NAAMES (North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study)
The North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) is a five year investigation to resolve key processes controlling ocean system function, their influences on atmospheric aerosols and clouds and their implications for climate. Observations obtained during four, targeted ship and aircraft measurement campaigns, combined with the continuous satellite and in situ ocean sensor records, will enable improved predictive capabilities of Earth system processes and will inform ocean management and assessment of ecosystem change.
Visit the main NAAMES website for a centralized location of project news, information, links, and resources.
NAAMES Data
Ocean Color Satellite Measurements
- NAAMES-region images (MODISA & VIIRS data)
- NASA OceanColor Web
Field Measurements
Data measurements are publicly available:
Ship-based and in-water measurements
- Final NAAMES data are pubicly available via the SeaBASS File Search within 1 year of data collection
- Final NAAMES data are also available via the SeaBASS NAAMES Experiment Page
Aircraft-based measurements (Remote sensing and aerosol measurements)
- NASA Airborne Science Data for Atmospheric Composition (ASD-AC) = Data Repository during project lifecycle
- Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) = Final Archive
Additional information for NAAMES data submitters
SeaBASS Format
The SeaBASS file format consists of ASCII text files with data arranged in a two dimensional matrix of values (much like a spreadsheet), preceded by a series of standardized metadata headers. For more information and examples of how to arrange your files, please visit the different topics under "Data Contributors" in the main menu. After you have arranged your data in a SeaBASS format, you should use FCHECK, which is automated software that will scan your file(s) for any formatting problems, allowing you to make revisions before submitting them.
General instructions for submitting data to the NAAMES Data Repository
- Within 6 months after the end of each NAAMES cruise, ship-based measurements should be submitted to the NASA GSFC data repository in the SeaBASS file format. Ship-based aerosol measurements and all aircraft measurements are submitted to the separate NASA LaRC data repository
- Note that preliminary and final submissions must be in SeaBASS format (Raw data, spreadsheets and other formats are allowed to be uploaded to the repository, but do not count towards formal submissions.) Use the automated FCHECK software to scan your files to identify any formatting problems. Fix issues before submitting your files, and contact SeaBASS staff if you need help or need to discuss how to submit special data files that don't conform to normal SeaBASS format
- Instructions for connecting and uploading data to the Data Repository FTP site were emailed to each investigator. Contact SeaBASS staff or other data managers if you need help connecting
- Inside the data repository are data folders for each investigator (e.g., investigator_folders/YOURGROUP/data/naames2015). Create a subfolder called "preliminary" or "final" for the relevant submissions
- Within 12 months after the end of each NAAMES cruise, finalized ship-based measurements and accompanying documents and calibration information must be submitted to the data repository, after which point they will be archived in the publicly accessible SeaBASS database and search engine
Tools for working with data files in the SeaBASS format
Several software tools are available for reading SeaBASS files or converting them into different file formats.
- SeaBASS file readers for languages such as MATLAB, Perl and Python
- ICARTT converter for converting SeaBASS files to an ICARTT format
- netCDF converter for converting SeaBASS files to netCDF format
Details for connecting to the Data Repository (Updated March 19, 2018)
As of March 19, FTP was disabled and replaced by a new SFTP (SSH File Transfer Protocol) connection method. Instead of using shared login information, you will need to register individual accounts to connect. This affects all NAAMES investigators who need to browse or upload data to the Ship/Ocean Data Repository. The contents of the data repository are the same as before.
- First, please follow the general SeaBASS instructions for Setting up SFTP Access, starting with generating a SSH key
- As mentioned in the link in the previous step, once you have created your pair of SSH keys, email SeaBASS staff to request an account
- Attach your public key to the email (never share your private key though)
- Include your first and last name, and the email address that you want associated with your SeaBASS account
- Explicitly ask for access to the NAAMES group. By default, your new account grants you personal access to upload data to SeaBASS for non-NAAMES projects (in case you need to in the future), but you need to ask for NAAMES to be granted access to the special Data Repository
- SeaBASS staff will register your account and then email you your new username
- After you are granted a username, use SFTP software of your choice to connect. Point your SFTP software to your SSH keys, and use the following link:
yourusername@samoa.gsfc.nasa.gov:/naames
Substitute your personal username where that link says "yourusername". No password is explicitly needed beyond your SSH keys.
Upon connecting, you will be in the NAAMES Data Repository, which has the same organization as before. Browse and upload preliminary or final data within the subfolders as you did in the past. FYI, if you ever need to upload a non-NAAMES submission to SeaBASS, put it in your personal SeaBASS folder which can be found by replacing "/naames" in the previous link with your "/username".
Please keep your assigned username safe, however, email SeaBASS staff if you forget it.
Additional notes: It's fine if you routinely need to connect to SeaBASS from two or more computers (i.e., each has separate SSH keys). You may send multiple or additional public keys and request that we add them to your account.