Articles | Volume 16, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-6011-2016
© Author(s) 2016. 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-16-6011-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Research article
| 
18 May 2016
Research article |
| 18 May 2016
Airborne observation of mixing across the entrainment zone during PARADE 2011
Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
Department of Atmospheric Chemistry, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
now at: Institute of Energy and Climate Research-8: Troposphere, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich, Germany
Peter Hoor
Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
Heiko Bozem
Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
Daniel Kunkel
Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
Michael Sprenger
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
Stephan Henne
Empa Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2809, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2809, 2024
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Storm Daniel (2023) is one of the most catastrophic ones ever documented in the Mediterranean. Our results highlight the different dynamics and therefore the different predictability skill of precipitation, its extremes and impacts that have been produced in Greece and Libya, the two most affected countries. Our approach concerns a holistic analysis of the storm by articulating dynamics, weather prediction, hydrological and oceanographic implications, climate extremes and attribution theory.
Manfred Wendisch, Susanne Crewell, André Ehrlich, Andreas Herber, Benjamin Kirbus, Christof Lüpkes, Mario Mech, Steven J. Abel, Elisa F. Akansu, Felix Ament, Clémantyne Aubry, Sebastian Becker, Stephan Borrmann, Heiko Bozem, Marlen Brückner, Hans-Christian Clemen, Sandro Dahlke, Georgios Dekoutsidis, Julien Delanoë, Elena De La Torre Castro, Henning Dorff, Regis Dupuy, Oliver Eppers, Florian Ewald, Geet George, Irina V. Gorodetskaya, Sarah Grawe, Silke Groß, Jörg Hartmann, Silvia Henning, Lutz Hirsch, Evelyn Jäkel, Philipp Joppe, Olivier Jourdan, Zsofia Jurányi, Michail Karalis, Mona Kellermann, Marcus Klingebiel, Michael Lonardi, Johannes Lucke, Anna E. Luebke, Maximilian Maahn, Nina Maherndl, Marion Maturilli, Bernhard Mayer, Johanna Mayer, Stephan Mertes, Janosch Michaelis, Michel Michalkov, Guillaume Mioche, Manuel Moser, Hanno Müller, Roel Neggers, Davide Ori, Daria Paul, Fiona M. Paulus, Christian Pilz, Felix Pithan, Mira Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Maximilian Ringel, Nils Risse, Gregory C. Roberts, Sophie Rosenburg, Johannes Röttenbacher, Janna Rückert, Michael Schäfer, Jonas Schaefer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Jörg Schmidt, Sebastian Schmidt, Johannes Schneider, Sabrina Schnitt, Anja Schwarz, Holger Siebert, Harald Sodemann, Tim Sperzel, Gunnar Spreen, Bjorn Stevens, Frank Stratmann, Gunilla Svensson, Christian Tatzelt, Thomas Tuch, Timo Vihma, Christiane Voigt, Lea Volkmer, Andreas Walbröl, Anna Weber, Birgit Wehner, Bruno Wetzel, Martin Wirth, and Tobias Zinner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8865–8892, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8865-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8865-2024, 2024
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The Arctic is warming faster than the rest of the globe. Warm-air intrusions (WAIs) into the Arctic may play an important role in explaining this phenomenon. Cold-air outbreaks (CAOs) out of the Arctic may link the Arctic climate changes to mid-latitude weather. In our article, we describe how to observe air mass transformations during CAOs and WAIs using three research aircraft instrumented with state-of-the-art remote-sensing and in situ measurement devices.
Luis F. Millán, Peter Hoor, Michaela I. Hegglin, Gloria L. Manney, Harald Boenisch, Paul Jeffery, Daniel Kunkel, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Hao Ye, Thierry Leblanc, and Kaley Walker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7927–7959, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7927-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7927-2024, 2024
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In the Observed Composition Trends And Variability in the UTLS (OCTAV-UTLS) Stratosphere-troposphere Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) activity, we have mapped multiplatform ozone datasets into coordinate systems to systematically evaluate the influence of these coordinates on binned climatological variability. This effort unifies the work of studies that focused on individual coordinate system variability. Our goal was to create the most comprehensive assessment of this topic.
Niklas Karbach, Lisa Höhler, Peter Hoor, Heiko Bozem, Nicole Bobrowski, and Thorsten Hoffmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 17, 4081–4086, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4081-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-17-4081-2024, 2024
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The system presented here can accurately generate and reproduce a stable flow of gas mixtures of known concentrations over several days using ambient air as a dilution medium. In combination with the small size and low weight of the system, this enables the calibration of hydrogen sensors in the field, reducing the influence of matrix effects on the accuracy of the sensor. The system is inexpensive to assemble and easy to maintain, which is the key to reliable measurement results.
Philipp Joppe, Johannes Schneider, Katharina Kaiser, Horst Fischer, Peter Hoor, Daniel Kunkel, Hans-Christoph Lachnitt, Andreas Marsing, Lenard Röder, Hans Schlager, Laura Tomsche, Christiane Voigt, Andreas Zahn, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7499–7522, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7499-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7499-2024, 2024
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From aircraft measurements in the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere, we find a correlation between the ozone and particulate sulfate in the lower stratosphere. The correlation exhibits some variability over the measurement period exceeding the background sulfate-to-ozone correlation. From our analysis, we conclude that gas-to-particle conversion of volcanic sulfur dioxide leads to observed enhanced sulfate aerosol mixing ratios.
Katharina Heitmann, Michael Sprenger, Hanin Binder, Heini Wernli, and Hanna Joos
Weather Clim. Dynam., 5, 537–557, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-537-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-537-2024, 2024
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Warm conveyor belts (WCBs) are coherently ascending air streams that occur in extratropical cyclones where they form precipitation and often affect the large-scale flow. We quantified the key characteristics and impacts of WCBs and linked them to different phases in the cyclone life cycle and to different WCB branches. A climatology of these metrics revealed that WCBs are most intense during cyclone intensification and that the cyclonic and anticyclonic WCB branches show distinct differences.
Lukas Jansing, Lukas Papritz, and Michael Sprenger
Weather Clim. Dynam., 5, 463–489, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-463-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-463-2024, 2024
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Using an innovative approach, the descent of foehn is diagnosed from a Lagrangian perspective based on 15 kilometer-scale simulations combined with online trajectories. The descent is confined to distinct hotspots in the immediate lee of local mountain peaks and chains. Two detailed case studies reveal a varying wave regime to be associated with the descent. Furthermore, additional controlling factors, such as the diurnal cycle, likewise influence the descent activity.
Michael Steiner, Wouter Peters, Ingrid Luijkx, Stephan Henne, Huilin Chen, Samuel Hammer, and Dominik Brunner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2759–2782, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2759-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2759-2024, 2024
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The Paris Agreement increased interest in estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of individual countries, but top-down emission estimation is not yet considered policy-relevant. It is therefore paramount to reduce large errors and to build systems that are based on the newest atmospheric transport models. In this study, we present the first application of ICON-ART in the inverse modeling of GHG fluxes with an ensemble Kalman filter and present our results for European CH4 emissions.
Hilla Afargan-Gerstman, Dominik Büeler, C. Ole Wulff, Michael Sprenger, and Daniela I. V. Domeisen
Weather Clim. Dynam., 5, 231–249, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-231-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-231-2024, 2024
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The stratosphere is a layer of Earth's atmosphere found above the weather systems. Changes in the stratosphere can affect the winds and the storm tracks in the North Atlantic region for a relatively long time, lasting for several weeks and even months. We show that the stratosphere can be important for weather forecasts beyond 1 week, but more work is needed to improve the accuracy of these forecasts for 3–4 weeks.
Yonatan Givon, Or Hess, Emmanouil Flaounas, Jennifer Louise Catto, Michael Sprenger, and Shira Raveh-Rubin
Weather Clim. Dynam., 5, 133–162, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-133-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-5-133-2024, 2024
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A novel classification of Mediterranean cyclones is presented, enabling a separation between storms driven by different atmospheric processes. The surface impact of each cyclone class differs greatly by precipitation, winds, and temperatures, providing an invaluable tool to study the climatology of different types of Mediterranean storms and enhancing the understanding of their predictability, on both weather and climate scales.
Tanja J. Schuck, Johannes Degen, Eric Hintsa, Peter Hoor, Markus Jesswein, Timo Keber, Daniel Kunkel, Fred Moore, Florian Obersteiner, Matt Rigby, Thomas Wagenhäuser, Luke M. Western, Andreas Zahn, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 689–705, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-689-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-689-2024, 2024
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We study the interhemispheric gradient of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), a strong long-lived greenhouse gas. Its emissions are stronger in the Northern Hemisphere; therefore, mixing ratios in the Southern Hemisphere lag behind. Comparing the observations to a box model, the model predicts air in the Southern Hemisphere to be older. For a better agreement, the emissions used as model input need to be increased (and their spatial pattern changed), and we need to modify north–south transport.
Stefania Gilardoni, Dominic Heslin-Rees, Mauro Mazzola, Vito Vitale, Michael Sprenger, and Radovan Krejci
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15589–15607, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15589-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15589-2023, 2023
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Models still fail in reproducing black carbon (BC) temporal variability in the Arctic. Analysis of equivalent BC concentrations in the European Arctic shows that BC seasonal variability is modulated by the efficiency of removal by precipitation during transport towards high latitudes. Short-term variability is controlled by synoptic-scale circulation patterns. The advection of warm air from lower latitudes is an effective pollution transport pathway during summer.
Ioannis Katharopoulos, Dominique Rust, Martin K. Vollmer, Dominik Brunner, Stefan Reimann, Simon J. O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Kieran M. Stanley, Tanja Schuck, Jgor Arduini, Lukas Emmenegger, and Stephan Henne
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14159–14186, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14159-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14159-2023, 2023
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The effectiveness of climate change mitigation needs to be scrutinized by monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Countries report their emissions to the UN in a bottom-up manner. By combining atmospheric observations and transport models someone can independently validate emission estimates in a top-down fashion. We report Swiss emissions of synthetic GHGs based on kilometer-scale transport and inverse modeling, highlighting the role of appropriate resolution in complex terrain.
Thomas Trickl, Martin Adelwart, Dina Khordakova, Ludwig Ries, Christian Rolf, Michael Sprenger, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, and Hannes Vogelmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 5145–5165, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5145-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-5145-2023, 2023
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Tropospheric ozone have been measured for more than a century. Highly quantitative ozone measurements have been made at monitoring stations. However, deficits have been reported for vertical sounding systems. Here, we report a thorough intercomparison effort between a differential-absorption lidar system and two types of balloon-borne ozone sondes, also using ozone sensors at nearby mountain sites as references. The sondes agree very well with the lidar after offset corrections.
Frederik Harzer, Hella Garny, Felix Ploeger, Harald Bönisch, Peter Hoor, and Thomas Birner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10661–10675, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10661-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10661-2023, 2023
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We study the statistical relation between year-by-year fluctuations in winter-mean ozone and the strength of the stratospheric polar vortex. In the latitude–pressure plane, regression analysis shows that anomalously weak polar vortex years are associated with three pronounced local ozone maxima over the polar cap relative to the winter climatology. These response maxima primarily reflect the non-trivial combination of different ozone transport processes with varying relative contributions.
Melanie Lauer, Annette Rinke, Irina Gorodetskaya, Michael Sprenger, Mario Mech, and Susanne Crewell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8705–8726, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8705-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8705-2023, 2023
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We present a new method to analyse the influence of atmospheric rivers (ARs), cyclones, and fronts on the precipitation in the Arctic, based on two campaigns: ACLOUD (early summer 2017) and AFLUX (early spring 2019). There are differences between both campaign periods: in early summer, the precipitation is mostly related to ARs and fronts, especially when they are co-located, while in early spring, cyclones isolated from ARs and fronts contributed most to the precipitation.
Emmanouil Flaounas, Leonardo Aragão, Lisa Bernini, Stavros Dafis, Benjamin Doiteau, Helena Flocas, Suzanne L. Gray, Alexia Karwat, John Kouroutzoglou, Piero Lionello, Mario Marcello Miglietta, Florian Pantillon, Claudia Pasquero, Platon Patlakas, María Ángeles Picornell, Federico Porcù, Matthew D. K. Priestley, Marco Reale, Malcolm J. Roberts, Hadas Saaroni, Dor Sandler, Enrico Scoccimarro, Michael Sprenger, and Baruch Ziv
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 639–661, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-639-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-639-2023, 2023
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Cyclone detection and tracking methods (CDTMs) have different approaches in defining and tracking cyclone centers. This leads to disagreements on extratropical cyclone climatologies. We present a new approach that combines tracks from individual CDTMs to produce new composite tracks. These new tracks are shown to correspond to physically meaningful systems with distinctive life stages.
Alison L. Redington, Alistair J. Manning, Stephan Henne, Francesco Graziosi, Luke M. Western, Jgor Arduini, Anita L. Ganesan, Christina M. Harth, Michela Maione, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Joseph Pitt, Stefan Reimann, Matthew Rigby, Peter K. Salameh, Peter G. Simmonds, T. Gerard Spain, Kieran Stanley, Martin K. Vollmer, Ray F. Weiss, and Dickon Young
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7383–7398, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7383-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7383-2023, 2023
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Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were used in Europe pre-1990, damaging the stratospheric ozone layer. Legislation has controlled production and use, and global emissions have decreased sharply. The global rate of decline in CFC-11 recently slowed and was partly attributed to illegal emission in eastern China. This study concludes that emissions of CFC-11 in western Europe have not contributed to the unexplained part of the global increase in CFC-11 observed in the last decade.
Luis F. Millán, Gloria L. Manney, Harald Boenisch, Michaela I. Hegglin, Peter Hoor, Daniel Kunkel, Thierry Leblanc, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Kaley Walker, Krzysztof Wargan, and Andreas Zahn
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 16, 2957–2988, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2957-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-2957-2023, 2023
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The determination of atmospheric composition trends in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) is still highly uncertain. We present the creation of dynamical diagnostics to map several ozone datasets (ozonesondes, lidars, aircraft, and satellite measurements) in geophysically based coordinate systems. The diagnostics can also be used to analyze other greenhouse gases relevant to surface climate and UTLS chemistry.
Dominik Brunner, Gerrit Kuhlmann, Stephan Henne, Erik Koene, Bastian Kern, Sebastian Wolff, Christiane Voigt, Patrick Jöckel, Christoph Kiemle, Anke Roiger, Alina Fiehn, Sven Krautwurst, Konstantin Gerilowski, Heinrich Bovensmann, Jakob Borchardt, Michal Galkowski, Christoph Gerbig, Julia Marshall, Andrzej Klonecki, Pascal Prunet, Robert Hanfland, Margit Pattantyús-Ábrahám, Andrzej Wyszogrodzki, and Andreas Fix
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 2699–2728, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2699-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-2699-2023, 2023
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We evaluated six atmospheric transport models for their capability to simulate the CO2 plumes from two of the largest power plants in Europe by comparing the models against aircraft observations collected during the CoMet (Carbon Dioxide and Methane Mission) campaign in 2018. The study analyzed how realistically such plumes can be simulated at different model resolutions and how well the planned European satellite mission CO2M will be able to quantify emissions from power plants.
Hanna Joos, Michael Sprenger, Hanin Binder, Urs Beyerle, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 133–155, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-133-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-133-2023, 2023
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Warm conveyor belts (WCBs) are strongly ascending, cloud- and precipitation-forming airstreams in extratropical cyclones. In this study we assess their representation in a climate simulation and their changes under global warming. They become moister, become more intense, and reach higher altitudes in a future climate, implying that they potentially have an increased impact on the mid-latitude flow.
Andreas Schäfler, Michael Sprenger, Heini Wernli, Andreas Fix, and Martin Wirth
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 999–1018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-999-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-999-2023, 2023
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In this study, airborne lidar profile measurements of H2O and O3 across a midlatitude jet stream are combined with analyses in tracer–trace space and backward trajectories. We highlight that transport and mixing processes in the history of the observed air masses are governed by interacting tropospheric weather systems on synoptic timescales. We show that these weather systems play a key role in the high variability of the paired H2O and O3 distributions near the tropopause.
Hans-Christoph Lachnitt, Peter Hoor, Daniel Kunkel, Martina Bramberger, Andreas Dörnbrack, Stefan Müller, Philipp Reutter, Andreas Giez, Thorsten Kaluza, and Markus Rapp
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 355–373, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-355-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-355-2023, 2023
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We present an analysis of high-resolution airborne measurements during a flight of the DEEPWAVE 2014 campaign in New Zealand. The focus of this flight was to study the effects of enhanced mountain wave activity over the Southern Alps. We discuss changes in the upstream and downstream distributions of N2O and CO and show that these changes are related to turbulence-induced trace gas fluxes which have persistent effects on the trace gas composition in the lower stratosphere.
Hanin Binder, Hanna Joos, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 4, 19–37, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-19-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-4-19-2023, 2023
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Warm conveyor belts (WCBs) are the main cloud- and precipitation-producing airstreams in extratropical cyclones. The latent heat release that occurs during cloud formation often contributes to the intensification of the associated cyclone. Based on the Community Earth System Model Large Ensemble coupled climate simulations, we show that WCBs and associated latent heating will become stronger in a future climate and be even more important for explosive cyclone intensification than in the present.
