NAMMA DC-8 Aircraft Meteorological Measurements from West Africa Campaign

NASA's DC-8 aircraft collected detailed in-flight meteorological data during the 2006 African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses campaign. The dataset captures measurements from a specialized Meteorological Measurement System, including air velocity, temperature, pressure, and aircraft attitude over West Africa and the Cape Verde Islands. This field investigation aimed to characterize African Easterly Waves and Mesoscale Convective Systems.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the structure and evolution of African Easterly Waves using time-series air velocity and pressure data.
• Studying Mesoscale Convective System impacts on regional energy budgets with total temperature probe readings.
• Calibrating or validating remote sensing data with precise in-situ measurements of atmospheric static pressure and upper-air temperature.
• Researching aircraft-based sensor performance and data acquisition systems for atmospheric science.

Strengths

• Data originates from a major NASA field campaign (NAMMA) with a clear scientific mission.
• The Meteorological Measurement System integrates multiple specialized probes, including three total temperature probes with different response times and dedicated static pressure systems.
• Measurements are tied to precise aircraft motion sensing via an embedded GPS ring laser inertial navigation system.

Limitations

• Core dataset metrics like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all platforms.
• Conflicting last update dates exist: one source shows 2006-09-12, while another shows a future date of 2026-03 12.
• The license is specified as 'other-license-specified' on one platform but is 'None' on another, creating ambiguity.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Science Mission Directorate.

Collection Method

Data gathered via a customized Meteorological Measurement System installed on a DC-8 aircraft during the NAMMA field campaign.

Time Range

August 2006

Freshness

2006-09-12

Geography

West Africa, Cape Verde Islands, and surrounding region.