NAMMA Raw DC-8 Dropsonde V1

The NAMMA Raw DC-8 Dropsonde dataset consists of high-resolution vertical profiles of ambient pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction obtained by the DC-8 dropsonde system during the NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) field campaign. The NAMMA field campaign was based in the Cape Verde Island, 350 miles off the coast of Senegal in west Africa. Commencing in August 2006, NASA scientists employed surface observation networks and aircraft to characterize the evolution and structure of African Easterly Waves (AEWs) and Mesoscale Convective Systems over continental western Africa, and their associated impacts on regional water and energy budgets. The DC-8 dropsonde system uses an integrated, highly accurate, Global Positioning System (GPS)-located atmospheric profiling dropsonde measuring and recording current atmospheric conditions in a vertical column below the aircraft. Data files are available in ASCII format for the period of August 7, 2006 through September 12, 2006.