Michael A. Barnes, Thando Ndarana, Michael Sprenger, and Willem A. Landman
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 1291–1309, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1291-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1291-2022, 2022
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Stratospheric air can intrude into the troposphere and is associated with cyclonic development throughout the atmosphere. Through a highly idealized systematic approach, the effect that different intrusion characteristics have on surface cyclogenetic forcing is investigated. The proximity of stratospheric intrusions to the surface is shown to be the main factor in surface cyclogenetic forcing, whilst its width is an additional contributing factor.
Peter Bergamaschi, Arjo Segers, Dominik Brunner, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Stephan Henne, Michel Ramonet, Tim Arnold, Tobias Biermann, Huilin Chen, Sebastien Conil, Marc Delmotte, Grant Forster, Arnoud Frumau, Dagmar Kubistin, Xin Lan, Markus Leuenberger, Matthias Lindauer, Morgan Lopez, Giovanni Manca, Jennifer Müller-Williams, Simon O'Doherty, Bert Scheeren, Martin Steinbacher, Pamela Trisolino, Gabriela Vítková, and Camille Yver Kwok
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 13243–13268, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13243-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-13243-2022, 2022
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We present a novel high-resolution inverse modelling system, "FLEXVAR", and its application for the inverse modelling of European CH4 emissions in 2018. The new system combines a high spatial resolution of 7 km x 7 km with a variational data assimilation technique, which allows CH4 emissions to be optimized from individual model grid cells. The high resolution allows the observations to be better reproduced, while the derived emissions show overall good consistency with two existing models.
Paul Konopka, Mengchu Tao, Marc von Hobe, Lars Hoffmann, Corinna Kloss, Fabrizio Ravegnani, C. Michael Volk, Valentin Lauther, Andreas Zahn, Peter Hoor, and Felix Ploeger
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7471–7487, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7471-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7471-2022, 2022
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Pure trajectory-based transport models driven by meteorology derived from reanalysis products (ERA5) take into account only the resolved, advective part of transport. That means neither mixing processes nor unresolved subgrid-scale advective processes like convection are included. The Chemical Lagrangian Model of the Stratosphere (CLaMS) includes these processes. We show that isentropic mixing dominates unresolved transport. The second most important transport process is unresolved convection.
Lukas Jansing, Lukas Papritz, Bruno Dürr, Daniel Gerstgrasser, and Michael Sprenger
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 1113–1138, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1113-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-1113-2022, 2022
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This study presents a 5-year climatology of three main foehn types and three deep-foehn subtypes. The main types differ in their large-scale and Alpine-scale weather conditions and the subtypes in terms of the amount and extent of precipitation on the Alpine south side. The different types of foehn are found to strongly affect the local meteorological conditions at Altdorf. The study concludes by setting the new classification into a historic context.
Simone M. Pieber, Béla Tuzson, Stephan Henne, Ute Karstens, Christoph Gerbig, Frank-Thomas Koch, Dominik Brunner, Martin Steinbacher, and Lukas Emmenegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 10721–10749, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10721-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10721-2022, 2022
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Understanding regional greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere is a prerequisite to mitigate climate change. In this study, we investigated the regional contributions of carbon dioxide (CO2) at the location of the high Alpine observatory Jungfraujoch (JFJ, Switzerland, 3580 m a.s.l.). To this purpose, we combined receptor-oriented atmospheric transport simulations for CO2 concentration in the period 2009–2017 with stable carbon isotope (δ13C–CO2) information.
Luke M. Western, Alison L. Redington, Alistair J. Manning, Cathy M. Trudinger, Lei Hu, Stephan Henne, Xuekun Fang, Lambert J. M. Kuijpers, Christina Theodoridi, David S. Godwin, Jgor Arduini, Bronwyn Dunse, Andreas Engel, Paul J. Fraser, Christina M. Harth, Paul B. Krummel, Michela Maione, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Hyeri Park, Sunyoung Park, Stefan Reimann, Peter K. Salameh, Daniel Say, Roland Schmidt, Tanja Schuck, Carolina Siso, Kieran M. Stanley, Isaac Vimont, Martin K. Vollmer, Dickon Young, Ronald G. Prinn, Ray F. Weiss, Stephen A. Montzka, and Matthew Rigby
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9601–9616, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9601-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9601-2022, 2022
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The production of ozone-destroying gases is being phased out. Even though production of one of the main ozone-depleting gases, called HCFC-141b, has been declining for many years, the amount that is being released to the atmosphere has been increasing since 2017. We do not know for sure why this is. A possible explanation is that HCFC-141b that was used to make insulating foams many years ago is only now escaping to the atmosphere, or a large part of its production is not being reported.
Linda Smoydzin and Peter Hoor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 7193–7206, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7193-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7193-2022, 2022
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Our study presents a detailed analysis of the spatial and temporal distribution of elevated CO level in the upper troposphere over the Pacific using 20 years of MOPITT data. We create a climatology of severe pollution episodes and use trajectory calculations to link each particular pollution event detected in MOPITT satellite data with a distinct source region. Additionally, we analyse uplift mechanisms such as WCB-related upward transport.
Horim Kim, Michael Müller, Stephan Henne, and Christoph Hüglin
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2979–2992, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2979-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2979-2022, 2022
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In this study, the performance of electrochemical sensors for NO and NO2 for measuring air quality was determined over a longer operating period. The performance of NO sensors remained reliable for more than 18 months. However, the NO2 sensors showed decreasing performance over time. During deployment, we found that the NO2 sensors can distinguish general pollution levels, but they proved unsuitable for accurate measurements due to significant biases.
Jan Clemens, Felix Ploeger, Paul Konopka, Raphael Portmann, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3841–3860, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3841-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3841-2022, 2022
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Highly polluted air flows from the surface to higher levels of the atmosphere during the Asian summer monsoon. At high levels, the air is trapped within eddies. Here, we study how air masses can leave the eddy within its cutoff, how they distribute, and how their chemical composition changes. We found evidence for transport from the eddy to higher latitudes over the North Pacific and even Alaska. During transport, trace gas concentrations within cutoffs changed gradually, showing steady mixing.
Helmut Ziereis, Peter Hoor, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Andreas Zahn, Greta Stratmann, Paul Stock, Michael Lichtenstern, Jens Krause, Vera Bense, Armin Afchine, Christian Rolf, Wolfgang Woiwode, Marleen Braun, Jörn Ungermann, Andreas Marsing, Christiane Voigt, Andreas Engel, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, and Hermann Oelhaf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3631–3654, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3631-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3631-2022, 2022
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Airborne observations were conducted in the lowermost Arctic stratosphere during the winter of 2015/2016. The observed distribution of reactive nitrogen shows clear indications of nitrification in mid-winter and denitrification in late winter. This was caused by the formation of polar stratospheric cloud particles, which were observed during several flights. The sedimentation and evaporation of these particles and the descent of air masses cause a redistribution of reactive nitrogen.
Jörg Wieder, Claudia Mignani, Mario Schär, Lucie Roth, Michael Sprenger, Jan Henneberger, Ulrike Lohmann, Cyril Brunner, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 3111–3130, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3111-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-3111-2022, 2022
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We investigate the variation in ice-nucleating particles (INPs) relevant for primary ice formation in mixed-phased clouds over the Alps based on simultaneous in situ observations at a mountaintop and a nearby high valley (1060 m height difference). In most cases, advection from the surrounding lower regions was responsible for changes in INP concentration, causing a diurnal cycle at the mountaintop. Our study underlines the importance of the planetary boundary layer as an INP reserve.
Dominique Rust, Ioannis Katharopoulos, Martin K. Vollmer, Stephan Henne, Simon O'Doherty, Daniel Say, Lukas Emmenegger, Renato Zenobi, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2447–2466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2447-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2447-2022, 2022
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Artificial halocarbons contribute to ozone layer depletion and to global warming. We measured the atmospheric concentrations of halocarbons at the Beromünster tower, modelled the Swiss emissions, and compared the results to the internationally reported Swiss emissions inventory. For most of the halocarbons, we found good agreement, whereas one refrigerant might be overestimated in the inventory. In addition, we present first emission estimates of the newest types of halocarbons.
Rupert Holzinger, Oliver Eppers, Kouji Adachi, Heiko Bozem, Markus Hartmann, Andreas Herber, Makoto Koike, Dylan B. Millet, Nobuhiro Moteki, Sho Ohata, Frank Stratmann, and Atsushi Yoshida
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2022-95, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2022-95, 2022
Revised manuscript not accepted
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In spring 2018 the research aircraft Polar 5 conducted flights in the Arctic atmosphere. The flight operation was from Station Nord in Greenland, 1700 km north of the Arctic Circle (81°43'N, 17°47'W). Using a mass spectrometer we measured more than 100 organic compounds in the air. We found a clear signature of natural organic compounds that are transported from forests to the high Arctic. These compounds have the potential to change the cloud cover and energy budget of the Arctic region.
Valentin Lauther, Bärbel Vogel, Johannes Wintel, Andrea Rau, Peter Hoor, Vera Bense, Rolf Müller, and C. Michael Volk
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2049–2077, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2049-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2049-2022, 2022
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We show airborne in situ measurements of the very short-lived ozone-depleting substances CH2Cl2 and CHCl3, revealing particularly high concentrations of both species in the lower stratosphere. Back-trajectory calculations and 3D model simulations show that the air masses with high concentrations originated in the Asian boundary layer and were transported via the Asian summer monsoon. We also identify a fast transport pathway into the stratosphere via the North American monsoon and by hurricanes.
Lukas Bösiger, Michael Sprenger, Maxi Boettcher, Hanna Joos, and Tobias Günther
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 1079–1096, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1079-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-1079-2022, 2022
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Jet streams are coherent air flows that interact with atmospheric structures such as warm conveyor belts (WCBs) and the tropopause. Individually, these structures have a significant impact on the weather evolution. A first step towards a deeper understanding of the meteorological processes is to extract jet stream core lines, for which we develop a novel feature extraction algorithm. Based on the line geometry, we automatically detect and visualize potential interactions between WCBs and jets.
Cyril Brunner, Benjamin T. Brem, Martine Collaud Coen, Franz Conen, Maxime Hervo, Stephan Henne, Martin Steinbacher, Martin Gysel-Beer, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 18029–18053, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18029-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18029-2021, 2021
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Special microscopic particles called ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are essential for ice crystals to form in the atmosphere. INPs are sparse and their atmospheric concentration and properties are not well understood. Mineral dust particles make up a significant fraction of INPs but how much remains unknown. Here, we address this knowledge gap by studying periods when mineral particles are present in large quantities at a mountaintop station in central Europe.
Markus Jesswein, Heiko Bozem, Hans-Christoph Lachnitt, Peter Hoor, Thomas Wagenhäuser, Timo Keber, Tanja Schuck, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17225–17241, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17225-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17225-2021, 2021
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This study presents and compares inorganic chlorine (Cly) derived from observations with the HALO research aircraft in the Antarctic late winter–early fall 2019 and the Arctic winter 2015–2016. Trend-corrected correlations from the Northern Hemisphere show excellent agreement with those from the Southern Hemisphere. After observation allocation inside and outside the vortex based on N2O measurements, results of the two campaigns reveal substantial differences in Cly within the respective vortex.
Larissa Lacher, Hans-Christian Clemen, Xiaoli Shen, Stephan Mertes, Martin Gysel-Beer, Alireza Moallemi, Martin Steinbacher, Stephan Henne, Harald Saathoff, Ottmar Möhler, Kristina Höhler, Thea Schiebel, Daniel Weber, Jann Schrod, Johannes Schneider, and Zamin A. Kanji
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16925–16953, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16925-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16925-2021, 2021
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We investigate ice-nucleating particle properties at Jungfraujoch during the 2017 joint INUIT/CLACE field campaign, to improve the knowledge about those rare particles in a cloud-relevant environment. By quantifying ice-nucleating particles in parallel to single-particle mass spectrometry measurements, we find that mineral dust and aged sea spray particles are potential candidates for ice-nucleating particles. Our findings are supported by ice residual analysis and source region modeling.
Sho Ohata, Makoto Koike, Atsushi Yoshida, Nobuhiro Moteki, Kouji Adachi, Naga Oshima, Hitoshi Matsui, Oliver Eppers, Heiko Bozem, Marco Zanatta, and Andreas B. Herber
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15861–15881, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15861-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15861-2021, 2021
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Vertical profiles of black carbon (BC) in the Arctic were measured during the PAMARCMiP aircraft-based experiment in spring 2018 and compared with those observed during previous aircraft campaigns in 2008, 2010, and 2015. Their differences were explained primarily by the year-to-year variation of biomass burning activities in northern midlatitudes over Eurasia. Our observations provide a bases to evaluate numerical model simulations that assess the BC radiative effects in the Arctic spring.
Philippe Besson, Luise J. Fischer, Sebastian Schemm, and Michael Sprenger
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 991–1009, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-991-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-991-2021, 2021
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The strongest cyclone intensification is associated with a strong dry-dynamical forcing. Moreover, strong forcing and strong intensification correspond to a tendency for poleward cyclone propagation, which occurs in distinct regions in the Northern Hemisphere. There is a clear spatial pattern in the occurrence of certain forcing combinations. This implies a fundamental relationship between dry-dynamical processes and the intensification as well as the propagation of extratropical cyclones.
Meike K. Rotermund, Vera Bense, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Andreas Engel, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Peter Hoor, Tilman Hüneke, Timo Keber, Flora Kluge, Benjamin Schreiner, Tanja Schuck, Bärbel Vogel, Andreas Zahn, and Klaus Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15375–15407, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15375-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15375-2021, 2021
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Airborne total bromine (Brtot) and tracer measurements suggest Brtot-rich air masses persistently protruded into the lower stratosphere (LS), creating a high Brtot region over the North Atlantic in fall 2017. The main source is via isentropic transport by the Asian monsoon and to a lesser extent transport across the extratropical tropopause as quantified by a Lagrange model. The transport of Brtot via Central American hurricanes is also observed. Lastly, the impact of Brtot on LS O3 is assessed.
Antoine Berchet, Espen Sollum, Rona L. Thompson, Isabelle Pison, Joël Thanwerdas, Grégoire Broquet, Frédéric Chevallier, Tuula Aalto, Adrien Berchet, Peter Bergamaschi, Dominik Brunner, Richard Engelen, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Christoph Gerbig, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Jean-Matthieu Haussaire, Stephan Henne, Sander Houweling, Ute Karstens, Werner L. Kutsch, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Guillaume Monteil, Paul I. Palmer, Jacob C. A. van Peet, Wouter Peters, Philippe Peylin, Elise Potier, Christian Rödenbeck, Marielle Saunois, Marko Scholze, Aki Tsuruta, and Yuanhong Zhao
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 5331–5354, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5331-2021, 2021
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We present here the Community Inversion Framework (CIF) to help rationalize development efforts and leverage the strengths of individual inversion systems into a comprehensive framework. The CIF is a programming protocol to allow various inversion bricks to be exchanged among researchers.
The ensemble of bricks makes a flexible, transparent and open-source Python-based tool. We describe the main structure and functionalities and demonstrate it in a simple academic case.
Thorsten Kaluza, Daniel Kunkel, and Peter Hoor
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 631–651, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-631-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-631-2021, 2021
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We present a 10-year analysis on the occurrence of strong wind shear in the Northern Hemisphere, focusing on the region around the transport barrier that separates the first two layers of the atmosphere. The major result of our analysis is that strong wind shear above a certain threshold occurs frequently and nearly exclusively in this region, which, as an indicator for turbulent mixing, might have major implications concerning the separation efficiency of the transport barrier.
Raphael Portmann, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 507–534, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-507-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-507-2021, 2021
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We explore the three-dimensional life cycle of cyclonic structures
(so-called PV cutoffs) near the tropopause. PV cutoffs are frequent weather systems in the extratropics that lead to high-impact weather. However, many unknowns exist regarding their evolution. We present a new method to track PV cutoffs as 3D objects in reanalysis data by following air parcels along the flow. We study the climatological life cycles of PV cutoffs in detail and propose a classification into three types.
Dac-Loc Nguyen, Hendryk Czech, Simone M. Pieber, Jürgen Schnelle-Kreis, Martin Steinbacher, Jürgen Orasche, Stephan Henne, Olga B. Popovicheva, Gülcin Abbaszade, Guenter Engling, Nicolas Bukowiecki, Nhat-Anh Nguyen, Xuan-Anh Nguyen, and Ralf Zimmermann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8293–8312, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8293-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8293-2021, 2021
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Southeast Asia is well-known for emission-intense and recurring wildfires and after-harvest crop residue burning during the pre-monsoon season from February to April. We describe a biomass burning (BB) plume arriving at remote Pha Din meteorological station, outline its carbonaceous particulate matter (PM) constituents based on more than 50 target compounds and discuss possible BB sources. This study adds valuable information on chemical PM composition for a region with scarce data availability.
Franziska Köllner, Johannes Schneider, Megan D. Willis, Hannes Schulz, Daniel Kunkel, Heiko Bozem, Peter Hoor, Thomas Klimach, Frank Helleis, Julia Burkart, W. Richard Leaitch, Amir A. Aliabadi, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Andreas B. Herber, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6509–6539, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6509-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6509-2021, 2021
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We present in situ observations of vertically resolved particle chemical composition in the summertime Arctic lower troposphere. Our analysis demonstrates the strong vertical contrast between particle properties within the boundary layer and aloft. Emissions from vegetation fires and anthropogenic sources in northern Canada, Europe, and East Asia influenced particle composition in the free troposphere. Organics detected in Arctic aerosol particles can partly be identified as dicarboxylic acids.
