GPS) dropsonde to measure atmospheric state parameters (temperature, humidity, wind speed/direction, pressure) and location in 3-dimensional space during the dropsonde’s descent. The AVAPS dataset files are available from January 12, 2020, through February 28, 2023, in ASCII-ict format.