NAMMA Airborne Lidar Atmospheric Profiles

Fourteen flights between August 15 and September 12, 2006 collected atmospheric profiles during the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses campaign. The dataset contains Differential Absorption Lidar measurements of water vapor mixing ratio and aerosol scattering ratio from the NASA DC-8 aircraft, along with derived parameters like relative humidity and aerosol optical thickness.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of water vapor mixing ratio (g/kg) to study monsoon moisture transport.
• Investigating aerosol scattering and extinction ratios (815 nm) for aerosol-cloud interaction studies.
• Calculating derived thermodynamic parameters like equivalent potential temperature for atmospheric stability analysis.
• Mapping aerosol optical thickness profiles to assess atmospheric particulate loading over the study region.

Strengths

• Contains data from 14 dedicated campaign flights, providing a focused temporal snapshot.
• Reports primary lidar measurements (water vapor, aerosol scattering) alongside multiple derived atmospheric parameters.
• Data is collected from an airborne platform (DC-8), offering high spatial resolution profiles.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, file sizes, and exact column names are unavailable from all sources.
• License information is inconsistently reported: one source specifies 'other-license-specified', others list 'None'.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is limited to a one-month campaign in 2006.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Airborne Differential Absorption Lidar system operated from the NASA DC-8 aircraft.

Time Range

August 15, 2006 to September 12, 2006

Freshness

2026-03-12 23:59:47.856866

Geography

Flight paths during the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses campaign.