SAFARI 2000 ETA Model Atmospheric Data for Southern Africa

SAFARI 2000 ETA Atmospheric Model Data contains operational regional forecast guidance for Southern Africa, produced by the South African Weather Service using the NCEP ETA model. The dataset covers wet and dry seasons for the year 2000, providing basic meteorological data for the SAFARI project. The model is a hydrostatic system with approximately 48 km horizontal grid spacing and 38 vertical levels.

Use Cases

• Analyzing regional atmospheric conditions during the SAFARI 2000 campaign using variables like geopotential height and atmospheric pressure.
• Studying vertical atmospheric profiles across 38 levels with data on temperature, humidity, and wind components.
• Investigating precipitation patterns and cloud properties over Southern Africa for the 2000 wet and dry seasons.
• Validating or comparing modern mesoscale weather models against this historical ETA model operational forecast data.
• Examining planetary boundary layer dynamics using data with layer depths ranging from 20 meters to 2 kilometers.

Strengths

• Model provides detailed vertical structure with 38 discrete levels for atmospheric analysis.
• Data has a defined operational history, used for regional forecast guidance by the South African Weather Service since November 1993.
• Covers key meteorological variables including temperature, wind components, humidity, precipitation, and cloud properties.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: one platform lists a last updated date of 2026-03 12 (future date), while another lists 2000 09 30, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Specific row counts, file sizes, and a complete column list are not provided by any source.
• The license is ambiguously listed as 'other license specified' without explicit terms.

Provenance

Source

South African Weather Service (SAWS), utilizing the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) ETA model.

Collection Method

Generated by the SAWS ETA model, a hydrostatic mesoscale model with data assimilation and prediction systems.

Time Range

2000 (covering wet and dry seasons), with model operational use from November 1993.

Freshness

2000 09 30 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Southern Africa (regional coverage provided by SAWS for operational guidance).