Articles | Volume 15, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12231-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-12231-2015
© Author(s) 2015. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
04 Nov 2015
Research article |
| 04 Nov 2015
The radiative impact of desert dust on orographic rain in the Cévennes–Vivarais area: a case study from HyMeX
C. Flamant
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, CNRS and UVSQ, UMR 8190 LATMOS, Paris, France
J.-P. Chaboureau
Laboratoire d'Aérologie, Université of Toulouse and CNRS, Toulouse, France
P. Chazette
LSCE, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
P. Di Girolamo
SI-Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Potenza, Italy
T. Bourrianne
CNRM, Météo-France-CNRS, Toulouse, France
J. Totems
LSCE, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
M. Cacciani
Dipartimento di Fisica – Università di Roma "Sapienza", Rome, Italy
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Gaëlle de Coëtlogon, Adrien Deroubaix, Cyrille Flamant, Laurent Menut, and Marco Gaetani
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15507–15521, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15507-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15507-2023, 2023
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14643–14672, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14643-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14643-2023, 2023
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Valerian Hahn, Ralf Meerkötter, Christiane Voigt, Sonja Gisinger, Daniel Sauer, Valéry Catoire, Volker Dreiling, Hugh Coe, Cyrille Flamant, Stefan Kaufmann, Jonas Kleine, Peter Knippertz, Manuel Moser, Philip Rosenberg, Hans Schlager, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, and Jonathan Taylor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8515–8530, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8515-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8515-2023, 2023
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Adrien Deroubaix, Laurent Menut, Cyrille Flamant, Peter Knippertz, Andreas H. Fink, Anneke Batenburg, Joel Brito, Cyrielle Denjean, Cheikh Dione, Régis Dupuy, Valerian Hahn, Norbert Kalthoff, Fabienne Lohou, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Guillaume Siour, Paolo Tuccella, and Christiane Voigt
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Within the framework of the international EUREC4A project, horizontal lidar measurements were carried out over Barbados from the French research aircraft ATR-42. These measurements highlighted the strong heterogeneity of the aerosol field (mainly dust and biomass burning aerosols) and therefore of the associated optical properties. This heterogeneity varies according to meteorological conditions and could significantly modulate the climatic impact of aerosols trapped over the tropical Atlantic.
Marco Gaetani, Benjamin Pohl, Maria del Carmen Alvarez Castro, Cyrille Flamant, and Paola Formenti
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During the dry austral winter, biomass fires in tropical Africa emit large amounts of smoke in the atmosphere, with large impacts on climate and air quality. The study of the relationship between atmospheric circulation and smoke transport shows that midlatitude atmospheric disturbances may deflect the smoke from tropical Africa towards southern Africa. Understanding the distribution of the smoke in the region is crucial for climate modelling and air quality monitoring.
Jonas Hamperl, Clément Capitaine, Jean-Baptiste Dherbecourt, Myriam Raybaut, Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, Bruno Grouiez, Laurence Régalia, Rosa Santagata, Corinne Evesque, Jean-Michel Melkonian, Antoine Godard, Andrew Seidl, Harald Sodemann, and Cyrille Flamant
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Cedric G. Ngoungue Langue, Christophe Lavaysse, Mathieu Vrac, Philippe Peyrillé, and Cyrille Flamant
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 893–912, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-893-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-893-2021, 2021
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This work assesses the forecast of the temperature over the Sahara, a key driver of the West African Monsoon, at a seasonal timescale. The seasonal models are able to reproduce the climatological state and some characteristics of the temperature during the rainy season in the Sahel. But, because of errors in the timing, the forecast skill scores are significant only for the first 4 weeks.
Patrick Chazette, Andreas Behrendt, Adolfo Comerón, Paolo Di Girolamo, Marco Di Paolantonio, Davide Dionisi, Cyrille Flamant, José Luis Gómez-Amo, Jérémy Lagarrigue, Frédéric Laly, Diego Lange, Constantino Muñoz-Porcar, Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez, Michaël Sicard, Donato Summa, Julien Totems, María Pilar Utrillas, Pedro C. Valdelomar, and Volker Wulfmeyer
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 5223–5242, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-5223-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-5223-2026, 2026
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Between October 2022 and January 2023, the Water Vapour Lidar Network Assimilation (WaLiNeAs) campaign was conducted on the western Mediterranean by four European countries. To improve the forecasting of heavy precipitation events, eight ground-based stations equipped with water vapour Raman lidars were strategically deployed. They offered a valuable chance to verify the consistency of the water vapour products of both the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) and ERA5 reanalysis.
