the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 27 Apr 2026
Dataset of aerosol, ozone, and meteorology observations at the surface coastal site of Henties Bay in Namibia
Abstract. Between 2012 and 2019, measurements of aerosol mass concentration, composition of the inorganic fraction, optical properties, meteorology and ozone were conducted at the Henties Bay Aerosol Observatory (HBAO) located at the Sam Nujoma Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre of the University of Namibia at Henties Bay (22.09° S, 14.26° E; 30 m above mean sea level) in Namibia. The site aimed at filling a gap in observation of the boundary layer aerosol at the coastal interface between the hyper-arid Namib desert and the south East Atlantic Ocean, characterised by haziness due to frequent mineral dust plumes and persistent sea spray. Some of the data were already validated and analysed by Formenti et al. (2018), Klopper et al. (2020), Desboeufs et al. (2024).
In this paper we present the entire quality-controlled dataset which is now made available to the public with the following DOI:
- Aerosol elemental and water-soluble ionic composition during 2016 (https://doi.org/10.57932/3998ece8-9629-44bf-a826-b7ae1b25e8e6; Formenti et al., 2026)
- Aerosol elemental, water-soluble ionic and dissolved elemental composition during 2017 (https://doi.org/10.57932/2ac79cd1-282a-4004-87d5-38f0ebcaf40c; Formenti, 2023)
- Aerosol mass concentration between 2012 and 2019 (https://doi.org/10.57932/d5bcf2ef-1c1f-4f87-9945-e5ec9a948112; Valorso et al., 2026a)
- Ozone mixing ratio between 2012 and 2019 (https://doi.org/10.57932/59ed8db1-2a18-4429-a153-fffa61cdbb41; Valorso et al., 2026b)
- Aerosol particle scattering between 2015 and 2019 (https://doi.org/10.57932/4d3613b6-4c49-417f-ac1d-fd825602fbfb; Valorso et al., 2026c)
- Aerosol equivalent black carbon concentration between 2012 and 2019 (https://doi.org/10.57932/c8c755ef-bf7a-441e-a4c6-1ee875e5f570; Valorso et al., 2026d)
- Wind speed and direction between 2012 and 2019 (https://doi.org/10.57932/99b707a5-1cba-4b61-915b-829aa742a726; Valorso et al., 2026e)
- Basic meteorology between 2018 and 2019 (https://doi.org/10.57932/9d344c70-2f09-4fff-a2d9-ce72f5cf1757; Valorso et al., 2026f)
These research-quality data, unique for the area, have many uses, including the determination of seasonal changes in the atmospheric composition and the validation of climate and weather modeling output and satellite-retrieved aerosol products.
Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors serves as topic editor for the special issue to which this paper belongs.
Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this paper. While Copernicus Publications makes every effort to include appropriate place names, the final responsibility lies with the authors. Views expressed in the text are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.- Preprint
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Status: open (until 10 Jul 2026)
- RC1: 'Comment on essd-2026-95', Anonymous Referee #1, 10 Jun 2026 reply
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RC2: 'Comment on essd-2026-95', Anonymous Referee #2, 22 Jun 2026
reply
This paper presents a suite of observed datasets of aerosol, ozone and other paraemetrs in Henties Bay in Nambia. My comments are as below:
1. Good collection of observed dataset and the challenge remains for collecting regularly without any gap.
2. Most of the data is already in open source for public use.
3. Abstarct is missing any new findings or any of the results from the analyses from the dataset.
4. Overall paper is well written with one or two speliing issues.
5. Results and discussion not highlighting any specific new results. Lack of new findings.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-95-RC2
Data sets
Dataset on aerosol elemental and water-soluble ionic composition during 2016 P. Formenti et al. https://doi.org/10.57932/3998ece8-9629-44bf-a826-b7ae1b25e8e6
Atmospheric concentrations of total and dissolved elements and water-soluble ions measured over coastal Namibia in 2017 P. Formenti https://doi.org/10.57932/2ac79cd1-282a-4004-87d5-38f0ebcaf40c
Aerosol mass concentrations measured over coastal Namibia from 2012 to 2019 R. Valorso et al. https://doi.org/10.57932/d5bcf2ef-1c1f-4f87-9945-e5ec9a948112
Aerosol scattering coefficient measured over coastal Namibia from 2015 to 2019 R. Valorso et al. https://doi.org/10.57932/4d3613b6-4c49-417f-ac1d-fd825602fbfb
Equivalent black carbon mass concentration measured over coastal Namibia from 2012 to 2019 R. Valorso et al. https://doi.org/10.57932/c8c755ef-bf7a-441e-a4c6-1ee875e5f570
Wind speed and direction measured over coastal Namibia from 2012 to 2019 R. Valorso et al. https://doi.org/10.57932/99b707a5-1cba-4b61-915b-829aa742a726
Air temperature, humidity and pressure measured over coastal Namibia from 2018 to 2019 R. Valorso et al. https://doi.org/10.57932/9d344c70-2f09-4fff-a2d9-ce72f5cf1757
Ozone mixing ratio measured over coastal Namibia from 2012 to 2019 R. Valorso et al. https://doi.org/10.57932/59ed8db1-2a18-4429-a153-fffa61cdbb41
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- 1
The manuscript by Formenti et al. presents a valuable and comprehensive dataset collected at the Henties Bay Aerosol Observatory (HBAO), Namibia, including aerosol optical properties, aerosol mass concentrations, equivalent black carbon (eBC), ozone, meteorological observations, and chemical composition measurements. This dataset is extremely useful for research on aerosol transport, marine boundary layer processes, atmospheric chemistry, and model evaluation since HBAO site fills a significant observational gap across the southeast Atlantic coastal region. Overall, the dataset was of significant scientific value and the manuscript was well-structured. The measurements, which span a number of years and integrate numerous complementary observational techniques, offer a resource that will be helpful to a wide range of people. However, I found that some parts of the Results section are difficult to follow because the connection between the text, the figures, and the corresponding interpretations is not always immediately clear. In addition, several figures rely heavily on the captions or the main text for their interpretation, making them less self-contained than they could be. The manuscript also occasionally assumes a level of familiarity with the dataset that external readers may not have. Improving the clarity of the figures and making some of the interpretative steps more explicit would substantially enhance the accessibility and long-term usability of this otherwise valuable dataset.
None of the comments below diminish the overall value of the dataset, which I believe will constitute an important resource for the atmospheric science community. My suggestions are primarily intended to improve the clarity and long-term usability of the manuscript and its associated data products. Overall, I believe that the manuscript would benefit from minor revisions before publication. My suggestions are reported in the supplement file.