AMMA_SOP1-2
The African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA) was an international project to improve our knowledge and understanding of the West African monsoon (WAM), its variability on daily-to-interannual time scales, and its effects on the status of the atmosphere (Redelsperger et al., 2006). The experimental strategy of the AMMA program was based on embedded multi-year, seasonal and intensive observation periods (Janicot et al., 2008; Lebel et al., 2010). The observations used in this paper were conducted during the intensive observations periods, called Special Observing Periods (SOPs). The summertime observations (periods SOP1 and SOP2) started on 31 May 2006 and ended on 17 July 2006 and were dedicated to the fine description of the interactions between aerosols and convection. The aircraft observations were conducted from Niamey, Niger, onboard the Service des Avions Français Instruments pour la Recherche en Environnement (SAFIRE) ATR-42, which operated twenty research flights in the area between 6° and 20°N, therefore crossing the ITCZ to the north to contrast the Sahara and the Sahelian dust properties in their respective boundary layers (Reeves et al., 2010; Formenti et al., 2011).
