Disentangling different moisture transport pathways over the eastern subtropical North Atlantic using multi-platform isotope observations and high-resolution numerical modelling

Dahinden, Fabienne; Aemisegger, Franziska; Wernli, Heini; Schneider, Matthias; Diekmann, Christopher J.; Ertl, Benjamin; Knippertz, Peter; Werner, Martin; Pfahl, Stephan

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16319-2021

Articles | Volume 21, issue 21

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16319-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16319-2021

© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 21, issue 21

Research article

|

08 Nov 2021

Research article |

| 08 Nov 2021

Disentangling different moisture transport pathways over the eastern subtropical North Atlantic using multi-platform isotope observations and high-resolution numerical modelling

Fabienne Dahinden, Franziska Aemisegger, Heini Wernli, Matthias Schneider, Christopher J. Diekmann, Benjamin Ertl, Peter Knippertz, Martin Werner, and Stephan Pfahl

Data sets

The ground-based MUSICA dataset: Tropospheric water vapour isotopologues (H216O, H218O and HD16O) as obtained from NDACC/FTIR solar absorption spectra S. Barthlott, M. Schneider, F. Hase, T. Blumenstock, G. Mengistu Tsidu, M. Grutter de la Mora, K. Strong, J. Notholt, E. Mahieu, N. Jones, and D. Smale https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.48902

MUSICA ISOWAT-II water isotopologue data. Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Atmospheric Trace Gases and Remote Sensing (IMK-ASF) C. Dyroff, E. Christner, and M. Schneider https://doi.org/10.35097/505

Numerical weather simulation using COSMOiso over the eastern subtropical North Atlantic in July and August 2013, Research Collection F. Dahinden, F. Aemisegger, S. Pfahl, and H. Wernli https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000506055

Model code and software

COSMO model code COSMO http://www.cosmo-model.org/content/consortium/licencing.htm

LAGRANTO model code ETH Zurich http://iacweb.ethz.ch/staff/sprenger/lagranto/download.html

Short summary

We use high-resolution numerical isotope modelling and Lagrangian backward trajectories to identify moisture transport pathways and governing physical and dynamical processes that affect the free-tropospheric humidity and isotopic variability over the eastern subtropical North Atlantic. Furthermore, we conduct a thorough isotope modelling validation with aircraft and remote-sensing observations of water vapour isotopes.