Abou Bakr Merdji, Juan Cuesta, Fazzal Qayyum, Anton Lopatin, Oleg Dubovik, Durgesh Nandan Piyush, Laaziz El Amraoui, Paolo Di Girolamo, and Charles R. Trepte
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 4669–4701, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-4669-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-4669-2026, 2026
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This study presents a novel satellite approach to retrieve the vertical distribution of aerosol chemical species in the atmosphere. By combining spaceborne LIDAR and polarimetric observations, it distinguishes major natural and anthropogenic chemical particle species and their optical properties. Tests with realistic simulations show accurate retrieval of dust, pollution, and sea salt layers, enhancing global monitoring of aerosols relevant to air quality and climate.
Dominique Gantois, Alexandre Baron, Michaël Sicard, Valentin Duflot, Niels Groenen, Nelson Bègue, Sabine Eckhardt, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Martine De Mazière, Corinne Vigouroux, Guillaume Payen, Nicolas Marquestaut, Jean-Marc Metzger, Patrick Chazette, and Cyrille Flamant
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3070, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3070, 2026
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Smoke from Southern African and South American wildfires can travel for thousands of kilometers before reaching the Indian Ocean and Reunion Island. In this study, we use instruments measuring from the ground, from satellites, as well as atmospheric models, to track these smoke plumes and identify their origins and properties. Our findings should help future research focusing on the impact of these plumes on the atmospheric temperature.
Patrick Chazette
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 19, 4293–4311, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-4293-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-19-4293-2026, 2026
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A novel aerosol classification methodology based on Raman lidar observations is presented and applied to measurements acquired during the FENNEC field campaign. The temporal evolution of aerosol classes and optical properties is then used to perform a quantitative evaluation of numerical simulations from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) global reanalysis (EAC4).
Frédéric Laly, Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, Vincent Crenn, David Ledur, and Alexandre Marpillat
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 7629–7649, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7629-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-7629-2025, 2025
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This article presents the evolution of aerosol optical properties as derived from a Raman lidar in relation to relative humidity over the Paris area. It examines the influence of aerosol chemical compounds linked to air mass origins, as well as their relationship with the efficiency of aerosol growth. Such a study provides a better understanding of the interactions between aerosols and water vapour, which is important for reducing the uncertainties surrounding the Earth's radiative balance.
Sandrine Bony, Basile Poujol, Brett McKim, Nicolas Rochetin, Marie Lothon, Julia Windmiller, Nicolas Maury, Clarisse Dufaux, Louis Jaffeux, Patrick Chazette, and Julien Delanoë
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 17331–17362, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17331-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-17331-2025, 2025
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Space photographs of the Earth show that clouds form diverse, common but poorly understood cloud patterns. The analysis of observations gathered from research aircraft over the tropical ocean shows that the merging of thermals and clouds in the first kilometer of the atmosphere plays a key role in controlling the size, depth and spacing of clouds. This reveals a fundamental process through which clouds interact with each other and with their environment.
Tanguy Jonville, Maurus Borne, Cyrille Flamant, Juan Cuesta, Olivier Bock, Pierre Bosser, Christophe Lavaysse, Andreas Fink, and Peter Knippertz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 9765–9786, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9765-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9765-2025, 2025
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Tropical waves structure the atmosphere. Four types of tropical waves (equatorial Rossby – ER, Kelvin, MRG-TD1, and MRG-TD2 – mixed Rossby gravity–tropical depressions) are studied using filters, satellite measurements, and in situ data from the Clouds–Atmosphere Dynamics–Dust Interaction in West Africa (CADDIWA) campaign held in September 2021 in Cabo Verde. ER waves impact temperature and humidity above 2500 m, MRG-TD1 around 3500 m, and MRG-TD2 around 2000 m. Interactions between these waves favor tropical cyclone formation.
