SAFARI 2000 CV-580: Aircraft Measurements of Aerosols and Clouds

The Cloud and Aerosol Research Group (CARG) at the University of Washington collected this dataset during the SAFARI-2000 Dry Season Aircraft campaign. It comprises in-situ measurements from 31 research flights over five southern African countries between 10 August and 18 September 2000. The data were gathered to study aerosol and trace gas properties from biomass burning, cloud microstructures, and surface albedo for comparison with satellite and ground-based observations.

Use Cases

• Analyzing emission factors for aerosols and trace gases from prescribed and non-prescribed biomass fires.
• Validating satellite-derived aerosol and cloud property measurements from the Terra platform.
• Investigating aerosol-cloud interaction mechanisms using in-situ microphysics data.
• Conducting closure studies by comparing in-situ and remote sensing measurements from the same aircraft platform.
• Mapping spectral albedo and bidirectional reflection distribution function (BRDF) of various land surfaces.

Strengths

• Campaign includes 31 dedicated research flights, providing substantial observational coverage.
• Designed for direct comparison with simultaneous measurements from the NASA ER-2 aircraft, Terra satellite, and ground stations.
• Covers a specific, well-defined dry season campaign from August 10 to September 18, 2000.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in the available metadata.
• Conflicting metadata exists: one platform lists a last updated date in 2026, while another shows the campaign end date in 2000.
• Exact row counts and file sizes are not documented.

Provenance

Source

Cloud and Aerosol Research Group (CARG), University of Washington

Collection Method

In-situ measurements aboard a Convair-580 research aircraft.

Time Range

2000-08-10 to 2000-09-18

Freshness

2026-04-09 22:50:26.516380 (from datagov, but conflicts with campaign end date)

Geography

Five countries in southern Africa, including the Atlantic Coast.