The observed diurnal cycle of low-level stratus clouds over southern West Africa: a case study

Babić, Karmen; Adler, Bianca; Kalthoff, Norbert; Andersen, Hendrik; Dione, Cheikh; Lohou, Fabienne; Lothon, Marie; Pedruzo-Bagazgoitia, Xabier

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1281-2019

Articles | Volume 19, issue 2

Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1281–1299, 2019

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1281-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue: Results of the project "Dynamics–aerosol–chemistry–cloud...

Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1281–1299, 2019

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1281-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 2

Research article 31 Jan 2019

Research article | 31 Jan 2019

The observed diurnal cycle of low-level stratus clouds over southern West Africa: a case study

Karmen Babić et al.

Data sets

DACCIWA field campaign, Savè super-site, UPS instrumentation S. Derrien, Y. Bezombes, B. Bret, O. Gabella, C. Jarnot, P. Medina, E. Piques, C. Delon, C. Dione, B. Campistron, P. Durand, C. Jambert, F. Lohou, M. Lothon, F. Pacifico, F., and Y. Meyerfeld https://doi.org/10.6096/dacciwa.1618

DACCIWA field campaign, Savè super-site, Cloud and precipitation J. Handwerker, S. Scheer, and T. Gamer https://doi.org/10.6096/dacciwa.1686

DACCIWA field campaign, Savè super-site, Surface measurements M. Kohler, N. Kalthoff, J. Seringer, and S. Kraut https://doi.org/10.6096/dacciwa.1690

DACCIWA field campaign, Savè super-site, Thermodynamic data sets A. Wieser, B. Adler, and B. Deny https://doi.org/10.6096/dacciwa.1659

Short summary

The first detailed observational analysis of the complete diurnal cycle of low-level clouds (LLC) and associated atmospheric processes over southern West Africa is performed using the data gathered within the DACCIWA (Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud-Interactions in West Africa) ground-based campaign. We find cooling related to the horizontal advection, which occurs in connection with the inflow of cool maritime air mass and a prominent low-level jet, to have the dominant role in LLC formation.