Daniele Zannoni, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Harald Sodemann, Iris Thurnherr, Cyrille Flamant, Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, Martin Werner, and Myriam Raybaut
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 9471–9495, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9471-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-9471-2025, 2025
Short summary
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High-resolution airborne observations reveal that mixing between the free troposphere and surface evapotranspiration flux primarily modulates the water vapor isotopic composition in the lower troposphere. Water vapor isotope structure variations occur on the scale of hundreds of meters, underlining the utility of stable isotopes for studying microscale atmospheric dynamics. This study also provides the basis for better validation of water vapor isotope remote sensing retrievals with surface observations.
Mégane Ventura, Fabien Waquet, Isabelle Chiapello, Gérard Brogniez, Frédéric Parol, Frédérique Auriol, Rodrigue Loisil, Cyril Delegove, Luc Blarel, Oleg Dubovik, Marc Mallet, Cyrille Flamant, and Paola Formenti
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 4005–4024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4005-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-4005-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Biomass-burning aerosols (BBAs) from Central Africa are transported above stratocumulus clouds. The absorption of solar energy by aerosols induces warming, altering the cloud dynamics. We developed an approach that combines polarimeter and lidar to quantify this. This methodology is assessed during the AEROCLO-sA (AErosol RadiatiOn and CLOud in Southern Africa) campaign. To validate it, we used irradiance measurements acquired during aircraft spiral descents. A major perspective is the generalization of this method to the global level.
Guillaume Feger, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, Thibaut Dauhut, Julien Delanoë, and Pierre Coutris
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7447–7465, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7447-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7447-2025, 2025
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Saharan air at the trade wind layer, cold pools, and dry upper troposphere has these three main factors inhibiting the cyclogenesis of the Pierre Henri mesoscale convective system. The findings were obtained through observations made during two flights of the Clouds-Atmospheric Dynamics-Dust Interactions in West Africa (CADDIWA) campaign and a convection-permitting simulation run with the Meso-NH model. They provide new insights into the complex dynamics of cyclogenesis in the Cabo Verde region and challenge the existing model of the Saharan Air Layer (SAL).
Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, and Frédéric Laly
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 18, 2681–2699, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2681-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-2681-2025, 2025
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The use of active remote sensing instruments to sample the atmospheric environment requires accurate calibration that is stable over time so that measurements are reproducible. This is the case for measurements of atmospheric water vapour using Raman lidar, which are of growing interest in the context of climate risks such as extreme precipitation. This study addresses this issue. It is based on six campaigns spread over a period of 7 years between 2016 and 2022.
Juan Escobar, Philippe Wautelet, Joris Pianezze, Florian Pantillon, Thibaut Dauhut, Christelle Barthe, and Jean-Pierre Chaboureau
Geosci. Model Dev., 18, 2679–2700, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2679-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-2679-2025, 2025
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The Meso-NH weather research code is adapted for GPUs using OpenACC, leading to significant performance and energy efficiency improvements. Called MESONH-v55-OpenACC, it includes enhanced memory management, communication optimizations and a new solver. On the AMD MI250X Adastra platform, it achieved up to 6× speedup and 2.3× energy efficiency gain compared to CPUs. Storm simulations at 100 m resolution show positive results, positioning the code for future use on exascale supercomputers.
Cedric G. Ngoungue Langue, Christophe Lavaysse, and Cyrille Flamant
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 147–168, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-147-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-147-2025, 2025
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The present study addresses the predictability of heat waves at subseasonal timescales in West African cities over the period 2001–2020. Two models, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and the UK Met Office models, were evaluated using two reanalyses: ERA5 and MERRA. The results suggest that at subseasonal timescales, the forecast models provide a better forecast than climatology, but the hit rate and false alarm rate are sub-optimal.
Frédéric Laly, Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, Jérémy Lagarrigue, Laurent Forges, and Cyrille Flamant
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 5579–5602, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5579-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-5579-2024, 2024
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We present a dataset of water vapor mixing ratio profiles acquired during the Water Vapor Lidar Network Assimilation campaign in fall and winter 2022 and summer 2023, using three lidar systems deployed on the western Mediterranean coastline. This innovative campaign provides access to lower-tropospheric water vapor variability to constrain meteorological forecasting models. The scientific objective is to improve forecasting of heavy-precipation events that lead to flash floods and landslides.