Maxi Boettcher, Andreas Schäfler, Michael Sprenger, Harald Sodemann, Stefan Kaufmann, Christiane Voigt, Hans Schlager, Donato Summa, Paolo Di Girolamo, Daniele Nerini, Urs Germann, and Heini Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5477–5498, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5477-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5477-2021, 2021
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Warm conveyor belts (WCBs) are important airstreams in extratropical cyclones, often leading to the formation of intense precipitation. We present a case study that involves aircraft, lidar and radar observations of water and clouds in a WCB ascending from western Europe across the Alps towards the Baltic Sea during the field campaigns HyMeX and T-NAWDEX-Falcon in October 2012. A probabilistic trajectory measure and an airborne tracer experiment were used to confirm the long pathway of the WCB.
Melissa L. Breeden, Amy H. Butler, John R. Albers, Michael Sprenger, and Andrew O'Neil Langford
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2781–2794, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2781-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2781-2021, 2021
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Prior research has found a maximum in deep stratosphere-to-troposphere mass/ozone transport over the western United States in boreal spring, which can enhance surface ozone concentrations, reducing air quality. We find that the winter-to-summer evolution of the north Pacific jet increases the frequency of stratospheric intrusions that drive transport, helping explain the observed maximum. The El Niño–Southern Oscillation affects the timing of the spring jet transition and therefore transport.
Annika Oertel, Michael Sprenger, Hanna Joos, Maxi Boettcher, Heike Konow, Martin Hagen, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 89–110, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-89-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-89-2021, 2021
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Convection embedded in the stratiform cloud band of strongly ascending airstreams in extratropical cyclones (so-called warm conveyor belts) can influence not only surface precipitation but also the
upper-tropospheric potential vorticity (PV) and waveguide. The comparison of intense vs. moderate embedded convection shows that its strength alone is not a reliable measure for upper-tropospheric PV modification. Instead, characteristics of the ambient flow co-determine its dynamical significance.
Emmanouil Flaounas, Matthias Röthlisberger, Maxi Boettcher, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 71–88, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-71-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-71-2021, 2021
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In this study we identify the wettest seasons globally and address their meteorological characteristics. We show that in different regions the wettest seasons occur in different times of the year and result from either unusually high frequencies of wet days and/or daily extremes. These high frequencies can be largely attributed to four specific weather systems, especially cyclones. Our analysis uses a thoroughly explained, novel methodology that could also be applied to climate models.
Johannes Schneider, Ralf Weigel, Thomas Klimach, Antonis Dragoneas, Oliver Appel, Andreas Hünig, Sergej Molleker, Franziska Köllner, Hans-Christian Clemen, Oliver Eppers, Peter Hoppe, Peter Hoor, Christoph Mahnke, Martina Krämer, Christian Rolf, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Andreas Zahn, Florian Obersteiner, Fabrizio Ravegnani, Alexey Ulanovsky, Hans Schlager, Monika Scheibe, Glenn S. Diskin, Joshua P. DiGangi, John B. Nowak, Martin Zöger, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 989–1013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-989-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-989-2021, 2021
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During five aircraft missions, we detected aerosol particles containing meteoric material in the lower stratosphere. The stratospheric measurements span a latitude range from 15 to 68° N, and we find that at potential temperature levels of more than 40 K above the tropopause; particles containing meteoric material occur at similar abundance fractions across latitudes and seasons. We conclude that meteoric material is efficiently distributed between high and low latitudes by isentropic mixing.
Claudia Mignani, Jörg Wieder, Michael A. Sprenger, Zamin A. Kanji, Jan Henneberger, Christine Alewell, and Franz Conen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 657–664, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-657-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-657-2021, 2021
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Most precipitation above land starts with ice in clouds. It is promoted by extremely rare particles. Some ice-nucleating particles (INPs) cause cloud droplets to already freeze above −15°C, a temperature at which many clouds begin to snow. We found that the abundance of such INPs among other particles of similar size is highest in precipitating air masses and lowest when air carries desert dust. This brings us closer to understanding the interactions between land, clouds, and precipitation.
Rachel L. Tunnicliffe, Anita L. Ganesan, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, Nicola Gedney, Benjamin Poulter, Zhen Zhang, Jošt V. Lavrič, David Walter, Matthew Rigby, Stephan Henne, Dickon Young, and Simon O'Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13041–13067, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13041-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13041-2020, 2020
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This study quantifies Brazil’s emissions of a potent atmospheric greenhouse gas, methane. This is in the field of atmospheric modelling and uses remotely sensed data and surface measurements of methane concentrations as well as an atmospheric transport model to interpret the data. Because of Brazil’s large emissions from wetlands, agriculture and biomass burning, these emissions affect global methane concentrations and thus are of global significance.
Stefan Rüdisühli, Michael Sprenger, David Leutwyler, Christoph Schär, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 1, 675–699, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-675-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-675-2020, 2020
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Most precipitation over Europe is linked to low-pressure systems, cold fronts, warm fronts, or high-pressure systems. Based on a massive computer simulation able to resolve thunderstorms, we quantify in detail how much precipitation these weather systems produced during 2000–2008. We find distinct seasonal and regional differences, such as fronts precipitating a lot in fall and winter over the North Atlantic but high-pressure systems mostly in summer over the continent by way of thunderstorms.
Raphael Portmann, Juan Jesús González-Alemán, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 1, 597–615, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-597-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-597-2020, 2020
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In September 2018 an intense Mediterranean cyclone with structural similarities to a hurricane, a so-called medicane, caused severe damage in Greece. Its development was uncertain, even just a few days in advance. The reason for this was uncertainties in the jet stream over the North Atlantic 3 d prior to cyclogenesis that propagated into the Mediterranean. They led to an uncertain position of the upper-level disturbance and, as a result, of the position and thermal structure of the cyclone.
Hanin Binder, Maxi Boettcher, Hanna Joos, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 1, 577–595, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-577-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-577-2020, 2020
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Warm conveyor belts (WCBs) are important cloud- and
precipitation-producing airstreams in extratropical cyclones. By combining satellite observations with model data from a new reanalysis dataset, this study provides detailed observational insight into the vertical cloud structure of WCBs. We find that the reanalyses essentially capture the observed cloud pattern, but the observations reveal mesoscale structures not resolved by the temporally and spatially much coarser-resolution model data.
W. Richard Leaitch, John K. Kodros, Megan D. Willis, Sarah Hanna, Hannes Schulz, Elisabeth Andrews, Heiko Bozem, Julia Burkart, Peter Hoor, Felicia Kolonjari, John A. Ogren, Sangeeta Sharma, Meng Si, Knut von Salzen, Allan K. Bertram, Andreas Herber, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, and Jeffrey R. Pierce
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 10545–10563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10545-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-10545-2020, 2020
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Black carbon is a factor in the warming of the Arctic atmosphere due to its ability to absorb light, but the uncertainty is high and few observations have been made in the high Arctic above 80° N. We combine airborne and ground-based observations in the springtime Arctic, at and above 80° N, with simulations from a global model to show that light absorption by black carbon may be much larger than modelled. However, the uncertainty remains high.
Sebastian Schemm, Stefan Rüdisühli, and Michael Sprenger
Weather Clim. Dynam., 1, 459–479, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-459-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-459-2020, 2020
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Troughs and ridges are ubiquitous flow features in the upper troposphere and are centerpiece elements of weather and climate research. A novel method is introduced to identify and track the life cycle of troughs and ridges and their orientation. The aim is to close the existing gap between methods that detect the initiation phase and methods that detect the decaying phase of Rossby wave development. Global climatologies, the influence of ENSO and Lagrangian characteristics are discussed.
Marius Hauck, Harald Bönisch, Peter Hoor, Timo Keber, Felix Ploeger, Tanja J. Schuck, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8763–8785, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8763-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8763-2020, 2020
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This study features an extended inversion method that includes transport across the extratropical tropopause to derive age spectra in the lowermost stratosphere from in situ trace gas measurements. The refined method is validated in a model setup and applied to data gained with the HALO research aircraft. Results are congruent with the findings of previous studies so that the method provides a promising toolset for the analysis of stratospheric dynamics based on observations in the future.
Andreas Petzold, Patrick Neis, Mihal Rütimann, Susanne Rohs, Florian Berkes, Herman G. J. Smit, Martina Krämer, Nicole Spelten, Peter Spichtinger, Philippe Nédélec, and Andreas Wahner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 8157–8179, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8157-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-8157-2020, 2020
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The first analysis of 15 years of global-scale water vapour and relative humidity observations by passenger aircraft in the MOZAIC and IAGOS programmes resolves detailed features of water vapour and ice-supersaturated air in the mid-latitude tropopause. Key results provide in-depth insight into seasonal and regional variability and chemical signatures of ice-supersaturated air masses, including trend analyses, and show a close link to cirrus clouds and their highly important effects on climate.
Peter G. Simmonds, Matthew Rigby, Alistair J. Manning, Sunyoung Park, Kieran M. Stanley, Archie McCulloch, Stephan Henne, Francesco Graziosi, Michela Maione, Jgor Arduini, Stefan Reimann, Martin K. Vollmer, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Paul B. Krummel, Paul J. Fraser, Ray F. Weiss, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Mi-Kyung Park, Hyeri Park, Tim Arnold, Chris Rennick, L. Paul Steele, Blagoj Mitrevski, Ray H. J. Wang, and Ronald G. Prinn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 7271–7290, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7271-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-7271-2020, 2020
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Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is a potent greenhouse gas which is regulated under the Kyoto Protocol. From a 40-year record of measurements, collected at five global monitoring sites and archived air samples, we show that its concentration in the atmosphere has steadily increased. Using modelling techniques, we estimate that global emissions have increased by about 24 % over the past decade. We find that this increase is driven by the demand for SF6-insulated switchgear in developing countries.
Longfei Yu, Eliza Harris, Stephan Henne, Sarah Eggleston, Martin Steinbacher, Lukas Emmenegger, Christoph Zellweger, and Joachim Mohn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 6495–6519, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6495-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-6495-2020, 2020
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We observed the isotopic composition of nitrous oxide in the unpolluted air at Jungfraujoch for 5 years. Our results indicate a clear seasonal pattern in the isotopic composition, corresponding with that in atmospheric nitrous oxide levels. This is most likely due to temporal variations in both emission processes and air mass sources for Jungfraujoch. Our findings are of importance to global nitrous oxide modelling and to better understanding of long-term trends in atmospheric nitrous oxide.
Nicolas Jullien, Étienne Vignon, Michael Sprenger, Franziska Aemisegger, and Alexis Berne
The Cryosphere, 14, 1685–1702, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1685-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-1685-2020, 2020
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Although snowfall is the main input of water to the Antarctic ice sheet, snowflakes are often evaporated by dry and fierce winds near the surface of the continent. The amount of snow that actually reaches the ground is therefore considerably reduced. By analyzing the position of cyclones and fronts as well as by back-tracing the atmospheric moisture pathway towards Antarctica, this study explains in which meteorological conditions snowfall is either completely evaporated or reaches the ground.
Annika Oertel, Maxi Boettcher, Hanna Joos, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 1, 127–153, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-127-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-127-2020, 2020
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Warm conveyor belts (WCBs) are important, mainly stratiform cloud forming airstreams in extratropical cyclones that can include embedded convection. This WCB case study systematically compares the characteristics of convective vs. slantwise ascent of the WCB. We find that embedded convection leads to regions of significantly stronger precipitation. Moreover, it strongly modifies the potential vorticity distribution in the lower and upper troposphere, where its also influences the waveguide.
Gianluca Mussetti, Dominik Brunner, Stephan Henne, Jonas Allegrini, E. Scott Krayenhoff, Sebastian Schubert, Christian Feigenwinter, Roland Vogt, Andreas Wicki, and Jan Carmeliet
Geosci. Model Dev., 13, 1685–1710, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-1685-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-13-1685-2020, 2020
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Street trees are regarded as a powerful measure to reduce excessive heat in cities. To enable city-wide studies of the cooling effect of street trees, we developed a coupled urban climate model with explicit representation of street trees (COSMO-BEP-Tree). The model compares well with surface, flux and satellite observations and responds realistically to changes in tree characteristics. Street trees largely impact energy fluxes and wind speed, while air temperatures are only slightly reduced.
Matthias Röthlisberger, Michael Sprenger, Emmanouil Flaounas, Urs Beyerle, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 1, 45–62, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-45-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-1-45-2020, 2020
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In this study we quantify how much the coldest, middle and hottest third of all days during extremely hot summers contribute to their respective seasonal mean anomaly. This
extreme-summer substructurevaries substantially across the Northern Hemisphere and is directly related to the local physical drivers of extreme summers. Furthermore, comparing re-analysis (i.e. measurement-based) and climate model extreme-summer substructures reveals a remarkable level of agreement.
Thomas Trickl, Hannes Vogelmann, Ludwig Ries, and Michael Sprenger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 243–266, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-243-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-243-2020, 2020
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Ozone transfer from the stratosphere to the troposphere seems to to have grown over the past decade, parallel to global warming. Lidar measurements, carried out in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, between 2007 and 2016 show a considerable stratospheric influence in the free troposphere over these sites, with observations of stratospheric layers in the troposphere on 84 % of the measurement days. This high fraction is almost reached also in North America, but frequently not throughout the year.
Heiko Bozem, Peter Hoor, Daniel Kunkel, Franziska Köllner, Johannes Schneider, Andreas Herber, Hannes Schulz, W. Richard Leaitch, Amir A. Aliabadi, Megan D. Willis, Julia Burkart, and Jonathan P. D. Abbatt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 15049–15071, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15049-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-15049-2019, 2019
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We present airborne trace gas measurements in the European and Canadian Arctic for July 2014 and April 2015. Based on CO and CO2 in situ data as well as 10 d kinematic back trajectories, we characterize the prevailing transport regimes and derive a tracer-based diagnostic for the determination of the polar dome boundary. Using the tracer-derived boundary, an analysis of the recent transport history of air masses within the polar dome reveals significant differences between spring and summer.
Ignacio Pisso, Espen Sollum, Henrik Grythe, Nina I. Kristiansen, Massimo Cassiani, Sabine Eckhardt, Delia Arnold, Don Morton, Rona L. Thompson, Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Harald Sodemann, Leopold Haimberger, Stephan Henne, Dominik Brunner, John F. Burkhart, Anne Fouilloux, Jerome Brioude, Anne Philipp, Petra Seibert, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 12, 4955–4997, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4955-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-12-4955-2019, 2019
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We present the latest release of the Lagrangian transport model FLEXPART, which simulates the transport, diffusion, dry and wet deposition, radioactive decay, and 1st-order chemical reactions of atmospheric tracers. The model has been recently updated both technically and in the representation of physicochemical processes. We describe the changes, document the most recent input and output files, provide working examples, and introduce testing capabilities.
André Ehrlich, Manfred Wendisch, Christof Lüpkes, Matthias Buschmann, Heiko Bozem, Dmitri Chechin, Hans-Christian Clemen, Régis Dupuy, Olliver Eppers, Jörg Hartmann, Andreas Herber, Evelyn Jäkel, Emma Järvinen, Olivier Jourdan, Udo Kästner, Leif-Leonard Kliesch, Franziska Köllner, Mario Mech, Stephan Mertes, Roland Neuber, Elena Ruiz-Donoso, Martin Schnaiter, Johannes Schneider, Johannes Stapf, and Marco Zanatta
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 11, 1853–1881, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1853-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-11-1853-2019, 2019
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During the Arctic CLoud Observations Using airborne measurements during polar Day (ACLOUD) campaign, two research aircraft (Polar 5 and 6) jointly performed 22 research flights over the transition zone between open ocean and closed sea ice. The data set combines remote sensing and in situ measurement of cloud, aerosol, and trace gas properties, as well as turbulent and radiative fluxes, which will be used to study Arctic boundary layer and mid-level clouds and their role in Arctic amplification.
Daniel Kunkel, Peter Hoor, Thorsten Kaluza, Jörn Ungermann, Björn Kluschat, Andreas Giez, Hans-Christoph Lachnitt, Martin Kaufmann, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12607–12630, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12607-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12607-2019, 2019
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In this study we present a mixing process around the tropopause in extratropical baroclinic waves. We analyze airborne data from a flight during the WISE campaign in autumn 2017 over the North Atlantic. We use idealized experiments to study the mixing process. Although the process occurs on a small geographical scale, it might be of importance due to its relation to a frequent feature of the extratropical UTLS. The process is relevant for STE but is not fully included in climatologies.
Horst Fischer, Raoul Axinte, Heiko Bozem, John N. Crowley, Cheryl Ernest, Stefan Gilge, Sascha Hafermann, Hartwig Harder, Korbinian Hens, Ruud H. H. Janssen, Rainer Königstedt, Dagmar Kubistin, Chinmay Mallik, Monica Martinez, Anna Novelli, Uwe Parchatka, Christian Plass-Dülmer, Andrea Pozzer, Eric Regelin, Andreas Reiffs, Torsten Schmidt, Jan Schuladen, and Jos Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11953–11968, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11953-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11953-2019, 2019
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We use in situ observations of H2O2 to study the interplay between photochemistry, transport and deposition processes. The data were obtained during five ground-based field campaigns across Europe. A budget calculation indicates that the photochemical production rate was much larger than photochemical loss and that dry deposition is the dominant loss process. To reproduce the change in H2O2 mixing ratios after sunrise, a variable contribution of entrainment from the residual layer is required.
