SAFARI 2000 Hand-Held Aerosol Measurements Across Zambia

Zambia hosts a dataset of atmospheric aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and precipitable water measurements from the SAFARI 2000 field campaign. The data were collected using hand-held 4-band hazemeters at over 35 ground sites across the country during the year 2000. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the organizing body for this dataset.

Use Cases

• Analyzing spatial patterns of aerosol optical depth (AOT) across Zambia using columns like AOT_1020, AOT_880, AOT_765, AOT_680, AOT_530, AOT_440, and AOT_380.
• Studying diurnal or campaign-period variations in atmospheric water vapor via the Water(cm) column.
• Calculating air mass influence on optical measurements using the provided Air_Mass column.
• Correlating ground-based hazemeter readings with satellite observations for validation during the SAFARI 2000 campaign.
• Mapping measurement site locations using the provided site names and example latitude/longitude coordinates (e.g., Lat=-11.173000, Long=24.190000).

Strengths

• Provides measurements from a dense network of over 35 distinct ground sites across Zambia.
• Captures multi-spectral aerosol optical depth at seven specific wavelengths (1020nm, 880nm, 765nm, 680nm, 530nm, 440nm, 380nm).
• Includes concurrent measurements of precipitable water vapor and air mass for context.

Limitations

• Data quality is noted as not meeting the high standards of automatic sunphotometers, as it comes from hand-held hazemeters.
• Specific row counts, total dataset size, and a complete column list are not provided by any source.
• There is a significant conflict in the 'last updated' metadata, with one source showing a future date (2026-03-12) and another showing the campaign period (2000-09-30).

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Collection Method

Field measurements gathered using Hand Held 4-band Hazemeters during the SAFARI 2000 campaign.

Time Range

2000 (campaign period, with example data from September 2000).

Freshness

2000-09-30 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Zambia, with over 35 specified measurement sites (e.g., Mongu, Lusaka, Livingstone, Mwinilunga).