José Alex Zenteno-Hernández, Adolfo Comerón, Federico Dios, Alejandro Rodríguez-Gómez, Constantino Muñoz-Porcar, Michaël Sicard, Noemi Franco, Andreas Behrendt, and Paolo Di Girolamo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4687–4694, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4687-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4687-2024, 2024
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We study how the spectral characteristics of a solid-state laser in an atmospheric temperature profiling lidar using the Raman technique impact the temperature retrieval accuracy. We find that the spectral widening, with respect to a seeded laser, has virtually no impact, while crystal-rod temperature variations in the laser must be kept within a range of 1 K for the uncertainty in the atmospheric temperature below 1 K. The study is carried out through spectroscopy simulations.
Maëlie Chazette, Patrick Chazette, Ilja M. Reiter, Xiaoxia Shang, Julien Totems, Jean-Philippe Orts, Irène Xueref-Remy, and Nicolas Montes
Biogeosciences, 21, 3289–3303, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3289-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3289-2024, 2024
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The approach presented is original in its coupling between field observations and airborne lidar observations. It has been applied to an instrumented reference forest site in the south of France, which is heavily impacted by climate change. It leads to the evaluation of tree heights and ends with assessments of aerial and root carbon stocks. A detailed assessment of uncertainties is presented to add a level of reliability to the scientific products delivered.
Sarah Tinorua, Cyrielle Denjean, Pierre Nabat, Véronique Pont, Mathilde Arnaud, Thierry Bourrianne, Maria Dias Alves, and Eric Gardrat
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3897–3915, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3897-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3897-2024, 2024
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The three most widely used techniques for measuring black carbon (BC) have been deployed continuously for 2 years at a French high-altitude research station. Despite a similar temporal variation in the BC load, we found significant biases by up to a factor of 8 between the three instruments. This study raises questions about the relevance of using these instruments for specific background sites, as well as the processing of their data, which can vary according to the atmospheric conditions.
Chenjie Yu, Edouard Pangui, Kevin Tu, Mathieu Cazaunau, Maxime Feingesicht, Landsheere Xavier, Thierry Bourrianne, Vincent Michoud, Christopher Cantrell, Timothy B. Onasch, Andrew Freedman, and Paola Formenti
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 3419–3437, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3419-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-3419-2024, 2024
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To meet the requirements for measuring aerosol optical properties on airborne platforms and conducting dual-wavelength measurements, we introduced A2S2, an airborne dual-wavelength cavity-attenuated phase-shift single monitor. This study reports the results in the laboratory and an aircraft campaign over Paris and its surrounding regions. The results demonstrate A2S2's reliability in measuring aerosol optical properties at both wavelengths and its suitability for future aircraft campaigns.
Cyrille Flamant, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, Marco Gaetani, Kerstin Schepanski, and Paola Formenti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4265–4288, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4265-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4265-2024, 2024
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In the austral dry season, the atmospheric composition over southern Africa is dominated by biomass burning aerosols and terrigenous aerosols (so-called mineral dust). This study suggests that the radiative effect of biomass burning aerosols needs to be taken into account to properly forecast dust emissions in Namibia.
Maud Leriche, Pierre Tulet, Laurent Deguillaume, Frédéric Burnet, Aurélie Colomb, Agnès Borbon, Corinne Jambert, Valentin Duflot, Stéphan Houdier, Jean-Luc Jaffrezo, Mickaël Vaïtilingom, Pamela Dominutti, Manon Rocco, Camille Mouchel-Vallon, Samira El Gdachi, Maxence Brissy, Maroua Fathalli, Nicolas Maury, Bert Verreyken, Crist Amelynck, Niels Schoon, Valérie Gros, Jean-Marc Pichon, Mickael Ribeiro, Eric Pique, Emmanuel Leclerc, Thierry Bourrianne, Axel Roy, Eric Moulin, Joël Barrie, Jean-Marc Metzger, Guillaume Péris, Christian Guadagno, Chatrapatty Bhugwant, Jean-Mathieu Tibere, Arnaud Tournigand, Evelyn Freney, Karine Sellegri, Anne-Marie Delort, Pierre Amato, Muriel Joly, Jean-Luc Baray, Pascal Renard, Angelica Bianco, Anne Réchou, and Guillaume Payen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4129–4155, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4129-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4129-2024, 2024
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Aerosol particles in the atmosphere play a key role in climate change and air pollution. A large number of aerosol particles are formed from the oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs and secondary organic aerosols – SOA). An important field campaign was organized on Réunion in March–April 2019 to understand the formation of SOA in a tropical atmosphere mostly influenced by VOCs emitted by forest and in the presence of clouds. This work synthesizes the results of this campaign.