Erkan Ibraim, Benjamin Wolf, Eliza Harris, Rainer Gasche, Jing Wei, Longfei Yu, Ralf Kiese, Sarah Eggleston, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Matthias Zeeman, Béla Tuzson, Lukas Emmenegger, Johan Six, Stephan Henne, and Joachim Mohn
Biogeosciences, 16, 3247–3266, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3247-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-3247-2019, 2019
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Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas and the major stratospheric ozone-depleting substance; therefore, mitigation of anthropogenic N2O emissions is needed. To trace N2O-emitting source processes, in this study, we observed N2O isotopocules above an intensively managed grassland research site with a recently developed laser spectroscopy method. Our results indicate that the domain of denitrification or nitrifier denitrification was the major N2O source.
Andreas Marsing, Tina Jurkat-Witschas, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Stefan Kaufmann, Romy Heller, Andreas Engel, Peter Hoor, Jens Krause, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10757–10772, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10757-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10757-2019, 2019
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We study the partitioning of inorganic chlorine into active (ozone-depleting) and reservoir species in the lowermost stratosphere of the Arctic polar vortex, using novel in situ aircraft measurements in winter 2015/2016. We observe a change in recovery pathways of the reservoirs HCl and ClONO2 with increasing potential temperature. A comparison with the CLaMS model relates the observations to the vortex-wide evolution and confirms unresolved discrepancies in the mid-winter HCl distribution.
Thorsten Kaluza, Daniel Kunkel, and Peter Hoor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6621–6636, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6621-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6621-2019, 2019
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We present a comprehensive mean evolution of the tropopause inversion layer in mid-latitudes, an atmospheric feature that is located in the region that separates the well-mixed troposphere and the stably stratified stratosphere. We counter-intuitively find this region, which is expected to stabilise atmospheric flow, to exhibit favourable conditions for turbulent exchange between troposphere and stratosphere. This is an important result concerning the overall assessment of exchange processes.
Bojan Škerlak, Stephan Pfahl, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 6535–6549, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6535-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-6535-2019, 2019
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Upper-level fronts are often associated with the rapid transport of stratospheric air to the lower troposphere, leading to significantly enhanced ozone concentrations. This paper considers the multi-scale nature that is needed to bring stratospheric air down to the surface. The final transport step to the surface can be related to frontal zones and the associated vertical winds or to near-horizontal tracer transport followed by entrainment into a growing planetary boundary layer.
Meng Si, Erin Evoy, Jingwei Yun, Yu Xi, Sarah J. Hanna, Alina Chivulescu, Kevin Rawlings, Daniel Veber, Andrew Platt, Daniel Kunkel, Peter Hoor, Sangeeta Sharma, W. Richard Leaitch, and Allan K. Bertram
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 3007–3024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3007-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-3007-2019, 2019
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We investigated the importance of mineral dust, sea spray aerosol, and anthropogenic aerosol to the ice-nucleating particle (INP) population in the Canadian Arctic during spring 2016. The results suggest that mineral dust transported from the Gobi Desert was a major source of the INP population studied, and that sea spray aerosol decreased the ice-nucleating ability of mineral dust. The results should be useful for testing and improving models used to predict INPs and climate in the Arctic.
Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, W. Richard Leaitch, Amir A. Aliabadi, Allan K. Bertram, Jean-Pierre Blanchet, Aude Boivin-Rioux, Heiko Bozem, Julia Burkart, Rachel Y. W. Chang, Joannie Charette, Jai P. Chaubey, Robert J. Christensen, Ana Cirisan, Douglas B. Collins, Betty Croft, Joelle Dionne, Greg J. Evans, Christopher G. Fletcher, Martí Galí, Roya Ghahreman, Eric Girard, Wanmin Gong, Michel Gosselin, Margaux Gourdal, Sarah J. Hanna, Hakase Hayashida, Andreas B. Herber, Sareh Hesaraki, Peter Hoor, Lin Huang, Rachel Hussherr, Victoria E. Irish, Setigui A. Keita, John K. Kodros, Franziska Köllner, Felicia Kolonjari, Daniel Kunkel, Luis A. Ladino, Kathy Law, Maurice Levasseur, Quentin Libois, John Liggio, Martine Lizotte, Katrina M. Macdonald, Rashed Mahmood, Randall V. Martin, Ryan H. Mason, Lisa A. Miller, Alexander Moravek, Eric Mortenson, Emma L. Mungall, Jennifer G. Murphy, Maryam Namazi, Ann-Lise Norman, Norman T. O'Neill, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Lynn M. Russell, Johannes Schneider, Hannes Schulz, Sangeeta Sharma, Meng Si, Ralf M. Staebler, Nadja S. Steiner, Jennie L. Thomas, Knut von Salzen, Jeremy J. B. Wentzell, Megan D. Willis, Gregory R. Wentworth, Jun-Wei Xu, and Jacqueline D. Yakobi-Hancock
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2527–2560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2527-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2527-2019, 2019
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The Arctic is experiencing considerable environmental change with climate warming, illustrated by the dramatic decrease in sea-ice extent. It is important to understand both the natural and perturbed Arctic systems to gain a better understanding of how they will change in the future. This paper summarizes new insights into the relationships between Arctic aerosol particles and climate, as learned over the past five or so years by a large Canadian research consortium, NETCARE.
Hannes Schulz, Marco Zanatta, Heiko Bozem, W. Richard Leaitch, Andreas B. Herber, Julia Burkart, Megan D. Willis, Daniel Kunkel, Peter M. Hoor, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, and Rüdiger Gerdes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2361–2384, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2361-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2361-2019, 2019
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Aircraft vertical profiles of black carbon (BC) aerosol from the High Canadian Arctic have shown systematic variability in different levels of the cold, stably stratified polar dome. During spring and summer, efficiencies of BC supply by transport (often from gas flaring and wildfire-affected regions) were different in the lower dome than at higher levels, as apparent from changes in mean particle size and mixing ratios with CO. Summer BC concentrations were a factor of 10 lower than in spring.
Megan D. Willis, Heiko Bozem, Daniel Kunkel, Alex K. Y. Lee, Hannes Schulz, Julia Burkart, Amir A. Aliabadi, Andreas B. Herber, W. Richard Leaitch, and Jonathan P. D. Abbatt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 57–76, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-57-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-57-2019, 2019
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The vertical distribution of Arctic aerosol is an important driver of its climate impacts. We present vertically resolved measurements of aerosol composition and properties made in the High Arctic during spring on an aircraft platform. We explore how aerosol properties are related to transport history and show evidence of vertical trends in aerosol sources, transport mechanisms and composition. These results will help us to better understand aerosol–climate interactions in the Arctic.
Erlend M. Knudsen, Bernd Heinold, Sandro Dahlke, Heiko Bozem, Susanne Crewell, Irina V. Gorodetskaya, Georg Heygster, Daniel Kunkel, Marion Maturilli, Mario Mech, Carolina Viceto, Annette Rinke, Holger Schmithüsen, André Ehrlich, Andreas Macke, Christof Lüpkes, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 17995–18022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17995-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-17995-2018, 2018
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The paper describes the synoptic development during the ACLOUD/PASCAL airborne and ship-based field campaign near Svalbard in spring 2017. This development is presented using near-surface and upperair meteorological observations, satellite, and model data. We first present time series of these data, from which we identify and characterize three key periods. Finally, we put our observations in historical and regional contexts and compare our findings to other Arctic field campaigns.
Christine D. Groot Zwaaftink, Stephan Henne, Rona L. Thompson, Edward J. Dlugokencky, Toshinobu Machida, Jean-Daniel Paris, Motoki Sasakawa, Arjo Segers, Colm Sweeney, and Andreas Stohl
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 4469–4487, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4469-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-4469-2018, 2018
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A Lagrangian particle dispersion model is used to simulate global fields of methane, constrained by observations through nudging. We show that this rather simple and computationally inexpensive method can give results similar to or as good as a computationally expensive Eulerian chemistry transport model with a data assimilation scheme. The three-dimensional methane fields are of interest to applications such as inverse modelling and satellite retrievals.
Emma L. Mungall, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Jeremy J. B. Wentzell, Gregory R. Wentworth, Jennifer G. Murphy, Daniel Kunkel, Ellen Gute, David W. Tarasick, Sangeeta Sharma, Christopher J. Cox, Taneil Uttal, and John Liggio
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 10237–10254, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10237-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10237-2018, 2018
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We measured gas-phase formic and acetic acid at Alert, Nunavut. These acids play an important role in cloud water acidity in remote environments, yet they are not well represented in chemical transport models, particularly in the Arctic. We observed high levels of formic and acetic acid under both cold, wet, and cloudy and warm, sunny, and dry conditions, suggesting that multiple sources significantly contribute to gas-phase concentrations of these species in the summer Arctic.
Florian Berkes, Norbert Houben, Ulrich Bundke, Harald Franke, Hans-Werner Pätz, Franz Rohrer, Andreas Wahner, and Andreas Petzold
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 3737–3757, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3737-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-3737-2018, 2018
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The need for in situ nitrogen oxide measurements on a global scale is crucial to improve the chemistry in global chemistry models and evaluate satellite retrievals. Here we present the characterization of the new IAGOS NOx instrument installed on passenger aircraft, which will provide statistical robust measurements from the surface up to 13 km.
Jens Krause, Peter Hoor, Andreas Engel, Felix Plöger, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Harald Bönisch, Timo Keber, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Wolfgang Woiwode, and Hermann Oelhaf
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 6057–6073, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6057-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6057-2018, 2018
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We present tracer measurements of CO and N2O measured during the POLSTRACC aircraft campaign in winter 2015–2016. We found enhanced CO values relative to N2O in the polar lower stratosphere in addition to the ageing of this region during winter. By using model simulations it was possible to link this enhancement to an increased mixing of the tropical tropopause. We thus conclude that the polar lower stratosphere in late winter is strongly influenced by quasi-isentropic mixing from the tropics.
Paul Herenz, Heike Wex, Silvia Henning, Thomas Bjerring Kristensen, Florian Rubach, Anja Roth, Stephan Borrmann, Heiko Bozem, Hannes Schulz, and Frank Stratmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4477–4496, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4477-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4477-2018, 2018
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The Arctic climate is changing much faster than other regions on Earth. Hence, it is necessary to investigate the processes that are liable for this phenomena and to document the current situation in the Arctic. Therefore, we measured the number and also the size of aerosol particles. It turned out that we captured the transition from the Arctic spring to the Arctic summer and that the according air masses show differences in particle properties. Also, the particles have a low water receptivity.
Peter G. Simmonds, Matthew Rigby, Archie McCulloch, Martin K. Vollmer, Stephan Henne, Jens Mühle, Simon O'Doherty, Alistair J. Manning, Paul B. Krummel, Paul J. Fraser, Dickon Young, Ray F. Weiss, Peter K. Salameh, Christina M. Harth, Stefan Reimann, Cathy M. Trudinger, L. Paul Steele, Ray H. J. Wang, Diane J. Ivy, Ronald G. Prinn, Blagoj Mitrevski, and David M. Etheridge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4153–4169, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4153-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4153-2018, 2018
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Recent measurements of the potent greenhouse gas HFC-23, a by-product of HCFC-22 production, show a 28 % increase in the atmospheric mole fraction from 2009 to 2016. A minimum in the atmospheric abundance of HFC-23 in 2009 was attributed to abatement of HFC-23 emissions by incineration under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Our results indicate that the recent increase in HFC-23 emissions is driven by failure of mitigation under the CDM to keep pace with increased HCFC-22 production.
Fabian Schoenenberger, Stephan Henne, Matthias Hill, Martin K. Vollmer, Giorgos Kouvarakis, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, Simon O'Doherty, Michela Maione, Lukas Emmenegger, Thomas Peter, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 4069–4092, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4069-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-4069-2018, 2018
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Anthropogenic halocarbon emissions contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming. We measured atmospheric halocarbons for 6 months on Crete to extend the coverage of the existing observation network to the Eastern Mediterranean. The derived emission estimates showed a contribution of 16.8 % (13.6–23.3 %) and 53.2 % (38.1–84.2 %) of this region to the total HFC and HCFC emissions of the analyzed European domain and a reduction of the underlying uncertainties by 40–80 %.
Katrina M. Macdonald, Sangeeta Sharma, Desiree Toom, Alina Chivulescu, Andrew Platt, Mike Elsasser, Lin Huang, Richard Leaitch, Nathan Chellman, Joseph R. McConnell, Heiko Bozem, Daniel Kunkel, Ying Duan Lei, Cheol-Heon Jeong, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, and Greg J. Evans
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 3485–3503, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3485-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-3485-2018, 2018
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The sources of key contaminants in Arctic snow may be an important factor in understanding the rapid climate changes observed in the Arctic. Fresh snow samples collected frequently through the winter season were analyzed for major constituents. Temporally refined source apportionment via positive matrix factorization in conjunction with FLEXPART suggested potential source characteristics and locations. The identity of these sources and their relative contribution to key analytes is discussed.
Christian Rolf, Bärbel Vogel, Peter Hoor, Armin Afchine, Gebhard Günther, Martina Krämer, Rolf Müller, Stefan Müller, Nicole Spelten, and Martin Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2973–2983, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2973-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2973-2018, 2018
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The Asian monsoon is a pronounced circulation system linked to rapid vertical transport of surface air from India and east Asia in the summer months. We found, based on aircraft measurements, higher concentration of water vapor in the lowermost stratosphere caused by the Asian monsoon. Enrichment of water vapor concentrations in the lowermost stratosphere impacts the radiation budget and thus climate. Understanding those variations in water vapor is important for climate projections.
Yulan Zhang, Shichang Kang, Michael Sprenger, Zhiyuan Cong, Tanguang Gao, Chaoliu Li, Shu Tao, Xiaofei Li, Xinyue Zhong, Min Xu, Wenjun Meng, Bigyan Neupane, Xiang Qin, and Mika Sillanpää
The Cryosphere, 12, 413–431, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-413-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-413-2018, 2018
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Light-absorbing impurities deposited on snow can reduce surface albedo and contribute to the near-worldwide melting of snowpack and ice. This study focused on the black carbon and mineral dust in snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau. We discussed their concentrations, distributions, possible sources, and albedo reduction and radiative forcing. Findings indicated that the impacts of black carbon and mineral dust need to be properly accounted for in future regional climate projections.
Thomas Trickl, Hannes Vogelmann, Ludwig Ries, Hans-Eckhart Scheel, and Michael Sprenger
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-1192, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-1192, 2018
Revised manuscript not accepted
Martin K. Vollmer, Dickon Young, Cathy M. Trudinger, Jens Mühle, Stephan Henne, Matthew Rigby, Sunyoung Park, Shanlan Li, Myriam Guillevic, Blagoj Mitrevski, Christina M. Harth, Benjamin R. Miller, Stefan Reimann, Bo Yao, L. Paul Steele, Simon A. Wyss, Chris R. Lunder, Jgor Arduini, Archie McCulloch, Songhao Wu, Tae Siek Rhee, Ray H. J. Wang, Peter K. Salameh, Ove Hermansen, Matthias Hill, Ray L. Langenfelds, Diane Ivy, Simon O'Doherty, Paul B. Krummel, Michela Maione, David M. Etheridge, Lingxi Zhou, Paul J. Fraser, Ronald G. Prinn, Ray F. Weiss, and Peter G. Simmonds
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 979–1002, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-979-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-979-2018, 2018
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We measured the three chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) CFC-13, CFC-114, and CFC-115 in the atmosphere because they are important in stratospheric ozone depletion. These compounds should have decreased in the atmosphere because they are banned by the Montreal Protocol but we find the opposite. Emissions over the last decade have not declined on a global scale. We use inverse modeling and our observations to find that a large part of the emissions originate in the Asian region.
Franziska Köllner, Johannes Schneider, Megan D. Willis, Thomas Klimach, Frank Helleis, Heiko Bozem, Daniel Kunkel, Peter Hoor, Julia Burkart, W. Richard Leaitch, Amir A. Aliabadi, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Andreas B. Herber, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13747–13766, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13747-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13747-2017, 2017
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We conducted aircraft-based single particle chemical composition measurements in the Canadian high Arctic during summer. Our results provide evidence for a marine-biogenic influence on secondary formation of particulate trimethylamine in the Arctic boundary layer. Understanding emission sources and further processes controlling aerosol number concentration and chemical composition in the pristine Arctic summer is crucial for modeling future climate in the area.
Tilman Hüneke, Oliver-Alex Aderhold, Jannik Bounin, Marcel Dorf, Eric Gentry, Katja Grossmann, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Peter Hoor, Patrick Jöckel, Mareike Kenntner, Marvin Knapp, Matthias Knecht, Dominique Lörks, Sabrina Ludmann, Sigrun Matthes, Rasmus Raecke, Marcel Reichert, Jannis Weimar, Bodo Werner, Andreas Zahn, Helmut Ziereis, and Klaus Pfeilsticker
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 4209–4234, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4209-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-4209-2017, 2017
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This paper describes a novel instrument for the aircraft-borne remote sensing of trace gases and liquid and solid water. Until recently, such measurements could only be evaluated under clear-sky conditions. We present a characterization and error assessment of the novel "scaling method", which allows for the retrieval of absolute trace gas concentrations under all sky conditions, significantly expanding the applicability of such measurements to study atmospheric photochemistry.
