ESSDD Earth System Science Data Discussions ESSDD Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss. 1866-3591 Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/essd-2026-95 Dataset of aerosol, ozone, and meteorology observations at the surface coastal site of Henties Bay in Namibia Formenti Paola https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0372-1351 1 Klopper Danitza 2 6 Feron Anais 1 7 Cazaunau Mathieu 1 Chevaillier Servanne 1 Desboeufs Karine 1 Di Biagio Claudia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8273-6211 1 Baldo Clarissa https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2412-692X 1 Gaimoz Cécile 3 8 Michoud Vincent 1 Mirande-Bret Cécile 1 9 Triquet Sylvain 1 Hemeret François https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5111-2372 1 Valorso Richard 3 Broccardo Stephen 2 10 Namwoonde Andreas https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1209-2574 4 Hanghome Mattheus 4 11 Giorio Chiara https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7821-7398 5 Piketh Stuart J. 2 Université Paris Cité and Univ. Paris Est Créteil, CNRS, LISA, F−75013 Paris, France NorthWest University, Potchefstroom, South Africa Univ Paris Est Creteil and Université Paris Cité, CNRS, LISA, F−94010 Créteil, France Sam Nujoma Marine and Coastal Resources Research Centre, University of Namibia, Henties Bay, Namibia Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge, CB2 1EW, United Kingdom now at: University of Limpopo, Mankweng, South Africa now at: Eco&Phy Saclay, INRAE, France now at: CNRS INSU Division Technique, Gif-Sur-Yvette, France now at: University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biogenèse Membranaire (LBM), UMR 5200, F-33140, Villenave d’Ornon, France now at: Bay Area Environmental Research Institute / NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, U.S.A. now at: School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Department of Preclinical Studies, Neudam Campus, University of Namibia 27 04 2026 2026 1 26 Copyright: © 2026 Paola Formenti et al. 2026 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This article is available from https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2026-95/ The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2026-95/essd-2026-95.pdf

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&deg; S, 14.26&deg; 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).</p> <p>In this paper we present the entire quality-controlled dataset which is now made available to the public with the following DOI:</p> <ul> <li>Aerosol elemental and water-soluble ionic composition during 2016 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.57932/3998ece8-9629-44bf-a826-b7ae1b25e8e6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.57932/3998ece8-9629-44bf-a826-b7ae1b25e8e6</a>; Formenti et al., 2026)</li> <li>Aerosol elemental, water-soluble ionic and dissolved elemental composition during 2017 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.57932/2ac79cd1-282a-4004-87d5-38f0ebcaf40c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.57932/2ac79cd1-282a-4004-87d5-38f0ebcaf40c</a>; Formenti, 2023)</li> <li>Aerosol mass concentration between 2012 and 2019 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.57932/d5bcf2ef-1c1f-4f87-9945-e5ec9a948112" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.57932/d5bcf2ef-1c1f-4f87-9945-e5ec9a948112</a>; Valorso et al., 2026a)</li> <li>Ozone mixing ratio between 2012 and 2019 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.57932/59ed8db1-2a18-4429-a153-fffa61cdbb41" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.57932/59ed8db1-2a18-4429-a153-fffa61cdbb41</a>; Valorso et al., 2026b)</li> <li>Aerosol particle scattering between 2015 and 2019 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.57932/4d3613b6-4c49-417f-ac1d-fd825602fbfb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.57932/4d3613b6-4c49-417f-ac1d-fd825602fbfb</a>; Valorso et al., 2026c)</li> <li>Aerosol equivalent black carbon concentration between 2012 and 2019 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.57932/c8c755ef-bf7a-441e-a4c6-1ee875e5f570" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.57932/c8c755ef-bf7a-441e-a4c6-1ee875e5f570</a>; Valorso et al., 2026d)</li> <li>Wind speed and direction between 2012 and 2019 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.57932/99b707a5-1cba-4b61-915b-829aa742a726" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.57932/99b707a5-1cba-4b61-915b-829aa742a726</a>; Valorso et al., 2026e)</li> <li>Basic meteorology between 2018 and 2019 (<a href="https://doi.org/10.57932/9d344c70-2f09-4fff-a2d9-ce72f5cf1757" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.57932/9d344c70-2f09-4fff-a2d9-ce72f5cf1757</a>; Valorso et al., 2026f)</li> </ul> <p>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.

 Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique GDRI-ARSAIO (PICS) “Longterm observations of aerosol properties in Southern Africa” (contract no. 260888) National Research Foundation GDRI-ARSAIO Ministère de l'Europe et des Affaires Étrangères PHC PROTEA contract n. 33913SF Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur, de la Recherche et de l'Innovation PHC PROTEA contract n. 33913SF