Sarah Tinorua, Cyrielle Denjean, Pierre Nabat, Thierry Bourrianne, Véronique Pont, François Gheusi, and Emmanuel Leclerc
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1801–1824, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1801-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1801-2024, 2024
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At a French high-altitude site, where many complex interactions between black carbon (BC), radiation, clouds and snow impact climate, 2 years of refractive BC (rBC) and aerosol optical and microphysical measurements have been made. We observed strong seasonal rBC properties variations, with an enhanced absorption in summer compared to winter. The combination of rBC emission sources, transport pathways, atmospheric dynamics and chemical processes explains the rBC light absorption seasonality.
Karine Desboeufs, Paola Formenti, Raquel Torres-Sánchez, Kerstin Schepanski, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, Hendrik Andersen, Jan Cermak, Stefanie Feuerstein, Benoit Laurent, Danitza Klopper, Andreas Namwoonde, Mathieu Cazaunau, Servanne Chevaillier, Anaïs Feron, Cécile Mirande-Bret, Sylvain Triquet, and Stuart J. Piketh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1525–1541, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1525-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1525-2024, 2024
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This study investigates the fractional solubility of iron (Fe) in dust particles along the coast of Namibia, a critical region for the atmospheric Fe supply of the South Atlantic Ocean. Our results suggest a possible two-way interplay whereby marine biogenic emissions from the coastal marine ecosystems into the atmosphere would increase the solubility of Fe-bearing dust by photo-reduction processes. The subsequent deposition of soluble Fe could act to further enhance marine biogenic emissions.
Maurus Borne, Peter Knippertz, Martin Weissmann, Benjamin Witschas, Cyrille Flamant, Rosimar Rios-Berrios, and Peter Veals
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 561–581, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-561-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-561-2024, 2024
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This study assesses the quality of Aeolus wind measurements over the tropical Atlantic. The results identified the accuracy and precision of the Aeolus wind measurements and the potential source of errors. For instance, the study revealed atmospheric conditions that can deteriorate the measurement quality, such as weaker laser signal in cloudy or dusty conditions, and confirmed the presence of an orbital-dependant bias. These results can help to improve the Aeolus wind measurement algorithm.
Gaëlle de Coëtlogon, Adrien Deroubaix, Cyrille Flamant, Laurent Menut, and Marco Gaetani
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15507–15521, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15507-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15507-2023, 2023
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Using a numerical atmospheric model, we found that cooling sea surface temperatures along the southern coast of West Africa in July cause the “little dry season”. This effect reduces humidity and pollutant transport inland, potentially enhancing West Africa's synoptic and seasonal forecasting.
Patrick Chazette and Jean-Christophe Raut
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5847–5861, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5847-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5847-2023, 2023
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The vertical profiles of the effective radii of ice crystals and ice water content in Arctic semi-transparent stratiform clouds were assessed using quantitative ground-based lidar measurements. The field campaign was part of the Pollution in the ARCtic System (PARCS) project which took place from 13 to 26 May 2016 in Hammerfest (70° 39′ 48″ N, 23° 41′ 00″ E). We show that under certain cloud conditions, lidar measurement combined with a dedicated algorithmic approach is an efficient tool.
Leonie Villiger, Marina Dütsch, Sandrine Bony, Marie Lothon, Stephan Pfahl, Heini Wernli, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Patrick Chazette, Pierre Coutris, Julien Delanoë, Cyrille Flamant, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Martin Werner, and Franziska Aemisegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14643–14672, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14643-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14643-2023, 2023
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This study evaluates three numerical simulations performed with an isotope-enabled weather forecast model and investigates the coupling between shallow trade-wind cumulus clouds and atmospheric circulations on different scales. We show that the simulations reproduce key characteristics of shallow trade-wind clouds as observed during the field experiment EUREC4A and that the spatial distribution of stable-water-vapour isotopes is shaped by the overturning circulation associated with these clouds.