Douglas B. Collins, Julia Burkart, Rachel Y.-W. Chang, Martine Lizotte, Aude Boivin-Rioux, Marjolaine Blais, Emma L. Mungall, Matthew Boyer, Victoria E. Irish, Guillaume Massé, Daniel Kunkel, Jean-Éric Tremblay, Tim Papakyriakou, Allan K. Bertram, Heiko Bozem, Michel Gosselin, Maurice Levasseur, and Jonathan P. D. Abbatt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13119–13138, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13119-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13119-2017, 2017
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The sources of aerosol particles and their growth to sizes large enough to act as cloud droplet seeds is of major importance to climate since clouds exert substantial control over the atmospheric energy balance. Using ship-board measurements from two summers in the Canadian Arctic, aerosol formation events were related to co-sampled atmospheric and oceanic parameters, providing insight into factors that drive particle formation and motivating further study of ocean–atmosphere interactions.
Florian Berkes, Patrick Neis, Martin G. Schultz, Ulrich Bundke, Susanne Rohs, Herman G. J. Smit, Andreas Wahner, Paul Konopka, Damien Boulanger, Philippe Nédélec, Valerie Thouret, and Andreas Petzold
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 12495–12508, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12495-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12495-2017, 2017
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This study highlights the importance of independent global measurements with high and long-term accuracy to quantify long-term changes, especially in the UTLS region, and to help identify inconsistencies between different data sets of observations and models. Here we investigated temperature trends over different regions within a climate-sensitive area of the atmosphere and demonstrated the value of the IAGOS temperature observations as an anchor point for the evaluation of reanalyses.
Heiko Bozem, Andrea Pozzer, Hartwig Harder, Monica Martinez, Jonathan Williams, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 11835–11848, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11835-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-11835-2017, 2017
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We present a case study of deep convection over Germany in July 2007 within the framework of the HOOVER II project. Airborne in situ measurements within the in- and outflow regions of an isolated thunderstorm provide a unique data set to study the influence of deep convection on the transport efficiency of soluble and insoluble trace gases. Despite their high solubility HCHO and H2O2 show enhanced concentrations in the outflow presumably due to degassing from cloud droplets during freezing.
Marcus Klingebiel, André Ehrlich, Fanny Finger, Timo Röschenthaler, Suad Jakirlić, Matthias Voigt, Stefan Müller, Rolf Maser, Manfred Wendisch, Peter Hoor, Peter Spichtinger, and Stephan Borrmann
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 3485–3498, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3485-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-3485-2017, 2017
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Microphysical and radiation measurements were collected with the unique AIRcraft TOwed Sensor Shuttle (AIRTOSS) – Learjet tandem platform. It is a combination of a Learjet 35A research aircraft and an instrumented aerodynamic bird, which can be detached from and retracted back to the aircraft during flight.
AIRTOSS and Learjet are equipped with radiative, cloud microphysical, trace gas,
and meteorological instruments to study cirrus clouds.
Dominik Brunner, Tim Arnold, Stephan Henne, Alistair Manning, Rona L. Thompson, Michela Maione, Simon O'Doherty, and Stefan Reimann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10651–10674, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10651-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10651-2017, 2017
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Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and SF6 are industrially produced gases with a large greenhouse-gas warming potential. In this study, we estimated the emissions of HFCs and SF6 over Europe by combining measurements at three background stations with four different model systems. We identified significant differences between our estimates and nationally reported numbers, but also found that the network of only three sites in Europe is insufficient to reliably attribute emissions to individual countries.
Heiko Bozem, Tim M. Butler, Mark G. Lawrence, Hartwig Harder, Monica Martinez, Dagmar Kubistin, Jos Lelieveld, and Horst Fischer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10565–10582, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10565-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10565-2017, 2017
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We present airborne measurements and model simulations in the tropics and mid-latitudes during GABRIEL and HOOVER, respectively. Based only on in situ data net ozone formation/destruction tendencies (NOPR) are calculated and compared to a 3-D chemistry transport model. The NOPR is positive in the continental boundary layer and the upper troposphere above 6 km. In the marine boundary layer and the middle troposphere ozone destruction prevails. Fresh convection shows strong net ozone formation.
Yann Poltera, Giovanni Martucci, Martine Collaud Coen, Maxime Hervo, Lukas Emmenegger, Stephan Henne, Dominik Brunner, and Alexander Haefele
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10051–10070, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10051-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10051-2017, 2017
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We present the PathfinderTURB algorithm for the analysis of ceilometer backscatter data and the real-time detection of the vertical structure of the planetary boundary layer. PathfinderTURB has been applied to 1 year of data measured by two ceilometers operated at two Swiss stations: the Aerological Observatory of Payerne on the Swiss plateau, and the Alpine Jungfraujoch observatory. The study shows that aerosols from the boundary layer significantly influence the air measured at Jungfraujoch.
Roya Ghahreman, Ann-Lise Norman, Betty Croft, Randall V. Martin, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Julia Burkart, Ofelia Rempillo, Heiko Bozem, Daniel Kunkel, Jennie L. Thomas, Amir A. Aliabadi, Gregory R. Wentworth, Maurice Levasseur, Ralf M. Staebler, Sangeeta Sharma, and W. Richard Leaitch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8757–8770, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8757-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8757-2017, 2017
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We present spring and summertime vertical profile measurements of Arctic dimethyl sulfide (DMS), together with model simulations to consider what these profiles indicate about DMS sources and lifetimes in the Arctic. Our results highlight the role of local open water as the source of DMS(g) during July 2014 and the influence of long-range transport of DMS(g) from further afield in the Arctic during April 2015.
Andrea Mues, Maheswar Rupakheti, Christoph Münkel, Axel Lauer, Heiko Bozem, Peter Hoor, Tim Butler, and Mark G. Lawrence
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 8157–8176, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8157-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-8157-2017, 2017
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Ceilometer measurements taken in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, were used to study the temporal and spatial evolution of the mixing layer height in the valley. This provides important information on the vertical structure of the atmosphere and can thus also help to understand the mixing of air pollutants (e.g. black carbon) in the valley. The seasonal and diurnal cycles of the mixing layer were found to be highly dependent on meteorology and mainly anticorrelated to black carbon concentrations.
Klaus-D. Gottschaldt, Hans Schlager, Robert Baumann, Heiko Bozem, Veronika Eyring, Peter Hoor, Patrick Jöckel, Tina Jurkat, Christiane Voigt, Andreas Zahn, and Helmut Ziereis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 6091–6111, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6091-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6091-2017, 2017
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We present upper-tropospheric trace gas measurements in the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone, obtained with the HALO research aircraft in September 2012. The anticyclone is one of the largest atmospheric features on Earth, but many aspects of it are not well understood. With the help of model simulations we find that entrainments from the tropopause region and the lower troposphere, combined with photochemistry and dynamical instabilities, can explain the observations.
Katrina M. Macdonald, Sangeeta Sharma, Desiree Toom, Alina Chivulescu, Sarah Hanna, Allan K. Bertram, Andrew Platt, Mike Elsasser, Lin Huang, David Tarasick, Nathan Chellman, Joseph R. McConnell, Heiko Bozem, Daniel Kunkel, Ying Duan Lei, Greg J. Evans, and Jonathan P. D. Abbatt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5775–5788, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5775-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5775-2017, 2017
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Rapid climate changes within the Arctic have highlighted existing uncertainties in the transport of contaminants to Arctic snow. Fresh snow samples collected frequently through the winter season were analyzed for major constituents creating a unique record of Arctic snow. Comparison with simultaneous atmospheric measurements provides insight into the driving processes in the transfer of contaminants from air to snow. The relative importance of deposition mechanisms over the season is proposed.
Julia Burkart, Megan D. Willis, Heiko Bozem, Jennie L. Thomas, Kathy Law, Peter Hoor, Amir A. Aliabadi, Franziska Köllner, Johannes Schneider, Andreas Herber, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, and W. Richard Leaitch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5515–5535, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5515-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5515-2017, 2017
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Our aircraft study for the first time systematically investigates aerosol size distributions, including ultrafine particles (5–20 nm in diameter), in the Arctic summertime atmosphere. We find that ultrafine particles occur very frequently in the boundary layer and not aloft, suggesting a surface source of these particles. Understanding aerosol properties and sources is crucial to predict climate and especially important in the Arctic as this region responds extremely fast to climate change.
Johannes Wagner, Andreas Dörnbrack, Markus Rapp, Sonja Gisinger, Benedikt Ehard, Martina Bramberger, Benjamin Witschas, Fernando Chouza, Stephan Rahm, Christian Mallaun, Gerd Baumgarten, and Peter Hoor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 4031–4052, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4031-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-4031-2017, 2017
Carla Frege, Federico Bianchi, Ugo Molteni, Jasmin Tröstl, Heikki Junninen, Stephan Henne, Mikko Sipilä, Erik Herrmann, Michel J. Rossi, Markku Kulmala, Christopher R. Hoyle, Urs Baltensperger, and Josef Dommen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 2613–2629, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2613-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-2613-2017, 2017
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We present measurements of the chemical composition of atmospheric ions at high altitude (3450 m a.s.l.) during a 9-month campaign. We detected remarkably high correlation between methanesulfonic acid (MSA) and SO5−. Halogenated species were also detected frequently at this continental location. New-particle formation events occurred via the condensation of highly oxygenated molecules (HOMs) at very low sulfuric acid concentration or, less frequently, due to ammonia–sulfuric acid clusters.
Quentin Libois, Liviu Ivanescu, Jean-Pierre Blanchet, Hannes Schulz, Heiko Bozem, W. Richard Leaitch, Julia Burkart, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Andreas B. Herber, Amir A. Aliabadi, and Éric Girard
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15689–15707, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15689-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15689-2016, 2016
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The first airborne measurements performed with the FIRR are presented. Vertical profiles of upwelling spectral radiance in the far-infrared are measured in the Arctic atmosphere for the first time. They show the impact of the temperature inversion on the radiative budget of the atmosphere, especially in the far-infrared. The presence of ice clouds also significantly alters the far-infrared budget, highlighting the critical interplay between water vapour and clouds in this very dry region.
Bärbel Vogel, Gebhard Günther, Rolf Müller, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Armin Afchine, Heiko Bozem, Peter Hoor, Martina Krämer, Stefan Müller, Martin Riese, Christian Rolf, Nicole Spelten, Gabriele P. Stiller, Jörn Ungermann, and Andreas Zahn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 15301–15325, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15301-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-15301-2016, 2016
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The identification of transport pathways from the Asian monsoon anticyclone into the lower stratosphere is unclear. Global simulations with the CLaMS model demonstrate that source regions in Asia and in the Pacific Ocean have a significant impact on the chemical composition of the lower stratosphere of the Northern Hemisphere by flooding the extratropical lower stratosphere with young moist air masses. Two main horizontal transport pathways from the Asian monsoon anticyclone are identified.
Davide Putero, Paolo Cristofanelli, Michael Sprenger, Bojan Škerlak, Laura Tositti, and Paolo Bonasoni
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14203–14217, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14203-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14203-2016, 2016
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The aim of this paper is to present STEFLUX, a tool to obtain a fast-computing identification of the stratospheric intrusion (SI) events occurring at a specific location and during a specified time window. STEFLUX results are compared to the SI observations at two high-mountain WMO/GAW global stations in Nepal and Italy, representative of two hot spots for climate change. Furthermore, the climatology of SI at the two stations is assessed, and the impact of several climate factors investigated.
Dimitris Akritidis, Andrea Pozzer, Prodromos Zanis, Evangelos Tyrlis, Bojan Škerlak, Michael Sprenger, and Jos Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 14025–14039, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14025-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-14025-2016, 2016
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We investigate the contribution of tropopause folds in the summertime tropospheric ozone pool over the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East. For this purpose we use the EMAC atmospheric chemistry–climate model and a fold identification algorithm. A clear increase of ozone is found in the middle troposphere due to fold activity. The interannual variability of near-surface ozone over the eastern Mediterranean is related to that of both tropopause folds and ozone in the free troposphere.
W. Richard Leaitch, Alexei Korolev, Amir A. Aliabadi, Julia Burkart, Megan D. Willis, Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, Heiko Bozem, Peter Hoor, Franziska Köllner, Johannes Schneider, Andreas Herber, Christian Konrad, and Ralf Brauner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 11107–11124, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11107-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-11107-2016, 2016
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Thought to be mostly unimportant for summertime Arctic liquid-water clouds, airborne observations show that atmospheric aerosol particles 50 nm in diameter or smaller and most likely from natural sources are often involved in cloud formation in the pristine Arctic summer. The result expands the reference for aerosol forcing of climate. Further, for extremely low droplet concentrations, no evidence is found for a connection between cloud liquid water and aerosol particle concentrations.
Stefan Müller, Peter Hoor, Heiko Bozem, Ellen Gute, Bärbel Vogel, Andreas Zahn, Harald Bönisch, Timo Keber, Martina Krämer, Christian Rolf, Martin Riese, Hans Schlager, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 10573–10589, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10573-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-10573-2016, 2016
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In situ airborne measurements performed during TACTS/ESMVal 2012 were analysed to investigate the chemical compostion of the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. N2O, CO and O3 data show an increase in tropospherically affected air masses within the extratropical stratosphere from August to September 2012, which originate from the Asian monsoon region. Thus, the Asian monsoon anticyclone significantly affected the chemical composition of the extratropical stratosphere during summer 2012.
Michael F. Schibig, Emmanuel Mahieu, Stephan Henne, Bernard Lejeune, and Markus C. Leuenberger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9935–9949, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9935-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9935-2016, 2016
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Two CO2 time series measured at the High Alpine Research Station Jungfraujoch, Switzerland (3580 m a.s.l.), in the period from 2005 to 2013 were compared. One data set was measured in situ whereas the other data set was measured in the column above Jungfraujoch. The trends of the column integrated and the in situ data set are in good agreement, the amplitude of the in situ data set is ca. two times the amplitude of the column integrated data set, because it is closer to the sources and sinks.
Thomas Trickl, Hannes Vogelmann, Andreas Fix, Andreas Schäfler, Martin Wirth, Bertrand Calpini, Gilbert Levrat, Gonzague Romanens, Arnoud Apituley, Keith M. Wilson, Robert Begbie, Jens Reichardt, Holger Vömel, and Michael Sprenger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8791–8815, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8791-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8791-2016, 2016
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A rather homogeneous deep stratospheric intrusion event was mapped by vertical sounding over central Europe and by model calculations along the transport path. The very low minimum H2O mixing ratios demonstrate almost negligible mixing with tropospheric air during the downward transport. The vertical distributions of O3 and aerosol were transferred from the source region to Europe without major change. A rather shallow outflow from the stratosphere was found.
Emiliano Stopelli, Franz Conen, Cindy E. Morris, Erik Herrmann, Stephan Henne, Martin Steinbacher, and Christine Alewell
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 8341–8351, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8341-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-8341-2016, 2016
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Knowing the variability of ice nucleating particles (INPs) helps determining their role in the formation of precipitation. Here we describe and predict the concentrations of INPs active at −8 °C in precipitation samples collected at Jungfraujoch (CH, 3580 m a.s.l.). A high abundance of these INPs can be expected whenever a coincidence of high wind speed and first precipitation from an air mass occurs. This expands the set of conditions where such INPs could affect the onset of precipitation.
Amir A. Aliabadi, Jennie L. Thomas, Andreas B. Herber, Ralf M. Staebler, W. Richard Leaitch, Hannes Schulz, Kathy S. Law, Louis Marelle, Julia Burkart, Megan D. Willis, Heiko Bozem, Peter M. Hoor, Franziska Köllner, Johannes Schneider, Maurice Levasseur, and Jonathan P. D. Abbatt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7899–7916, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7899-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7899-2016, 2016
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For the first time, ship emissions of an ice-breaker, the Amundsen, is characterized while breaking ice in the Canadian Arctic using the plume intercepts by the Polar 6 aircraft. The study is novel, estimating lower plume expansion rates over the stable Arctic marine boundary layer and different emissions factors for oxides of nitrogen, black carbon, and carbon monoxide, compared to plume intercept studies in mid latitudes. These results can inform policy making and emission inventory datasets.
Megan D. Willis, Julia Burkart, Jennie L. Thomas, Franziska Köllner, Johannes Schneider, Heiko Bozem, Peter M. Hoor, Amir A. Aliabadi, Hannes Schulz, Andreas B. Herber, W. Richard Leaitch, and Jonathan P. D. Abbatt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 7663–7679, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7663-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-7663-2016, 2016
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We present a case study focused on an aerosol growth event observed in the Canadian High Arctic during summer. Using measurements of aerosol chemical and physical properties we find evidence for aerosol growth into cloud condensation nuclei-active sizes, through marine-influenced secondary organic aerosol formation. Understanding the mechanisms that control the formation and growth of aerosol is crucial for our ability to predict cloud properties, and therefore radiative balance and climate.
Ece Satar, Tesfaye A. Berhanu, Dominik Brunner, Stephan Henne, and Markus Leuenberger
Biogeosciences, 13, 2623–2635, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2623-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2623-2016, 2016
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Beromünster tall tower is the flagship of the densely placed Swiss greenhouse gas observation network (CarboCount CH). In this research article we report the first 2 years of the continuous greenhouse gas measurements using cavity ring down spectroscopy analyzer from this tall tower. We have adopted a purely observation based, multi-species and multi-level approach to characterize the site with respect to sources and sinks of natural and anthropogenic origin at diurnal to annual timescales.
