SAFARI 2000 Aerosol and Water Vapor Data from Kalahari Transect

Southern Africa's Kalahari Transect was the location for aerosol and water vapor measurements collected during the SAFARI 2000 Wet Season Campaign. NASA gathered this dataset using a Microtops sunphotometer at four sites, recording data every 30 minutes between March 3 and March 18, 2000. The primary purpose was to document site conditions, aid in remote sensing data correction, and validate EOS products like MODIS and MISR.

Use Cases

• Validating MODIS and MISR satellite aerosol optical thickness (AOT) products using ground-truth measurements at 340, 440, 675, 870, and 936 nm wavelengths.
• Modeling atmospheric radiative transfer and canopy productivity by applying the provided Angstrom Coefficient to estimate AOT at other wavelengths.
• Correcting remote sensing data from the Kalahari region by using contemporaneous column water vapor and AOT measurements as atmospheric correction inputs.
• Studying short-term aerosol and water vapor variability in a semi-arid environment using time-series data collected at 30-minute intervals.
• Documenting baseline atmospheric conditions at four specific sites along the Kalahari Transect for ecological and climate studies.

Strengths

• Provides high-temporal-resolution data with measurements recorded every 30 minutes.
• Includes multi-spectral aerosol optical thickness data at five specific wavelengths (340, 440, 675, 870, 936 nm).
• Contains an Angstrom Coefficient estimate, enabling the derivation of AOT at wavelengths beyond those directly measured.
• Dataset is curated by NASA, a leading authority in Earth science and remote sensing.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a short, 16-day campaign in March 2000.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to only four measurement sites along a single transect.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata exists between platforms (2000-03-18 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026-03-12 on Data.gov), creating uncertainty about provenance timeliness.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Field measurements collected using a Microtops sunphotometer during the SAFARI 2000 Kalahari Wet Season Campaign.

Time Range

2000-03-03 to 2000-03-18

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:18:41.233068

Geography

Four sites along the Kalahari Transect in Southern Africa.