Valerian Hahn, Ralf Meerkötter, Christiane Voigt, Sonja Gisinger, Daniel Sauer, Valéry Catoire, Volker Dreiling, Hugh Coe, Cyrille Flamant, Stefan Kaufmann, Jonas Kleine, Peter Knippertz, Manuel Moser, Philip Rosenberg, Hans Schlager, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, and Jonathan Taylor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8515–8530, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8515-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8515-2023, 2023
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During the DACCIWA campaign in West Africa, we found a 35 % increase in the cloud droplet concentration that formed in a polluted compared with a less polluted environment and a decrease of 17 % in effective droplet diameter. Radiative transfer simulations, based on the measured cloud properties, reveal that these low-level polluted clouds radiate only 2.6 % more energy back to space, compared with a less polluted cloud. The corresponding additional decrease in temperature is rather small.
Cedric Gacial Ngoungue Langue, Christophe Lavaysse, Mathieu Vrac, and Cyrille Flamant
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 1313–1333, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1313-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-23-1313-2023, 2023
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Heat waves (HWs) are climatic hazards that affect the planet. We assess here uncertainties encountered in the process of HW detection and analyse their recent trends in West Africa using reanalysis data. Three types of uncertainty have been investigated. We identified 6 years with higher frequency of HWs, possibly due to higher sea surface temperatures in the equatorial Atlantic. We noticed an increase in HW characteristics during the last decade, which could be a consequence of climate change.
Michael John Weston, Stuart John Piketh, Frédéric Burnet, Stephen Broccardo, Cyrielle Denjean, Thierry Bourrianne, and Paola Formenti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10221–10245, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10221-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10221-2022, 2022
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An aerosol-aware microphysics scheme is evaluated for fog cases in Namibia. AEROCLO-sA campaign observations are used to access and parameterise the model. The model cloud condensation nuclei activation is lower than the observations. The scheme is designed for clouds with updrafts, while fog typically forms in stable conditions. A pseudo updraft speed assigned to the lowest model levels helps achieve more realistic cloud droplet number concentration and size distribution in the model.
Donato Summa, Fabio Madonna, Noemi Franco, Benedetto De Rosa, and Paolo Di Girolamo
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4153–4170, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4153-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4153-2022, 2022
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The evolution of the atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH) has an important impact on meteorology. However, the complexity of the phenomena occurring within the ABL and the influence of advection and local accumulation processes often prevent an unambiguous determination of the ABLH. The paper reports results from an inter-comparison effort involving different sensors and techniques to measure the ABLH. Correlations between the ABLH and other atmospheric variables are also assessed.
Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, Laurent Labbouz, Cyrille Flamant, and Alma Hodzic
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8639–8658, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8639-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8639-2022, 2022
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Ground-based, spaceborne and rare airborne observations of biomass burning aerosols (BBAs) during the AEROCLO-sA field campaign in 2017 are complemented with convection-permitting simulations with online trajectories. The results show that the radiative effect of the BBA accelerates the southern African easterly jet and generates upward motions that transport the BBAs to higher altitudes and farther southwest.
Cyrille Flamant, Marco Gaetani, Jean-Pierre Chaboureau, Patrick Chazette, Juan Cuesta, Stuart John Piketh, and Paola Formenti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5701–5724, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5701-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5701-2022, 2022
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Rivers of smoke extend from tropical southern Africa towards the Indian Ocean during the winter fire season, controlled by the interaction of tropical easterly waves, and westerly waves at mid latitudes. During the AEROCLO-sA field campaign in 2017, a river of smoke was directly observed over Namibia. In this paper, the evolution and atmospheric drivers of the river of smoke are described, and the role of a mid-latitude cut-off low in lifting the smoke to the upper troposphere is highlighted.
