Articles | Volume 20, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3415-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3415-2020
Research article
 | 
24 Mar 2020
Research article |  | 24 Mar 2020

Synoptic-scale controls of fog and low-cloud variability in the Namib Desert

Hendrik Andersen, Jan Cermak, Julia Fuchs, Peter Knippertz, Marco Gaetani, Julian Quinting, Sebastian Sippel, and Roland Vogt

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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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Cited articles

Adebiyi, A. A. and Zuidema, P.: Low cloud cover sensitivity to biomass-burning aerosols and meteorology over the southeast Atlantic, J. Climate, 2, 4329–4346, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0406.1, 2018. a, b, c
Adebiyi, A. A., Zuidema, P., and Abel, S. J.: The Convolution of Dynamics and Moisture with the Presence of Shortwave Absorbing Aerosols over the Southeast Atlantic, J. Climate, 28, 1997–2024, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-14-00352.1, 2015. a
Adler, B., Babić, K., Kalthoff, N., Lohou, F., Lothon, M., Dione, C., Pedruzo-Bagazgoitia, X., and Andersen, H.: Nocturnal low-level clouds in the atmospheric boundary layer over southern West Africa: an observation-based analysis of conditions and processes, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 663–681, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-663-2019, 2019. a
Alamirew, N. K., Todd, M. C., Ryder, C. L., Marsham, J. H., and Wang, Y.: The early summertime Saharan heat low: sensitivity of the radiation budget and atmospheric heating to water vapour and dust aerosol, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1241–1262, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1241-2018, 2018. a
Andersen, H. and Cermak, J.: How thermodynamic environments control stratocumulus microphysics and interactions with aerosols, Environ. Res. Lett., 10, 24004, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/2/024004, 2015. a
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Short summary
Fog and low clouds (FLCs) are an essential but poorly understood element of Namib regional climate. Here, a satellite-based data set of FLCs in central Namib, reanalysis data, and back trajectories are used to systematically analyze conditions when FLCs occur. Synoptic-scale mechanisms are identified that influence the formation of FLCs and the onshore advection of marine boundary-layer air masses. The findings lead to a new conceptual model of mechanisms that drive FLC variability in the Namib.
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