NAMMA HAMSR Microwave Sounder Data for West African Monsoon Analysis

West African atmospheric data from the 2006 NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses campaign. The dataset contains measurements from the High Altitude MMIC Sounding Radiometer, a 25-channel cross-track scanner with three frequency bands for temperature and humidity sounding. It was collected from aircraft based in the Cape Verde Islands to study African Easterly Waves and Mesoscale Convective Systems.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived temperature and humidity profiles using the 25-channel brightness temperature data.
• Analyzing the structure of African Easterly Waves (AEWs) using time-series atmospheric measurements.
• Studying water vapor distribution in West Africa with the 183 GHz humidity-sounding band.
• Assessing calibration methods for microwave sounders using the instrument's internal calibration target data.
• Investigating Mesoscale Convective Systems via cross-track scanned radiance observations.

Strengths

• Instrument provides high radiometric sensitivity, typically 0.1 K for composite sampling cells.
• Features continuous self-calibration with accuracy better than 1 K for temperature and 2 K for water vapor sounding.
• Data covers a specific, focused campaign (NAMMA) designed to study key atmospheric phenomena in West Africa.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA Earthdata and Data.gov indicates recognized importance and curation.

Limitations

• Specific row count, file size, and complete column schema are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist: one source lists 2006-09-12, while others list 2026-03-12.

Provenance

Source

GHRC_DAAC (Global Hydrology Resource Center Distributed Active Archive Center)

Collection Method

Data collected by the HAMSR instrument, a cross-track scanning microwave sounder, onboard aircraft during the NAMMA field campaign.

Time Range

August 2006

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:59:31.782922

Geography

Cape Verde Islands and continental western Africa