CAMEX-4 Hurricane Atmospheric Profiles from DC-8 Dropsondes

2001 data from the fourth Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX-4) campaign, collected by NASA. This dataset contains high-resolution vertical profiles of atmospheric state parameters, measured by GPS-equipped dropsondes released from a DC-8 aircraft during hurricane studies. Each sonde transmitted temperature, humidity, wind, and pressure data every half-second during its descent to the ocean surface.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical wind shear profiles within hurricanes using wind speed and direction columns.
• Studying thermodynamic structure of storms through temperature, humidity, and pressure time-series.
• Validating satellite-derived atmospheric data with in-situ sonde measurements.
• Investigating hurricane intensity changes by correlating environmental profiles with storm track data.
• Mapping three-dimensional atmospheric conditions using GPS-derived location data from each sonde.

Strengths

• Data provides high-temporal-resolution vertical profiles with measurements recorded every half-second.
• Dataset is hosted by NASA, an authoritative source for atmospheric and climate research data.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates established importance and curation.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: last update dates differ significantly between platforms (2001 vs. 2026).
• Specific dataset size, row count, and complete column schema are not provided by any source.
• License is ambiguously listed as 'other-license-specified' without clear terms.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Measured by DC-8 Dropsonde System (D8D) using dropwindsondes with GPS receivers released from an aircraft.

Time Range

2001

Freshness

2026-03-13 07:07:41.831002

Geography

Coverage area of the CAMEX-4 hurricane research campaign, primarily over ocean surfaces.