NAMMA

NAMMA LOCATION

The DC-8 is based on Sal Island in the Cape Verde Islands and flown in coordination with NOAA Hurricane Research Division aircraft operating in the central and eastern Atlantic basin.

Click to view the Science Team presentations from June 5-6,2006 in a new window

NAMMA DETAILS

DC-8 ROLE

NAMMA investigators will coordinate between aircraft measurements, ground station measurements, satellite observations, and models in the pursuit of the mission objectives.

The DC-8 will be equipped with a comprehensive suite of in-situ and remote sensing instrumentation to provide chemical, physical and optical measurements, including airborne precipitation radar, a microwave atmospheric sounder, cloud particle probes, airborne lidar, and the release of balloon-borne radiosondes.

Data gathered will be used to

characterize the thermodynamic and aerosol properties of the Saharan Air Layer (SAL), and investigate the impact of the SAL on tropical cyclones
describe the transition of amplifying African Easterly Waves (AEWs) into tropical storms over the eastern Atlantic Ocean
characterize the microphysical and cloud-active aerosol properties of AEWs and Mesoscale Convective Systems and their impacts on the updraft thermodynamics and interactions with the environment
study the processes, microphysics and dynamics of the precipitating convective systems
measure the impacts of aerosols on the efficiency of cloud precipitation processes, and influences on cyclone development
characterize precipitation processes with specific focus on the transition of convective systems from continental to maritime
analyze airborne meteorological measurements to help understand tropical cyclone genesis

NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Activities 2006 (NAMMA)

The NASA-sponsored NAMMA-06 will study the downstream or oceanic evolution of precipitating convective systems, largely as this evolution pertains to tropical cyclogenesis.

The NAMMA-06 campaign will leverage off one or more airborne science platforms, satellite remote sensors and ground-based instrumentation. NASA anticipates that the DC-8 high altitude research aircraft will serve as the primary research tool for NAMMA-06 investigations.

BACKGROUND

Tropical cyclonic storms pose a serious, imminent, and ongoing hazard to citizens of the United States. In recent years, NASA has investigated tropical cyclones using a three pronged approach. The NASA strategy entails blending datasets collected by satellite based sensors with a comprehensive suite of airborne sensors and numerical modeling studies.

NASA's field experiments have provided many new insights into the processes that govern hurricane growth and evolution. The Convection and Moisture Experiments (CAMEX-3, 1998; CAMEX-4, 2001; Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes [TCSP], 2005) have focused on tropical cyclone intensity change, genesis, rainfall and methods to improve numerical parameterizations and model data assimilation strategies.

Research planned under NAMMA-06 is related to the International African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Activities (AMMA) experiment, to be conducted during the Special Observation Period (SOP-3) of September 2006. The International AMMA campaign will employ extensive 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.

LINKS

The National Space Science & Technology Center (NSSTC) has a site on NAMMA
Future home of the Earth Science Project Office NAMMA site.
NASA's Earth Observatory overview of the NAMMA mission.
An overview of of NAMMA from NOAA's National Severe Storms Lab.