SAFARI 2000 Surface Atmospheric Radiation and Meteorological Measurements

SMART-COMMIT instruments collected detailed in-situ atmospheric measurements during the SAFARI 2000 Dry Season Aircraft Campaign. This mobile system was deployed at Skukuza Airport in South Africa's Kruger National Park from August 15 to September 17, 2000. The mission supported Earth Observing System validation, innovative atmospheric investigations, and long-term monitoring goals.

Use Cases

• Validating satellite-derived atmospheric radiation products using ground-truth measurements of global, diffuse, and direct solar irradiance.
• Analyzing the relationship between spectral solar downward irradiance and concurrent surface meteorological conditions like air temperature and humidity.
• Studying diurnal and seasonal patterns of longwave infrared radiation in a dry season savanna environment.
• Correlating surface wind and pressure data with atmospheric optical and microphysical properties measured in-situ.

Strengths

• Data originates from a coordinated, well-documented international field campaign (SAFARI 2000).
• Simultaneous measurements from multiple instrument types (broadband radiometers, spectral radiometer, meteorological sensors) provide a multi-faceted atmospheric characterization.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot of a specific, climatically significant dry season period.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts: one source lists a last update in 2026, while another indicates the data collection ended in 2000, creating uncertainty about data currency.
• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are unknown across all platforms.
• Limited temporal coverage to approximately one month in late 2000.

Provenance

Source

ORNL_CLOUD (Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center for Biogeochemical Dynamics).

Collection Method

In-situ and remote sensing measurements from a mobile suite of instruments (SMART-COMMIT) deployed at a ground site.

Time Range

2000-08-15 to 2000-09-17

Freshness

2026-03-12 22:15:50.361565

Geography

Skukuza Airport, Kruger National Park, South Africa.