Abstract:
The NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses (NAMMA) campaign is a field research investigation sponsored by the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). This mission was based in the Cape Verde Islands, 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. NASA will also made extensive use of its orbiting satellites (including Aqua, TRMM, and the recently-launched Cloudsat/CALIPSO) and modeling capabilities to improve its forecasts and flight plans.
The Second Generation Airborne Precipitation Radar (APR-2) is a dual-frequency (14 GHz & 35 GHz), Doppler, dual-polarization radar system that includes digital, real-time pulse compression, extremely compact RF electronics, and a large deployable dual-frequency cylindrical parabolic antenna subsystem. This system measures radar reflectivity and doppler velocity at both the Ku- and Ka-band.