N. Sobanski, M. J. Tang, J. Thieser, G. Schuster, D. Pöhler, H. Fischer, W. Song, C. Sauvage, J. Williams, J. Fachinger, F. Berkes, P. Hoor, U. Platt, J. Lelieveld, and J. N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 4867–4883, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4867-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-4867-2016, 2016
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The nitrate radical (NO3) is an important nocturnal oxidant. By measuring NO3, its precursors (nitrogen dioxide and ozone) and several trace gases with which it reacts, we examined the chemical and meteorological factors influencing the lifetime of NO3 at a semi-rural mountain site. Unexpectedly long lifetimes, approaching 1 h, were observed on several nights and were associated with a low-lying residual layer. We discuss the role of other reactions that convert NO2 to NO3.
Stephan Henne, Dominik Brunner, Brian Oney, Markus Leuenberger, Werner Eugster, Ines Bamberger, Frank Meinhardt, Martin Steinbacher, and Lukas Emmenegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3683–3710, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3683-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3683-2016, 2016
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Greenhouse gas emissions can be assessed by "top-down" methods that combine atmospheric observations, a transport model and a mathematical optimisation framework. Here, we apply such a top-down method to the methane emissions of Switzerland, utilising observations from the recently installed CarboCount-CH network. Our Swiss total emissions largely agree with those of the national "bottom-up" inventory, whereas regional differences suggest lower than reported emissions from manure handling.
N. I. Kristiansen, A. Stohl, D. J. L. Olivié, B. Croft, O. A. Søvde, H. Klein, T. Christoudias, D. Kunkel, S. J. Leadbetter, Y. H. Lee, K. Zhang, K. Tsigaridis, T. Bergman, N. Evangeliou, H. Wang, P.-L. Ma, R. C. Easter, P. J. Rasch, X. Liu, G. Pitari, G. Di Genova, S. Y. Zhao, Y. Balkanski, S. E. Bauer, G. S. Faluvegi, H. Kokkola, R. V. Martin, J. R. Pierce, M. Schulz, D. Shindell, H. Tost, and H. Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3525–3561, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3525-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3525-2016, 2016
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Processes affecting aerosol removal from the atmosphere are not fully understood. In this study we investigate to what extent atmospheric transport models can reproduce observed loss of aerosols. We compare measurements of radioactive isotopes, that attached to ambient sulfate aerosols during the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident, to 19 models using identical emissions. Results indicate aerosol removal that is too fast in most models, and apply to aerosols that have undergone long-range transport.
D. Kunkel, P. Hoor, and V. Wirth
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 541–560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-541-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-541-2016, 2016
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By conducting various simulations of dry and moist baroclinic life cycles, we aimed to improve the understanding of whether dynamical or diabatic processes are more relevant to form a tropopause inversion layer at midlatitudes. Most importantly, our experiments highlighted the role of different moisture related processes for the formation and evolution of the tropopause inversion layer with varying relevance and strength in different phases of the baroclinic life cycles.
P. G. Simmonds, M. Rigby, A. J. Manning, M. F. Lunt, S. O'Doherty, A. McCulloch, P. J. Fraser, S. Henne, M. K. Vollmer, J. Mühle, R. F. Weiss, P. K. Salameh, D. Young, S. Reimann, A. Wenger, T. Arnold, C. M. Harth, P. B. Krummel, L. P. Steele, B. L. Dunse, B. R. Miller, C. R. Lunder, O. Hermansen, N. Schmidbauer, T. Saito, Y. Yokouchi, S. Park, S. Li, B. Yao, L. X. Zhou, J. Arduini, M. Maione, R. H. J. Wang, D. Ivy, and R. G. Prinn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 365–382, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-365-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-365-2016, 2016
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We report regional and global emissions estimates of HFC-152a using high frequency measurements from 11 observing sites and archived air samples dating back to 1978 together with atmospheric transport models. The "bottom-up" emissions of HFC-152a reported to the UNFCCC appear to significantly underestimate those reported here from observations. This discrepancy we suggest arises from largely underestimated USA and undeclared Asian emissions.
Christiane Hofmann, Astrid Kerkweg, Peter Hoor, and Patrick Jöckel
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2015-949, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2015-949, 2016
Revised manuscript not accepted
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Ozone enhancements at the surface, caused by descending stratospheric air masses along deep tropopause folds, can be reproduced using the model system MECO(n). It is shown that stratosphere-troposphere-exchange (STE) in the vicinity of a tropopause fold occurs in regions of turbulence and diabatic processes. The efficiency of mixing is quantified, showing that almost all of the air masses originating in the tropopause fold are transported into the troposphere during the following two days.
R. Fröhlich, M. J. Cubison, J. G. Slowik, N. Bukowiecki, F. Canonaco, P. L. Croteau, M. Gysel, S. Henne, E. Herrmann, J. T. Jayne, M. Steinbacher, D. R. Worsnop, U. Baltensperger, and A. S. H. Prévôt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 11373–11398, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11373-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11373-2015, 2015
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This manuscript presents the first long-term (14-month) and highly time-resolved (10 min) measurements of NR-PM1 aerosol chemical composition at a high-altitude site (JFJ, Switzerland, 3580m a.s.l.). The elevated location allowed the investigation of free tropospheric aerosol year round. Total and relative mass loadings, diurnal variations as well as seasonal variations are discussed together with geographical origin, organic aerosol sources and the influence of the planetary boundary layer.
B. Oney, S. Henne, N. Gruber, M. Leuenberger, I. Bamberger, W. Eugster, and D. Brunner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 11147–11164, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11147-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11147-2015, 2015
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We present a detailed analysis of a new greenhouse gas measurement network
in the Swiss Plateau, situated between the Jura mountains and the Alps. We
find the network's measurements to be information rich and suitable
for studying surface carbon fluxes of the study region. However, we are
limited by the high-resolution (2km) atmospheric transport model's ability
to simulate meteorology at the individual measurement stations, especially
at those situated in rough terrain.
P. Reutter, B. Škerlak, M. Sprenger, and H. Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 10939–10953, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10939-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-10939-2015, 2015
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In this manuscript, we investigate the exchange of air masses across the dynamical tropopause (stratosphere-troposphere exchange, STE) in the vicinity of North Atlantic cyclones. By using two 6-hourly resolved ERA-Interim climatologies of STE and cyclones from 1979 to 2011, we are able to directly compute the amount of STE in the vicinity of every individual cyclone in this time period. This enables us to provide a robust and consistent quantification of STE near North Atlantic cyclones.
C. Rolf, A. Afchine, H. Bozem, B. Buchholz, V. Ebert, T. Guggenmoser, P. Hoor, P. Konopka, E. Kretschmer, S. Müller, H. Schlager, N. Spelten, O. Sumińska-Ebersoldt, J. Ungermann, A. Zahn, and M. Krämer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 9143–9158, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9143-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-9143-2015, 2015
M. Sprenger and H. Wernli
Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 2569–2586, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2569-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2569-2015, 2015
W. Frey, R. Schofield, P. Hoor, D. Kunkel, F. Ravegnani, A. Ulanovsky, S. Viciani, F. D'Amato, and T. P. Lane
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 6467–6486, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6467-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-6467-2015, 2015
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This study examines the simulated downward transport and mixing of stratospheric air into the upper tropical troposphere as observed on a research flight during the SCOUT-O3 campaign in connection with a deep convective system, using the WRF model. Passive tracers are initialised to study the impact of the deep convection on the tracers and water vapour. We use the model to explain the processes causing the transport and also expose areas of inconsistencies between the model and observations.
R. Pommrich, R. Müller, J.-U. Grooß, P. Konopka, F. Ploeger, B. Vogel, M. Tao, C. M. Hoppe, G. Günther, N. Spelten, L. Hoffmann, H.-C. Pumphrey, S. Viciani, F. D'Amato, C. M. Volk, P. Hoor, H. Schlager, and M. Riese
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 2895–2916, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2895-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-2895-2014, 2014
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A version of the chemical transport model CLaMS is presented, which features a simplified (numerically inexpensive) chemistry scheme. The model results using this version of CLaMS show a good representation of anomaly fields of CO, CH4, N2O, and CFC-11 in the lower stratosphere. CO measurements of three instruments (COLD, HAGAR, and Falcon-CO) in the lower tropical stratosphere (during the campaign TROCCINOX in 2005) have been compared and show a good agreement within the error bars.
B. Vogel, G. Günther, R. Müller, J.-U. Grooß, P. Hoor, M. Krämer, S. Müller, A. Zahn, and M. Riese
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12745–12762, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12745-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12745-2014, 2014
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Enhanced tropospheric trace gases (e.g. pollutants) were measured in situ in
the lowermost stratosphere over Northern Europe on 26 September 2012
during the TACTS aircraft campaign. We found that the combination of rapid uplift by a typhoon and eastward eddy shedding from the Asian monsoon anticyclone is a novel fast transport pathway
that may carry boundary emissions from Southeast
Asia/western Pacific within approximately 5 weeks to the lowermost
stratosphere in Northern Europe.
S. Pandey Deolal, S. Henne, L. Ries, S. Gilge, U. Weers, M. Steinbacher, J. Staehelin, and T. Peter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 12553–12571, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12553-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-12553-2014, 2014
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Mixing ratios of Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) at Jungfraujoch (Switzerland) and Zugspitze (Germany) show a seasonal variation with maxima in spring, typical for remote sites in the lower atmosphere in northern mid-latitudes. The detailed analysis of PAN measurements of May 2008 indicates that PAN at these high mountain sites is dominated by photochemical formation in the relatively cold polluted European planetary boundary layer rather than formation in the free troposphere.
T. Trickl, H. Vogelmann, H. Giehl, H.-E. Scheel, M. Sprenger, and A. Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 9941–9961, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9941-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9941-2014, 2014
H. Bozem, H. Fischer, C. Gurk, C. L. Schiller, U. Parchatka, R. Koenigstedt, A. Stickler, M. Martinez, H. Harder, D. Kubistin, J. Williams, G. Eerdekens, and J. Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 8917–8931, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8917-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-8917-2014, 2014
M. Riese, H. Oelhaf, P. Preusse, J. Blank, M. Ern, F. Friedl-Vallon, H. Fischer, T. Guggenmoser, M. Höpfner, P. Hoor, M. Kaufmann, J. Orphal, F. Plöger, R. Spang, O. Suminska-Ebersoldt, J. Ungermann, B. Vogel, and W. Woiwode
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 7, 1915–1928, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1915-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-7-1915-2014, 2014
C. Liu, S. Beirle, T. Butler, P. Hoor, C. Frankenberg, P. Jöckel, M. Penning de Vries, U. Platt, A. Pozzer, M. G. Lawrence, J. Lelieveld, H. Tost, and T. Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1717–1732, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1717-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1717-2014, 2014
B. Škerlak, M. Sprenger, and H. Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 913–937, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-913-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-913-2014, 2014
J. Yoon, A. Pozzer, P. Hoor, D. Y. Chang, S. Beirle, T. Wagner, S. Schloegl, J. Lelieveld, and H. M. Worden
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 11307–11316, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11307-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-11307-2013, 2013
E. Regelin, H. Harder, M. Martinez, D. Kubistin, C. Tatum Ernest, H. Bozem, T. Klippel, Z. Hosaynali-Beygi, H. Fischer, R. Sander, P. Jöckel, R. Königstedt, and J. Lelieveld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10703–10720, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10703-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10703-2013, 2013
P. Sturm, B. Tuzson, S. Henne, and L. Emmenegger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1659–1671, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1659-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1659-2013, 2013
M. D. Andrés-Hernández, D. Kartal, J. N. Crowley, V. Sinha, E. Regelin, M. Martínez-Harder, V. Nenakhov, J. Williams, H. Harder, H. Bozem, W. Song, J. Thieser, M. J. Tang, Z. Hosaynali Beigi, and J. P. Burrows
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 5731–5749, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5731-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-5731-2013, 2013
D. Kunkel, H. Tost, and M. G. Lawrence
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 4203–4222, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4203-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-4203-2013, 2013
J. Lelieveld, M. G. Lawrence, and D. Kunkel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 31–34, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-31-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-31-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Observation and modeling of atmospheric OH and HO2∗ radicals at a subtropical rural site and implications for secondary pollutants
Tracing elevated abundance of CH2Cl2 in the subarctic upper troposphere to the Asian Summer Monsoon
Carbonyl compounds from typical combustion sources: emission characteristics, influencing factors, and their contribution to ozone formation
Formation drivers and photochemical effects of ClNO2 in a coastal city of Southeast China
Significant influence of oxygenated volatile organic compounds on atmospheric chemistry: a case study in a typical industrial city in China
Global ground-based tropospheric ozone measurements: reference data and individual site trends (2000–2022) from the TOAR-II/HEGIFTOM project
Understanding summertime H2O2 chemistry in the North China Plain through observations and modeling studies
Volatile organic compound sources and impacts in an urban Mediterranean area (Marseille, France)
Short-lived organic nitrates in a suburban temperate forest: an indication of efficient assimilation of reactive nitrogen by the biosphere?
Spatiotemporal variations in atmospheric CH4 concentrations and enhancements in northern China based on a comprehensive dataset: ground-based observations, TROPOMI data, inventory data, and inversions
Marine emissions and trade winds control the atmospheric nitrous oxide in the Galapagos Islands
Measurement report: A complex street-level air quality observation campaign in a heavy-traffic area utilizing the multivariate adaptive regression splines method for field calibration of low-cost sensors
The impact of organic nitrates on summer ozone formation in Shanghai, China
Differences in the key volatile organic compound species between their emitted and ambient concentrations in ozone formation
Tracing Ammonia Emission Sources in California's Salton Sea Region: Insights from Airborne Longwave-Infrared Hyperspectral Imaging and Ground Monitoring
Mechanistic insights into chloroacetic acid production from atmospheric multiphase volatile organic compound–chlorine chemistry
Accurate elucidation of oxidation under heavy ozone pollution: a full suite of radical measurements in the chemically complex atmosphere
Isotopic signatures of methane emission from oil and natural gas plants in southwestern China
Emissions of intermediate-volatility and semi-volatile organic compounds (I/SVOCs) from different cumulative-mileage diesel vehicles at various ambient temperatures
Characterization of nitrous acid and its potential effects on secondary pollution in the warm season in Beijing urban areas
Vertical changes in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and impacts on photochemical ozone formation
Airborne quantification of Angolan offshore oil and gas methane emissions
Diurnal, seasonal, and interannual variations in δ(18O) of atmospheric O2 and its application to evaluate natural and anthropogenic changes in oxygen, carbon, and water cycles
Cloud processing of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) oxidation products limits sulfur dioxide (SO2) and carbonyl sulfide (OCS) production in the eastern North Atlantic marine boundary layer
Atmospheric carbonyl compounds are crucial in regional ozone heavy pollution: insights from the Chengdu Plain Urban Agglomeration, China
Evaluating urban methane emissions and their attributes in a megacity, Osaka, Japan, via mobile and eddy covariance measurements
Ozone (O3) observations in Saxony, Germany for 1997–2020: Trends, modelling and implications for O3 control
Understanding summertime peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) formation and its relation to aerosol pollution: insights from high-resolution measurements and modeling
Measurement report: Exploring the variations in ambient BTEX in urban Europe and their environmental health implications
Seasonal air concentration variability, gas–particle partitioning, precipitation scavenging, and air–water equilibrium of organophosphate esters in southern Canada
Measurement report: Surface exchange fluxes of HONO during the growth process of paddy fields in the Huaihe River Basin, China
Hemispheric differences in ozone across the stratosphere-troposphere exchange region
Molecular and seasonal characteristics of organic vapors in urban Beijing: insights from Vocus-PTR measurements
BVOC and speciated monoterpene concentrations and fluxes at a Scandinavian boreal forest
The variations in volatile organic compounds based on the policy change for Omicron in the traffic hub of Zhengzhou
On the dynamics of ozone depletion events at Villum Research Station in the High Arctic
Measurement report: Long-term measurements of surface ozone and trends in semi-natural sub-Saharan African ecosystems
Characterization of biogenic volatile organic compounds and their oxidation products in a stressed spruce-dominated forest close to a biogas power plant
Reactive chlorine-, sulfur-, and nitrogen-containing volatile organic compounds impact atmospheric chemistry in the megacity of Delhi during both clean and extremely polluted seasons
Analysis of the day-to-day variability of ozone vertical profiles in the lower troposphere during the 2022 Paris ACROSS campaign
Ozone deposition measurements over wheat fields in the North China Plain: variability and related factors of deposition flux and velocity
Consistency evaluation of tropospheric ozone from ozonesonde and IAGOS (In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System) observations: vertical distribution, ozonesonde types, and station–airport distance
CO2 and CO temporal variability over Mexico City from ground-based total column and surface measurements
Investigating carbonyl compounds above the Amazon rainforest using a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-ToF-MS) with NO+ chemical ionization
Measurement report: In-flight and ground-based measurements of nitrogen oxide emissions from latest-generation jet engines and 100 % sustainable aviation fuel
Measurement report: Sources, sinks, and lifetime of NOx in a suburban temperate forest at night
Measurement report: Urban ammonia and amines in Houston, Texas
Biomass-burning sources control ambient particulate matter, but traffic and industrial sources control volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and secondary-pollutant formation during extreme pollution events in Delhi
Multi-year observations of variable incomplete combustion in the New York megacity
Observations of the vertical distributions of summertime atmospheric pollutants in Nam Co: OH production and source analysis
Zhouxing Zou, Tianshu Chen, Qianjie Chen, Weihang Sun, Shichun Han, Zhuoyue Ren, Xinyi Li, Wei Song, Aoqi Ge, Qi Wang, Xiao Tian, Chenglei Pei, Xinming Wang, Yanli Zhang, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8147–8161, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8147-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8147-2025, 2025
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We measured ambient OH and HO2* (HO2 and contribution from RO2, organic peroxyl radicals) concentrations at a subtropical rural site and compared our observations with model results. During warm periods, the model overestimated concentrations of OH and HO2, leading to overestimation of ozone and nitric acid production. Our findings highlight the need to better understand how OH and HO2 are formed and removed, which is important for accurate air quality and climate predictions.