Sandrine Bony, Marie Lothon, Julien Delanoë, Pierre Coutris, Jean-Claude Etienne, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Thierry André, Hubert Bellec, Alexandre Baron, Jean-François Bourdinot, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Aurélien Bourdon, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Christophe Caudoux, Patrick Chazette, Michel Cluzeau, Céline Cornet, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Dominique Duchanoy, Cyrille Flamant, Benjamin Fildier, Christophe Gourbeyre, Laurent Guiraud, Tetyana Jiang, Claude Lainard, Christophe Le Gac, Christian Lendroit, Julien Lernould, Thierry Perrin, Frédéric Pouvesle, Pascal Richard, Nicolas Rochetin, Kevin Salaün, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Guillaume Seurat, Bjorn Stevens, Julien Totems, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Gilles Vergez, Jessica Vial, Leonie Villiger, and Raphaela Vogel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2021–2064, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2021-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2021-2022, 2022
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The French ATR42 research aircraft participated in the EUREC4A international field campaign that took place in 2020 over the tropical Atlantic, east of Barbados. We present the extensive instrumentation of the aircraft, the research flights and the different measurements. We show that the ATR measurements of humidity, wind, aerosols and cloudiness in the lower atmosphere are robust and consistent with each other. They will make it possible to advance understanding of cloud–climate interactions.
Adrien Deroubaix, Laurent Menut, Cyrille Flamant, Peter Knippertz, Andreas H. Fink, Anneke Batenburg, Joel Brito, Cyrielle Denjean, Cheikh Dione, Régis Dupuy, Valerian Hahn, Norbert Kalthoff, Fabienne Lohou, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Guillaume Siour, Paolo Tuccella, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3251–3273, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3251-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3251-2022, 2022
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During the summer monsoon in West Africa, pollutants emitted in urbanized areas modify cloud cover and precipitation patterns. We analyze these patterns with the WRF-CHIMERE model, integrating the effects of aerosols on meteorology, based on the numerous observations provided by the Dynamics-Aerosol-Climate-Interactions campaign. This study adds evidence to recent findings that increased pollution levels in West Africa delay the breakup time of low-level clouds and reduce precipitation.
Monica Campanelli, Henri Diémoz, Anna Maria Siani, Alcide di Sarra, Anna Maria Iannarelli, Rei Kudo, Gabriele Fasano, Giampietro Casasanta, Luca Tofful, Marco Cacciani, Paolo Sanò, and Stefano Dietrich
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 1171–1183, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1171-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-1171-2022, 2022
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The aerosol optical depth (AOD) characteristics in an urban area of Rome were retrieved over a period of 11 years (2010–2020) to determine, for the first time, their effect on the incoming ultraviolet (UV) solar radiation. The surface forcing efficiency shows that the AOD is the primary parameter affecting the surface irradiance in Rome, and it is found to be greater for smaller zenith angles and for larger and more absorbing particles in the UV range (such as, e.g., mineral dust).
Karine Desboeufs, Franck Fu, Matthieu Bressac, Antonio Tovar-Sánchez, Sylvain Triquet, Jean-François Doussin, Chiara Giorio, Patrick Chazette, Julie Disnaquet, Anaïs Feron, Paola Formenti, Franck Maisonneuve, Araceli Rodríguez-Romero, Pascal Zapf, François Dulac, and Cécile Guieu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2309–2332, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2309-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2309-2022, 2022
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This article reports the first concurrent sampling of wet deposition samples and surface seawater and was performed during the PEACETIME cruise in the remote Mediterranean (May–June 2017). Through the chemical composition of trace metals (TMs) in these samples, it emphasizes the decrease of atmospheric metal pollution in this area during the last few decades and the critical role of wet deposition as source of TMs for Mediterranean surface seawater, especially for intense dust deposition events.
Patrick Chazette, Alexandre Baron, and Cyrille Flamant
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1271–1292, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1271-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1271-2022, 2022
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Within the framework of the international EUREC4A project, horizontal lidar measurements were carried out over Barbados from the French research aircraft ATR-42. These measurements highlighted the strong heterogeneity of the aerosol field (mainly dust and biomass burning aerosols) and therefore of the associated optical properties. This heterogeneity varies according to meteorological conditions and could significantly modulate the climatic impact of aerosols trapped over the tropical Atlantic.
