NAMMA Aircraft Cloud Condensed Water Content Measurements

Cloud Condensed Water Content measurements were collected using a counterflow virtual impactor (CVI) aboard a NASA DC-8 aircraft during the 2006 African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) campaign. The dataset includes condensed water content for particles larger than 8 microns and Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) data, with supporting measurements from a tunable diode laser hygrometer and particle counters. NASA produced this dataset to study the structure of African Easterly Waves and Mesoscale Convective Systems over western Africa.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the relationship between Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) concentrations and cloud water content in African monsoon systems.
• Studying the microphysical properties of ice and liquid water in particles larger than 8 microns within Mesoscale Convective Systems.
• Investigating the vertical and horizontal distribution of water vapor measured by the TDL hygrometer during aircraft transects.
• Correlating non-volatile particle counts from optical and condensation nuclei counters with regional energy budget impacts.

Strengths

• Data originates from a dedicated NASA field campaign (NAMMA) employing aircraft-based instrumentation.
• Includes multiple, co-located atmospheric measurements (condensed water, CCN, water vapor, particle counts) for integrated analysis.
• Focuses on a specific, climatically important region (West Africa and the Cape Verde Islands) during the 2006 monsoon season.

Limitations

• Key structural metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all provided sources.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' date between platforms (2006-09-12 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026-03-13 on Data.gov), suggesting potential metadata errors.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Aircraft-based measurements using a counterflow virtual impactor (CVI), a MayComm Tunable Diode Laser (TDL) hygrometer, an optical particle counter, a condensation nuclei counter, and an impactor.

Time Range

August 2006

Freshness

2026-03-13 00:00:39.922245

Geography

Cape Verde Islands and continental western Africa, over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Senegal.