Markus Jesswein, Valentin Lauther, Nicolas Emig, Peter Hoor, Timo Keber, Hans-Christoph Lachnitt, Linda Ort, Tanja Schuck, Johannes Strobel, Ronja Van Luijt, C. Michael Volk, Franziska Weyland, and Andreas Engel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8107–8126, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8107-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8107-2025, 2025
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The study investigates transport within the Asian Summer Monsoon, focusing on how CH2Cl2 reaches the subarctic tropopause region. Using data from the PHILEAS campaign in 2023, events with increased mixing ratios were detected. Their origin, the transport paths to the tropopause region, and the potential entry into the stratosphere were analyzed. The East Asian Summer Monsoon was identified as the main transport pathway, with only a small contribution to the stratosphere in the following days.
Yanjie Lu, Xinxin Feng, Yanli Feng, Minjun Jiang, Yu Peng, Tian Chen, and Yingjun Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8043–8059, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8043-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8043-2025, 2025
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Through lab tests and field measurements from typical sources, we found that carbonyl compounds from biomass burning are an order of magnitude higher than those from vehicles. The formation of carbonyl compounds in solid and liquid fuel is governed by combustion temperature and emission standards, respectively. Fuel type determines the chemical composition. Biomass burning and farm machinery are key drivers of atmospheric oxidation capacity. This study provides actionable solutions to safeguard public health.
Gaojie Chen, Xiaolong Fan, Haichao Wang, Yee Jun Tham, Ziyi Lin, Xiaoting Ji, Lingling Xu, Baoye Hu, and Jinsheng Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7815–7828, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7815-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7815-2025, 2025
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Our study revealed that the nighttime heterogeneous dinitrogen pentoxide (N2O5) uptake process was the major contributor of nitryl chloride (ClNO2) sources, while nitrate photolysis may promote the elevation of daytime ClNO2 concentrations. The rates of alkane oxidation by chlorine (Cl) radical in the early morning exceeded those by OH radical, significantly promoted the formation of ROx and ozone (O3), and further enhanced the atmospheric oxidation capacity levels.
Jingwen Dai, Kun Zhang, Yanli Feng, Xin Yi, Rui Li, Jin Xue, Qing Li, Lishu Shi, Jiaqiang Liao, Yanan Yi, Fangting Wang, Liumei Yang, Hui Chen, Ling Huang, Jiani Tan, Yangjun Wang, and Li Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7467–7484, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7467-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7467-2025, 2025
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Oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) are important ozone (O3) precursors. However, most O3 formation analysis based on the box model (OBM) does not include any OVOC constraint. To access the interference of OVOCs with O3 simulation, this study presents results from a field campaign and OBM analysis. Our results indicate that no OVOC constraint in the OBM can lead to overestimation of OVOCs, free radicals, and O3.
Roeland Van Malderen, Anne M. Thompson, Debra E. Kollonige, Ryan M. Stauffer, Herman G. J. Smit, Eliane Maillard Barras, Corinne Vigouroux, Irina Petropavlovskikh, Thierry Leblanc, Valérie Thouret, Pawel Wolff, Peter Effertz, David W. Tarasick, Deniz Poyraz, Gérard Ancellet, Marie-Renée De Backer, Stéphanie Evan, Victoria Flood, Matthias M. Frey, James W. Hannigan, José L. Hernandez, Marco Iarlori, Bryan J. Johnson, Nicholas Jones, Rigel Kivi, Emmanuel Mahieu, Glen McConville, Katrin Müller, Tomoo Nagahama, Justus Notholt, Ankie Piters, Natalia Prats, Richard Querel, Dan Smale, Wolfgang Steinbrecht, Kimberly Strong, and Ralf Sussmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7187–7225, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7187-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7187-2025, 2025
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Tropospheric ozone is an important greenhouse gas and is an air pollutant. The time variability of tropospheric ozone is mainly driven by anthropogenic emissions. In this paper, we study the distribution and time variability of ozone from harmonized ground-based observations from five different measurement techniques. Our findings provide clear standard references for atmospheric models and evolving tropospheric ozone satellite data for the 2000–2022 period.
Can Ye, Pengfei Liu, Chaoyang Xue, Chenglong Zhang, Zhuobiao Ma, Chengtang Liu, Junfeng Liu, Keding Lu, Yujing Mu, and Yuanhang Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6991–7005, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6991-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6991-2025, 2025
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This study investigates H2O2 chemistry in rural North China. The observed H2O2 showed distinct diurnal variations influenced by photochemical reactions. A box model revealed that H2O2 is primarily produced by HO2 recombination and removed mainly via particle uptake. Reductions in NOx, PM2.5, and alkanes raised H2O2 levels, while cutting alkenes, aromatics, CO, and HONO lowered them. A dual strategy focusing on VOC and NOx control is essential to reduce both H2O2 and ozone pollution.
Marvin Dufresne, Thérèse Salameh, Thierry Leonardis, Grégory Gille, Alexandre Armengaud, and Stéphane Sauvage
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5977–5999, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5977-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5977-2025, 2025
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This paper discusses the 18-month-long measurement of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) in Marseille, where there was no measurement since early 2000, despite the impact of NMHCs on air quality and climate. Traffic-related sources are the largest contributor to NMHC concentrations in Marseille, and shipping strongly contributes to the formation of aerosols. Finally, the Covid-19 lockdown had an impact on NMHC concentrations, reaching a 50 % decrease for traffic-related sources.
Simone T. Andersen, Rolf Sander, Patrick Dewald, Laura Wüst, Tobias Seubert, Gunther N. T. E. Türk, Jan Schuladen, Max R. McGillen, Chaoyang Xue, Abdelwahid Mellouki, Alexandre Kukui, Vincent Michoud, Manuela Cirtog, Mathieu Cazaunau, Astrid Bauville, Hichem Bouzidi, Paola Formenti, Cyrielle Denjean, Jean-Claude Etienne, Olivier Garrouste, Christopher Cantrell, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 5893–5909, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5893-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-5893-2025, 2025
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Measurements and modelling of reactive nitrogen gases observed in a suburban temperate forest in Rambouillet, France, circa 50 km southwest of Paris in 2022 indicate that the biosphere rapidly scavenges organic nitrates of mixed biogenic and anthropogenic origin, resulting in short lifetimes for, for example, alkyl nitrates and peroxy nitrates.
Pengfei Han, Ning Zeng, Bo Yao, Wen Zhang, Weijun Quan, Pucai Wang, Ting Wang, Minqiang Zhou, Qixiang Cai, Yuzhong Zhang, Ruosi Liang, Wanqi Sun, and Shengxiang Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4965–4988, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4965-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4965-2025, 2025
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Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas. Northern China contributes a large proportion of CH4 emissions, yet large observation gaps exist. Here we compiled a comprehensive dataset, which is publicly available, that includes ground-based, satellite-based, inventory, and modeling results to show the CH4 concentrations, enhancements, and spatial–temporal variations. The data can benefit the research community and policy-makers for future observations, atmospheric inversions, and policy-making.
Timur Cinay, Dickon Young, Nazaret Narváez Jimenez, Cristina Vintimilla-Palacios, Ariel Pila Alonso, Paul B. Krummel, William Vizuete, and Andrew R. Babbin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4703–4718, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4703-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4703-2025, 2025
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We present the initial 15 months of nitrous oxide measurements from the Galapagos Emissions Monitoring Station. The observed variability in atmospheric mole fractions during this period can be linked to several factors: seasonal variations in trade wind speed and direction across the eastern Pacific, differences in the transport history of air masses sampled, and spatiotemporal heterogeneity in regional marine nitrous oxide emissions from the coastal upwelling systems of Peru and Chile.
Petra Bauerová, Josef Keder, Adriana Šindelářová, Ondřej Vlček, William Patiño, Pavel Krč, Jan Geletič, Hynek Řezníček, Martin Bureš, Kryštof Eben, Michal Belda, Jelena Radović, Vladimír Fuka, Radek Jareš, Igor Esau, and Jaroslav Resler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4477–4504, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4477-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4477-2025, 2025
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The study explored urban air quality in Prague using low-cost sensors and highlighted the multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) correction method's effectiveness in enhancing accuracy. Results showed traffic's impact on nitrogen dioxide levels and atmospheric dynamics on particulate matter. The research confirmed MARS-corrected sensors as cost-effective for monitoring, despite challenges like sensor ageing and data quality control.
Chunmeng Li, Xiaorui Chen, Haichao Wang, Tianyu Zhai, Xuefei Ma, Xinping Yang, Shiyi Chen, Min Zhou, Shengrong Lou, Xin Li, Limin Zeng, and Keding Lu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3905–3918, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3905-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3905-2025, 2025
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This study reports an observation of organic nitrate (including total peroxy nitrates and total alkyl nitrates) in Shanghai, China, during the summer of 2021, by homemade thermal dissociation cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy (TD-CEAS; Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4033–4051, 2021). The distribution of organic nitrates and their effects on local ozone production are analyzed based on field observations in conjunction with model simulations.
Xudong Zheng and Shaodong Xie
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3807–3820, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3807-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3807-2025, 2025
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To reduce uncertainties in identifying the key volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ozone (O3) formation from ambient concentrations, this study comprehensively calculates the emitted VOC concentrations during both nighttime and daytime using the nitrate radical, O3, and hydroxyl radical reaction rates and ambient VOC concentrations. Based on the emitted concentrations, isoprene is one of the top three species contributing to O3 formation, which may be overlooked in observed concentrations.
Sina Hasheminassab, David M. Tratt, Olga V. Kalashnikova, Clement S. Chang, Morad Alvarez, Kerry N. Buckland, Michael J. Garay, Francesca M. Hopkins, Eric R. Keim, Le Kuai, Yaning Miao, Payam Pakbin, William C. Porter, and Mohammad H. Sowlat
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1378, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1378, 2025
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Ammonia (NH3) is a key air pollutant linked to fine particle pollution, yet its sources remain poorly understood. Using airborne infrared imaging and ground sensors, we mapped NH3 emissions in California’s Salton Sea region with unprecedented detail. We found high emissions from farms, geothermal plants, and waste sites, including sources missing from inventories. These findings highlight the need for better NH3 monitoring to improve air quality models and guide pollution reduction strategies.
Mingxue Li, Men Xia, Chunshui Lin, Yifan Jiang, Weihang Sun, Yurun Wang, Yingnan Zhang, Maoxia He, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3753–3764, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3753-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3753-2025, 2025
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Our field campaigns observed a strong diel pattern of chloroacetic acid as well as a strong correlation between its level and that of reactive chlorine species at a coastal site. Using quantum chemical calculations and box model simulation with an updated Master Chemical Mechanism, we found that the formation pathway of chloroacetic acid involved multiphase processes. Our study enhances understanding of atmospheric organic chlorine chemistry and emphasizes the importance of multiphase reactions.
Renzhi Hu, Guoxian Zhang, Haotian Cai, Jingyi Guo, Keding Lu, Xin Li, Shengrong Lou, Zhaofeng Tan, Changjin Hu, Pinhua Xie, and Wenqing Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3011–3028, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3011-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3011-2025, 2025
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A full suite of radical measurements (OH, HO2, RO2, and kOH) was established to accurately elucidate the limitations of oxidation in a chemically complex atmosphere. Sensitivity tests revealed that the incorporation of complex processes enabled a balance in both radical concentrations and coordinate ratios, effectively addressing the deficiency in the ozone generation mechanism. The full-chain radical detection bridged the gap between the photochemistry and the intensive oxidation level.
Dingxi Chen, Yi Liu, Zetong Niu, Ao Wang, Pius Otwil, Yuanyuan Huang, Zhongcong Sun, Xiaobing Pang, Liyang Zhan, and Longfei Yu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-377, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-377, 2025
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We carried out studies at 11 oil and gas sites in Southwest China (an important natural gas production area), investigating the methane concentration distribution pattern and emission inventory of oil and gas industrial sites through a combination of ground monitoring and drone airborne monitoring techniques, and at the same time, utilizing stable isotope techniques to trace back the methane from the oil and gas sites.
Shuwen Guo, Xuan Zheng, Xiao He, Lewei Zeng, Liqiang He, Xian Wu, Yifei Dai, Zihao Huang, Ting Chen, Shupei Xiao, Yan You, Sheng Xiang, Shaojun Zhang, Jingkun Jiang, and Ye Wu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2695–2705, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2695-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2695-2025, 2025
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We considered two potential influencing factors of heavy-duty diesel vehicle emissions that are rarely mentioned in the literature: cumulative mileage and ambient temperatures. The results suggest that prolonged use of heavy-duty diesel vehicles and low ambient temperatures leads to reduced engine combustion efficiency, which in turn increases tailpipe emissions significantly.
Junling Li, Chaofan Lian, Mingyuan Liu, Hao Zhang, Yongxin Yan, Yufei Song, Chun Chen, Jiaqi Wang, Haijie Zhang, Yanqin Ren, Yucong Guo, Weigang Wang, Yisheng Xu, Hong Li, Jian Gao, and Maofa Ge
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2551–2568, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2551-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2551-2025, 2025
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As a key source of hydroxyl (OH) radical, nitrous acid (HONO) has attracted much attention for its important role in the atmospheric oxidant capacity (AOC) increase. In this study, we made a comparison of the ambient levels, variation patterns, sources, and formation pathway in the warm season on the basis of continuous intensive observations at an urban site of Beijing. This work highlights the importance of HONO for the AOC in the warm season.
Xiao-Bing Li, Bin Yuan, Yibo Huangfu, Suxia Yang, Xin Song, Jipeng Qi, Xianjun He, Sihang Wang, Yubin Chen, Qing Yang, Yongxin Song, Yuwen Peng, Guiqian Tang, Jian Gao, Dasa Gu, and Min Shao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2459–2472, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2459-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2459-2025, 2025
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Online vertical gradient measurements of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone, and NOx were conducted based on a 325 m tall tower in urban Beijing. Vertical changes in the concentrations, compositions, key drivers, and environmental impacts of VOCs were analyzed in this study. We find that VOC species display differentiated vertical variation patterns and distinct roles in contributing to photochemical ozone formation with increasing height in the urban planetary boundary layer.
Alina Fiehn, Maximilian Eckl, Magdalena Pühl, Tiziana Bräuer, Klaus-Dirk Gottschaldt, Heinfried Aufmhoff, Lisa Eirenschmalz, Gregor Neumann, Felicitas Sakellariou, Daniel Sauer, Robert Baumann, Guilherme De Aguiar Ventura, Winne Nayole Cadete, Dário Luciano Zua, Manuel Xavier, Paulo Correia, and Anke Roiger
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-635, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-635, 2025
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In September 2022, the METHANE-To-Go Africa (MTGA) campaign, part of UNEP’s IMEO Methane Science Studies, conducted the first CH₄ emissions measurements from West Africa’s offshore oil and gas sector. Using an aircraft-based mass balance method, emissions from Angolan offshore facilities were quantified. Older, low-producing facilities showed higher emissions than newer ones. High-emission events were observed, highlighting the need for targeted monitoring and mitigation efforts.
Shigeyuki Ishidoya, Satoshi Sugawara, and Atsushi Okazaki
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1965–1987, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1965-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1965-2025, 2025
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The 18O/16O ratio of atmospheric oxygen, δatm(18O), is higher than that of ocean water due to isotopic effects during biospheric activities. This is known as the Dole–Morita effect, and its millennial-scale variations are recorded in ice cores. However, small variations of δatm(18O) in the present day have never been detected so far. This paper presents the first observations of diurnal, seasonal, and secular variations in δatm(18O) and applies them to evaluate oxygen, carbon, and water cycles.
Delaney B. Kilgour, Christopher M. Jernigan, Olga Garmash, Sneha Aggarwal, Shengqian Zhou, Claudia Mohr, Matt E. Salter, Joel A. Thornton, Jian Wang, Paul Zieger, and Timothy H. Bertram
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1931–1947, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1931-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1931-2025, 2025
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We report simultaneous measurements of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and hydroperoxymethyl thioformate (HPMTF) in the eastern North Atlantic. We use an observationally constrained box model to show that cloud loss is the dominant sink of HPMTF in this region over 6 weeks, resulting in large reductions in DMS-derived products that contribute to aerosol formation and growth. Our findings indicate that fast cloud processing of HPMTF must be included in global models to accurately capture the sulfur cycle.
Jiemeng Bao, Xin Zhang, Zhenhai Wu, Li Zhou, Jun Qian, Qinwen Tan, Fumo Yang, Junhui Chen, Yunfeng Li, Hefan Liu, Liqun Deng, and Hong Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1899–1916, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1899-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1899-2025, 2025
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We studied carbonyl compounds' role in ozone pollution in the Chengdu Plain Urban Agglomeration, China. During heavy pollution in August 2019, we measured carbonyls at nine sites and analyzed their impact. Areas with higher carbonyl levels, like Chengdu, had worse ozone pollution. While their abundance matters, chemical reactions with other pollutants are the main drivers. Our findings show regional cooperation is vital to reducing ozone pollution effectively.
