Articles | Volume 22, issue 15
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10353-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-10353-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
12 Aug 2022
Research article |
| 12 Aug 2022
| 12 Aug 2022
Disentangling the impact of air–sea interaction and boundary layer cloud formation on stable water isotope signals in the warm sector of a Southern Ocean cyclone
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Geophysical Institute, University of Bergen, and Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway
Invited contribution by Iris Thurnherr, recipient of the EGU Atmospheric Sciences Outstanding Student Poster and PICO Award 2019.
Franziska Aemisegger
Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Related authors
Guangyu Li, André Welti, Iris Thurnherr, Ulrike Lohmann, and Zamin A. Kanji
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2798, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2798, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents ship-based measurements of summertime ice-nucleating particles (INPs) over the data-scarce Eurasian-Arctic Seas. We found that INPs are driven by both local and regional sources, with the highest levels observed near land and over ice-free waters. This study is highlighted for improving the understanding of INP abundance, sources, and their role in cloud processes in the rapidly warming Arctic.
Killian P. Brennan, Iris Thurnherr, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-918, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-918, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Hailstorms can cause severe damage to homes, crops, and infrastructure. Using high-resolution climate simulations, we tracked thousands of hailstorms across Europe to study future changes. Large hail will become more frequent, hail-covered areas will expand, and extreme hail combined with heavy rain will double. These shifts could increase risks for communities and businesses, highlighting the need for better preparedness and adaptation.
Daniele Zannoni, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Harald Sodemann, Iris Thurnherr, Cyrille Flamant, Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, Martin Werner, and Myriam Raybaut
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3394, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3394, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
High resolution airborne observations reveal that mixing between the free troposphere and surface evapotranspiration flux primarly modulates the water vapor isotopic composition in the lower troposphere. Water vapor isotopes structure variations occur on the scale of 100s of m, underlying the utility of stable isotopes for studying microscale atmospheric dynamics. This study also provides the basis for better validation of water vapor isotopes remote sensing retrievals with surface observations.
Emmanouil Flaounas, Stavros Dafis, Silvio Davolio, Davide Faranda, Christian Ferrarin, Katharina Hartmuth, Assaf Hochman, Aristeidis Koutroulis, Samira Khodayar, Mario Marcello Miglietta, Florian Pantillon, Platon Patlakas, Michael Sprenger, and Iris Thurnherr
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2809, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2809, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Esther S. Breuninger, Julie Tolu, Iris Thurnherr, Franziska Aemisegger, Aryeh Feinberg, Sylvain Bouchet, Jeroen E. Sonke, Véronique Pont, Heini Wernli, and Lenny H. E. Winkel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2491–2510, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2491-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2491-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric deposition is an important source of selenium (Se) and other health-relevant trace elements in surface environments. We found that the variability in elemental concentrations in atmospheric deposition reflects not only changes in emission sources but also weather conditions during atmospheric removal. Depending on the sources and if Se is derived more locally or from further away, the Se forms can be different, affecting the bioavailability of Se atmospherically supplied to soils.
Sebastian Landwehr, Michele Volpi, F. Alexander Haumann, Charlotte M. Robinson, Iris Thurnherr, Valerio Ferracci, Andrea Baccarini, Jenny Thomas, Irina Gorodetskaya, Christian Tatzelt, Silvia Henning, Rob L. Modini, Heather J. Forrer, Yajuan Lin, Nicolas Cassar, Rafel Simó, Christel Hassler, Alireza Moallemi, Sarah E. Fawcett, Neil Harris, Ruth Airs, Marzieh H. Derkani, Alberto Alberello, Alessandro Toffoli, Gang Chen, Pablo Rodríguez-Ros, Marina Zamanillo, Pau Cortés-Greus, Lei Xue, Conor G. Bolas, Katherine C. Leonard, Fernando Perez-Cruz, David Walton, and Julia Schmale
Earth Syst. Dynam., 12, 1295–1369, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1295-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1295-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition surveyed a large number of variables describing the dynamic state of ocean and atmosphere, freshwater cycle, atmospheric chemistry, ocean biogeochemistry, and microbiology in the Southern Ocean. To reduce the dimensionality of the dataset, we apply a sparse principal component analysis and identify temporal patterns from diurnal to seasonal cycles, as well as geographical gradients and
hotspotsof interaction. Code and data are open access.
