The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES): Overview and Findings

We present an overview of and findings from the North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES). NAAMES is a 5-year NASA Earth Venture Suborbital mission focused on studying the coupled ocean ecosystem and atmosphere. NAAMES employed a combination of ship-based, airborne, autonomous sensor, and remote sensing measurements to study the dynamics of the phytoplankton boom-bust cycle in the North Atlantic and the impacts of plankton ecosystems on marine aerosols and clouds. Four deployments coincide with the seasonal cycle of phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean: the Winter Transition (November 5 - December 2, 2015), the Bloom Climax (May 11 - June 5, 2016), the Deceleration Phase (August 30 - September 24, 2017), and the Acceleration Phase (March 20 - April 13, 2018). Additional information about the NAAMES project can be found at https://naames.larc.nasa.gov/, and all data are freely and publicly available in the NAAMES field data archive (https://www-air.larc.nasa.gov/missions/naames/index.html).