Masahito Ueyama, Taku Umezawa, Yukio Terao, Mark Lunt, and James Lawrence France
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3926, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3926, 2025
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Methane (CH4) emissions were measured in Megacity Osaka, Japan, using mobile and eddy covariance methods. The CH4 emissions were much higher than those reported in local inventories, with natural gas contributing up to 74 % of the emissions. Several CH4 sources not accounted for in current inventories were identified. These results emphasize the need for more comprehensive emissions tracking in urban areas to enhance climate change mitigation efforts.
Yaru Wang, Dominik van Pinxteren, Andreas Tilgner, Erik Hans Hoffmann, Max Hell, Susanne Bastian, and Hartmut Herrmann
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4202, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-4202, 2025
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Tropospheric ground-level ozone (O3) is a global air-quality pollutant and greenhouse gas. Long-term O3 trends from 16 stations in Saxony, Germany, were compared over three periods, revealing worsened O3 pollution over the last decade. O3 formation has been volatile organic compound (VOC)-limited at traffic and urban sites for the past 20 years. To mitigate O3 pollution, moderate nitrogen oxides and additional VOC controls, particularly in solvent use, should be prioritized in the coming years.
Baoye Hu, Naihua Chen, Rui Li, Mingqiang Huang, Jinsheng Chen, Youwei Hong, Lingling Xu, Xiaolong Fan, Mengren Li, Lei Tong, Qiuping Zheng, and Yuxiang Yang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 905–921, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-905-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-905-2025, 2025
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Box modeling with the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) was used to explore summertime peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) formation and its link to aerosol pollution under high-ozone conditions. The MCM model is effective in the study of PAN photochemical formation and performed better during the clean period than the haze period. Machine learning analysis identified ammonia, nitrate, and fine particulate matter as the top three factors contributing to simulation bias.
Xiansheng Liu, Xun Zhang, Marvin Dufresne, Tao Wang, Lijie Wu, Rosa Lara, Roger Seco, Marta Monge, Ana Maria Yáñez-Serrano, Marie Gohy, Paul Petit, Audrey Chevalier, Marie-Pierre Vagnot, Yann Fortier, Alexia Baudic, Véronique Ghersi, Grégory Gille, Ludovic Lanzi, Valérie Gros, Leïla Simon, Heidi Héllen, Stefan Reimann, Zoé Le Bras, Michelle Jessy Müller, David Beddows, Siqi Hou, Zongbo Shi, Roy M. Harrison, William Bloss, James Dernie, Stéphane Sauvage, Philip K. Hopke, Xiaoli Duan, Taicheng An, Alastair C. Lewis, James R. Hopkins, Eleni Liakakou, Nikolaos Mihalopoulos, Xiaohu Zhang, Andrés Alastuey, Xavier Querol, and Thérèse Salameh
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 625–638, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-625-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-625-2025, 2025
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This study examines BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) pollution in urban areas across seven European countries. Analyzing data from 22 monitoring sites, we found traffic and industrial activities significantly impact BTEX levels, with peaks during rush hours. The risk from BTEX exposure remains moderate, especially in high-traffic and industrial zones, highlighting the need for targeted air quality management to protect public health and improve urban air quality.
Yuening Li, Faqiang Zhan, Chubashini Shunthirasingham, Ying Duan Lei, Jenny Oh, Amina Ben Chaaben, Zhe Lu, Kelsey Lee, Frank A. P. C. Gobas, Hayley Hung, and Frank Wania
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 459–472, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-459-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-459-2025, 2025
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Organophosphate esters are important humanmade trace contaminants. Measuring them in the atmospheric gas phase, particles, precipitation, and surface water in Canada, we explore seasonal concentration variability, gas–particle partitioning, precipitation scavenging, and the air–water equilibrium. Whereas higher summer concentrations and efficient precipitation scavenging conform with expectations, the lack of a relationship between compound volatility and gas–particle partitioning is puzzling.
Fanhao Meng, Baobin Han, Min Qin, Wu Fang, Ke Tang, Dou Shao, Zhitang Liao, Jun Duan, Yan Feng, Yong Huang, Ting Ni, and Pinhua Xie
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 14191–14208, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14191-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14191-2024, 2024
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Comprehensive observations of HONO and NOx fluxes were conducted over paddy fields in the Huaihe River Basin. Consecutive peaks in HONO and NO fluxes suggest a potentially enhanced release of HONO and NO due to soil tillage, whereas waterlogged soil may inhibit microbial nitrification processes following irrigation. Notably, biological processes and light-driven NO2 reactions at the surface may serve as sources of HONO and influence the local HONO budget during rotary tillage.
Rodrigo J. Seguel, Charlie Opazo, Yann Cohen, Owen R. Cooper, Laura Gallardo, Björn-Martin Sinnhuber, Florian Obersteiner, Andreas Zahn, Peter Hoor, and Susanne Rohs
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3719, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3719, 2024
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We explored differences in ozone levels between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in the Stratosphere-troposphere exchange region. Using unique data from a research aircraft, we found significantly lower ozone levels (with stratospheric character) in the Southern Hemisphere, especially during years of severe ozone depletion. A Sudden Stratospheric Warming event in 2019 increased Southern Hemisphere ozone levels, highlighting the relationship between atmospheric events and ozone distribution.
Zhaojin An, Rujing Yin, Xinyan Zhao, Xiaoxiao Li, Yuyang Li, Yi Yuan, Junchen Guo, Yiqi Zhao, Xue Li, Dandan Li, Yaowei Li, Dongbin Wang, Chao Yan, Kebin He, Douglas R. Worsnop, Frank N. Keutsch, and Jingkun Jiang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13793–13810, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13793-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13793-2024, 2024
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Online Vocus-PTR measurements show the compositions and seasonal variations in organic vapors in urban Beijing. With enhanced sensitivity and mass resolution, various species at a level of sub-parts per trillion (ppt) and organics with multiple oxygens (≥ 3) were observed. The fast photooxidation process in summer leads to an increase in both concentration and proportion of organics with multiple oxygens, while, in other seasons, the variations in them could be influenced by mixed sources.
Ross Charles Petersen, Thomas Holst, Cheng Wu, Radovan Krejci, Jeremy Chan, Claudia Mohr, and Janne Rinne
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3410, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3410, 2024
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Ecosystem-scale emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are important for atmospheric chemistry. Here we investigate boreal BVOC fluxes from a forest in central Sweden. BVOC fluxes were measured above-canopy using proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry, while compound-specific monoterpene (MT) fluxes were assessed using a concentration gradient method. We also evaluate the impact of chemical degradation on observed sesquiterpene (SQT) and nighttime MT fluxes.
Bowen Zhang, Dong Zhang, Zhe Dong, Xinshuai Song, Ruiqin Zhang, and Xiao Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13587–13601, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13587-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13587-2024, 2024
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To gain insight into the impact of changes due to epidemic control policies, we undertook continuous online monitoring of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at an urban site in Zhengzhou over a 2-month period. This study examines the characteristics of VOCs, their sources, and their temporal evolution. It also assesses the impact of the policy change on VOC pollution during the monitoring period, thus providing a basis for further research on VOC pollution and source control.
Jakob Boyd Pernov, Jens Liengaard Hjorth, Lise Lotte Sørensen, and Henrik Skov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13603–13631, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13603-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13603-2024, 2024
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Arctic ozone depletion events (ODEs) occur every spring and have vast implications for the oxidizing capacity, radiative balance, and mercury oxidation. In this study, we analyze ozone, ODEs, and their connection to meteorological and air mass history variables through statistical analyses, back trajectories, and machine learning (ML) at Villum Research Station. ODEs are favorable under sunny, calm conditions with air masses arriving from northerly wind directions with sea ice contact.
Hagninou Elagnon Venance Donnou, Aristide Barthélémy Akpo, Money Ossohou, Claire Delon, Véronique Yoboué, Dungall Laouali, Marie Ouafo-Leumbe, Pieter Gideon Van Zyl, Ousmane Ndiaye, Eric Gardrat, Maria Dias-Alves, and Corinne Galy-Lacaux
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13151–13182, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13151-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13151-2024, 2024
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Ozone is a secondary air pollutant that is detrimental to human and plant health. A better understanding of its chemical evolution is a challenge for Africa, where it is still undersampled. Out of 14 sites examined (1995–2020), high levels of O3 are reported in southern Africa. The dominant chemical processes leading to O3 formation are identified. A decrease in O3 is observed at Katibougou (Mali) and Banizoumbou (Niger), and an increase is found at Zoétélé (Cameroon) and Skukuza (South Africa).
Junwei Song, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Ralf Tillmann, Nicolas Brüggemann, Thomas Leisner, and Harald Saathoff
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13199–13217, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13199-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13199-2024, 2024
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Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) and organic aerosol (OA) particles were measured online in a stressed spruce-dominated forest. OA was mainly attributed to the monoterpene oxidation products. The mixing ratios of BVOCs were higher than the values previously measured in other temperate forests. The results demonstrate that BVOCs are influenced not only by meteorology and biogenic emissions but also by local anthropogenic emissions and subsequent chemical transformation processes.
Sachin Mishra, Vinayak Sinha, Haseeb Hakkim, Arpit Awasthi, Sachin D. Ghude, Vijay Kumar Soni, Narendra Nigam, Baerbel Sinha, and Madhavan N. Rajeevan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13129–13150, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13129-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13129-2024, 2024
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We quantified 111 gases using mass spectrometry to understand how seasonal and emission changes lead from clean air in the monsoon season to extremely polluted air in the post-monsoon season in Delhi. Averaged total mass concentrations (260 µg m-3) were > 4 times in polluted periods, driven by biomass burning emissions and reduced atmospheric ventilation. Reactive gaseous nitrogen, chlorine, and sulfur compounds hitherto unreported from such a polluted environment were discovered.
Gérard Ancellet, Camille Viatte, Anne Boynard, François Ravetta, Jacques Pelon, Cristelle Cailteau-Fischbach, Pascal Genau, Julie Capo, Axel Roy, and Philippe Nédélec
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12963–12983, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12963-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12963-2024, 2024
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Characterization of ozone pollution in urban areas benefited from a measurement campaign in summer 2022 in the Paris region. The analysis is based on 21 d of lidar and aircraft observations. The main objective is an analysis of the sensitivity of ozone pollution to the micrometeorological processes in the urban atmospheric boundary layer and the transport of regional pollution. The paper also discusses to what extent satellite observations can track observed ozone plumes.
Xiaoyi Zhang, Wanyun Xu, Weili Lin, Gen Zhang, Jinjian Geng, Li Zhou, Huarong Zhao, Sanxue Ren, Guangsheng Zhou, Jianmin Chen, and Xiaobin Xu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12323–12340, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12323-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12323-2024, 2024
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Ozone (O3) deposition is a key process that removes surface O3, affecting air quality, ecosystems and climate change. We conducted O3 deposition measurement over a wheat canopy using a newly relaxed eddy accumulation flux system. Large variabilities in O3 deposition were detected, mainly determined by crop growth and modulated by various environmental factors. More O3 deposition observations over different surfaces are needed for exploring deposition mechanisms and model optimization.
Honglei Wang, David W. Tarasick, Jane Liu, Herman G. J. Smit, Roeland Van Malderen, Lijuan Shen, Romain Blot, and Tianliang Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11927–11942, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11927-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11927-2024, 2024
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In this study, we identify 23 suitable pairs of sites from World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre (WOUDC) and In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System (IAGOS) datasets (1995 to 2021), compare the average vertical distributions of tropospheric O3 from ozonesonde and aircraft measurements, and analyze the differences based on ozonesonde type and station–airport distance.
Noémie Taquet, Wolfgang Stremme, María Eugenia González del Castillo, Victor Almanza, Alejandro Bezanilla, Olivier Laurent, Carlos Alberti, Frank Hase, Michel Ramonet, Thomas Lauvaux, Ke Che, and Michel Grutter
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11823–11848, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11823-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11823-2024, 2024
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We characterize the variability in CO and CO2 emissions over Mexico City from long-term time-resolved Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy solar absorption and surface measurements from 2013 to 2021. Using the average intraday CO growth rate from total columns, the average CO / CO2 ratio and TROPOMI data, we estimate the interannual variability in the CO and CO2 anthropogenic emissions of Mexico City, highlighting the effect of an unprecedented drop in activity due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Akima Ringsdorf, Achim Edtbauer, Bruna Holanda, Christopher Poehlker, Marta O. Sá, Alessandro Araújo, Jürgen Kesselmeier, Jos Lelieveld, and Jonathan Williams
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11883–11910, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11883-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11883-2024, 2024
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We show the average height distribution of separately observed aldehydes and ketones over a day and discuss their rainforest-specific sources and sinks as well as their seasonal changes above the Amazon. Ketones have much longer atmospheric lifetimes than aldehydes and thus different implications for atmospheric chemistry. However, they are commonly observed together, which we overcome by measuring with a NO+ chemical ionization mass spectrometer for the first time in the Amazon rainforest.
Theresa Harlass, Rebecca Dischl, Stefan Kaufmann, Raphael Märkl, Daniel Sauer, Monika Scheibe, Paul Stock, Tiziana Bräuer, Andreas Dörnbrack, Anke Roiger, Hans Schlager, Ulrich Schumann, Magdalena Pühl, Tobias Schripp, Tobias Grein, Linda Bondorf, Charles Renard, Maxime Gauthier, Mark Johnson, Darren Luff, Paul Madden, Peter Swann, Denise Ahrens, Reetu Sallinen, and Christiane Voigt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11807–11822, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11807-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11807-2024, 2024
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Emissions from aircraft have a direct impact on our climate. Here, we present airborne and ground-based measurement data of nitrogen oxides that were collected in the exhaust of an Airbus aircraft. We study the impact of burning fossil and sustainable aviation fuel on nitrogen oxide emissions at different engine settings related to combustor temperature, pressure and fuel flow. Further, we compare observations with engine emission models.
Simone T. Andersen, Max R. McGillen, Chaoyang Xue, Tobias Seubert, Patrick Dewald, Gunther N. T. E. Türk, Jan Schuladen, Cyrielle Denjean, Jean-Claude Etienne, Olivier Garrouste, Marina Jamar, Sergio Harb, Manuela Cirtog, Vincent Michoud, Mathieu Cazaunau, Antonin Bergé, Christopher Cantrell, Sebastien Dusanter, Bénédicte Picquet-Varrault, Alexandre Kukui, Abdelwahid Mellouki, Lucy J. Carpenter, Jos Lelieveld, and John N. Crowley
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11603–11618, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11603-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11603-2024, 2024
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Using measurements of various trace gases in a suburban forest near Paris in the summer of 2022, we were able to gain insight into the sources and sinks of NOx (NO+NO2) with a special focus on their nighttime chemical and physical loss processes. NO was observed as a result of nighttime soil emissions when O3 levels were strongly depleted by deposition. NO oxidation products were not observed at night, indicating that soil and/or foliar surfaces are an efficient sink of reactive N.
Lee Tiszenkel, James H. Flynn, and Shan-Hu Lee
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11351–11363, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11351-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11351-2024, 2024
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Ammonia and amines are important ingredients for aerosol formation in urban environments, but the measurements of these compounds are extremely challenging. Our observations show that urban ammonia and amines in Houston are emitted from urban sources, and diurnal variations in their concentrations are likely governed by gas-to-particle conversion and emissions.
Arpit Awasthi, Baerbel Sinha, Haseeb Hakkim, Sachin Mishra, Varkrishna Mummidivarapu, Gurmanjot Singh, Sachin D. Ghude, Vijay Kumar Soni, Narendra Nigam, Vinayak Sinha, and Madhavan N. Rajeevan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10279–10304, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10279-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10279-2024, 2024
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We use 111 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), PM10, and PM2.5 in a positive matrix factorization (PMF) model to resolve 11 pollution sources validated with chemical fingerprints. Crop residue burning and heating account for ~ 50 % of the PM, while traffic and industrial emissions dominate the gas-phase VOC burden and formation potential of secondary organic aerosols (> 60 %). Non-tailpipe emissions from compressed-natural-gas-fuelled commercial vehicles dominate the transport sector's PM burden.
Luke D. Schiferl, Cong Cao, Bronte Dalton, Andrew Hallward-Driemeier, Ricardo Toledo-Crow, and Róisín Commane
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10129–10142, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10129-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10129-2024, 2024
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Carbon monoxide (CO) is an air pollutant and an important indicator of the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels in cities. Using 4 years of winter and spring observations in New York City, we found that both the magnitude and variability of CO from the metropolitan area are greater than expected. Transportation emissions cannot explain the missing and variable CO, which points to energy from buildings as a likely underappreciated source of urban air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Chengzhi Xing, Cheng Liu, Chunxiang Ye, Jingkai Xue, Hongyu Wu, Xiangguang Ji, Jinping Ou, and Qihou Hu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10093–10112, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10093-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10093-2024, 2024
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We identified the contributions of ozone (O3) and nitrous acid (HONO) to the production rates of hydroxide (OH) in vertical space on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). A new insight was offered: the contributions of HONO and O3 to the production rates of OH on the TP are even greater than in lower-altitudes areas. This study enriches the understanding of vertical distribution of atmospheric components and explains the strong atmospheric oxidation capacity (AOC) on the TP.
Cited articles
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Short summary
We presented airborne measurements of CO2 and O3 across the entrainment zone over a semi-remote environment in southwestern Germany in late summer 2011 .
For the first time CO2 and O3 were used as tracer to identify mixing through this transport barrier. We demonstrated that the tracer--tracer correlation of CO2 and O3 is a powerful tool to identify entrainment and mixing.
We presented airborne measurements of CO2 and O3 across the entrainment zone over a semi-remote...
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