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When: May 2026
Where: Texas and New Mexico from Houston, Texas
Platforms: NOAA WP-3D
Two decades after the landmark TexAQS 2000 and 2006 campaigns, the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) in collaboration with the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) will lead TexAQS 2026 to investigate the evolving atmospheric landscape of Texas air quality. While U.S. air quality has seen decades of improvement, more recent trends in ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) have improved only slowly or even degraded in some regions. Major Texas metropolitan areas, including Houston and Dallas, are in serious nonattainment of the 8-hour ozone standard. This study aims to update scientific understanding of these challenges in the context of shifting emission sources, influence of wildfires, transboundary air pollution, and progress made in the petrochemical sector.
The campaign will utilize the NOAA WP-3D aircraft, equipped with a state-of-the-art chemical payload designed to measure a comprehensive suite of trace gases, greenhouse gases, and meteorological parameters. Staging from Houston in May 2026, the mission plans for approximately 50–100 flight hours.
The primary objectives include: (1) Characterizing Urban Air Quality: Re-evaluating the Greater Houston and Dallas/Fort Worth areas to document improvements since 2006 and areas where even greater gains may be realized. (2) Satellite and Model Validation: Providing in-situ data to validate NOAA JPSS (OMPS, CrIS) and other partner satellites such as NASA TEMPO and EUMETSAT Metop Second Generation (3) Improve the NOAA UFS-Chem forecast model and transitioning research to operational air quality forecast models. (4) Support US energy: Quantifying emissions, detecting leaks and identifying air quality impacts leading to improved mitigation. (5) Support FIFA World Cup 2026: Observing and predicting air quality around world cup venues in accordance with the President's Executive Order establishing the White House Task Force on supporting the FIFA World Cup.