Pamela A. Dominutti, Pascal Renard, Mickaël Vaïtilingom, Angelica Bianco, Jean-Luc Baray, Agnès Borbon, Thierry Bourianne, Frédéric Burnet, Aurélie Colomb, Anne-Marie Delort, Valentin Duflot, Stephan Houdier, Jean-Luc Jaffrezo, Muriel Joly, Martin Leremboure, Jean-Marc Metzger, Jean-Marc Pichon, Mickaël Ribeiro, Manon Rocco, Pierre Tulet, Anthony Vella, Maud Leriche, and Laurent Deguillaume
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 505–533, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-505-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-505-2022, 2022
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We present here the results obtained during an intensive field campaign conducted in March to April 2019 in Reunion. Our study integrates a comprehensive chemical and microphysical characterization of cloud water. Our investigations reveal that air mass history and cloud microphysical properties do not fully explain the variability observed in their chemical composition. This highlights the complexity of emission sources, multiphasic exchanges, and transformations in clouds.
Julien Totems, Patrick Chazette, and Alexandre Baron
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7525–7544, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7525-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7525-2021, 2021
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We describe in detail the design and calibration of the new Raman channels for the WALI system, going over the important sources of bias and uncertainty on retrieved temperature profiles. For the first time, their impact is investigated using horizontal shots in a homogenous atmosphere: the magnitude of the highlighted biases can be much larger than the targeted absolute accuracy of 1° C. Actual measurement errors are quantified using radiosoundings launched close to the lidar site.
Samira Khodayar, Silvio Davolio, Paolo Di Girolamo, Cindy Lebeaupin Brossier, Emmanouil Flaounas, Nadia Fourrie, Keun-Ok Lee, Didier Ricard, Benoit Vie, Francois Bouttier, Alberto Caldas-Alvarez, and Veronique Ducrocq
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17051–17078, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17051-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17051-2021, 2021
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Heavy precipitation (HP) constitutes a major meteorological threat in the western Mediterranean. Every year, recurrent events affect the area with fatal consequences. Despite this being a well-known issue, open questions still remain. The understanding of the underlying mechanisms and the modeling representation of the events must be improved. In this article we present the most recent lessons learned from the Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment (HyMeX).
Marco Gaetani, Benjamin Pohl, Maria del Carmen Alvarez Castro, Cyrille Flamant, and Paola Formenti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16575–16591, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16575-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16575-2021, 2021
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During the dry austral winter, biomass fires in tropical Africa emit large amounts of smoke in the atmosphere, with large impacts on climate and air quality. The study of the relationship between atmospheric circulation and smoke transport shows that midlatitude atmospheric disturbances may deflect the smoke from tropical Africa towards southern Africa. Understanding the distribution of the smoke in the region is crucial for climate modelling and air quality monitoring.
Jonas Hamperl, Clément Capitaine, Jean-Baptiste Dherbecourt, Myriam Raybaut, Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, Bruno Grouiez, Laurence Régalia, Rosa Santagata, Corinne Evesque, Jean-Michel Melkonian, Antoine Godard, Andrew Seidl, Harald Sodemann, and Cyrille Flamant
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 6675–6693, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6675-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-6675-2021, 2021
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Laser active remote sensing of tropospheric water vapor is a promising technology for enhancing our understanding of processes governing the global hydrological cycle. We investigate the potential of a ground-based lidar to monitor the main water vapor isotopes at high spatio-temporal resolutions in the lower troposphere. Using a realistic end-to-end simulator, we show that high-precision measurements can be achieved within a range of 1.5 km, in mid-latitude or tropical environments.
Cedric G. Ngoungue Langue, Christophe Lavaysse, Mathieu Vrac, Philippe Peyrillé, and Cyrille Flamant
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 893–912, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-893-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-893-2021, 2021
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This work assesses the forecast of the temperature over the Sahara, a key driver of the West African Monsoon, at a seasonal timescale. The seasonal models are able to reproduce the climatological state and some characteristics of the temperature during the rainy season in the Sahel. But, because of errors in the timing, the forecast skill scores are significant only for the first 4 weeks.
Cited articles
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Short summary
We analyze the direct radiative impact of an intense African dust plume on orographic precipitation in the western Mediterranean in the fall of 2012 using high-resolution simulations from a convection permitting mesoscale model validated against measurements acquired during the first special observation period of HyMeX. We show that the dust's direct radiative effect in such a dynamical environment is not sufficient to impact 24h of accumulated rainfall over the Cevennes in the dust simulation.
We analyze the direct radiative impact of an intense African dust plume on orographic...
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