Iris Thurnherr, Katharina Hartmuth, Lukas Jansing, Josué Gehring, Maxi Boettcher, Irina Gorodetskaya, Martin Werner, Heini Wernli, and Franziska Aemisegger
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 331–357, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-331-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Extratropical cyclones are important for the transport of moisture from low to high latitudes. In this study, we investigate how the isotopic composition of water vapour is affected by horizontal temperature advection associated with extratropical cyclones using measurements and modelling. It is shown that air–sea moisture fluxes induced by this horizontal temperature advection lead to the strong variability observed in the isotopic composition of water vapour in the marine boundary layer.
Sebastian Landwehr, Iris Thurnherr, Nicolas Cassar, Martin Gysel-Beer, and Julia Schmale
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3487–3506, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3487-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3487-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Shipborne wind speed measurements are relevant for field studies of air–sea interaction processes. Distortion of the airflow by the ship’s structure can, however, lead to errors. We estimate the flow distortion bias by comparing the observations to ERA-5 reanalysis data. The underlying assumptions are that the bias depends only on the relative orientation of the ship to the wind direction and that the ERA-5 wind speeds are (on average) representative of the true wind speed.
Iris Thurnherr, Anna Kozachek, Pascal Graf, Yongbiao Weng, Dimitri Bolshiyanov, Sebastian Landwehr, Stephan Pfahl, Julia Schmale, Harald Sodemann, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Alessandro Toffoli, Heini Wernli, and Franziska Aemisegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5811–5835, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5811-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5811-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Stable water isotopes (SWIs) are tracers of moist atmospheric processes. We analyse the impact of large- to small-scale atmospheric processes and various environmental conditions on the variability of SWIs using ship-based SWI measurement in water vapour from the Atlantic and Southern Ocean. Furthermore, simultaneous measurements of SWIs at two altitudes are used to illustrate the potential of such measurements for future research to estimate sea spray evaporation and turbulent moisture fluxes.
Guangyu Li, André Welti, Iris Thurnherr, Ulrike Lohmann, and Zamin A. Kanji
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2798, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2798, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents ship-based measurements of summertime ice-nucleating particles (INPs) over the data-scarce Eurasian-Arctic Seas. We found that INPs are driven by both local and regional sources, with the highest levels observed near land and over ice-free waters. This study is highlighted for improving the understanding of INP abundance, sources, and their role in cloud processes in the rapidly warming Arctic.
Joëlle C. Rieder, Franziska Aemisegger, Elad Dente, and Moshe Armon
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 1395–1427, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1395-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1395-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
The Sahara was wetter in the past and may become wetter in the future. Lake remnants are evidence of the desert’s wetter past. If the Sahara gets wetter in the future, these lakes may serve as a water resource. However, it is unclear how these lakes get filled and how moisture is carried into the desert and converted into rain in the first place. Therefore, we examine processes currently leading to the filling of a dry lake in the Sahara, which can help assess future water availability.
Killian P. Brennan, Iris Thurnherr, Michael Sprenger, and Heini Wernli
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-918, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-918, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
Hailstorms can cause severe damage to homes, crops, and infrastructure. Using high-resolution climate simulations, we tracked thousands of hailstorms across Europe to study future changes. Large hail will become more frequent, hail-covered areas will expand, and extreme hail combined with heavy rain will double. These shifts could increase risks for communities and businesses, highlighting the need for better preparedness and adaptation.
Daniele Zannoni, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Harald Sodemann, Iris Thurnherr, Cyrille Flamant, Patrick Chazette, Julien Totems, Martin Werner, and Myriam Raybaut
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3394, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3394, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
High resolution airborne observations reveal that mixing between the free troposphere and surface evapotranspiration flux primarly modulates the water vapor isotopic composition in the lower troposphere. Water vapor isotopes structure variations occur on the scale of 100s of m, underlying the utility of stable isotopes for studying microscale atmospheric dynamics. This study also provides the basis for better validation of water vapor isotopes remote sensing retrievals with surface observations.
Sonja Wahl, Benjamin Walter, Franziska Aemisegger, Luca Bianchi, and Michael Lehning
The Cryosphere, 18, 4493–4515, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4493-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4493-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Wind-driven airborne transport of snow is a frequent phenomenon in snow-covered regions and a process difficult to study in the field as it is unfolding over large distances. Thus, we use a ring wind tunnel with infinite fetch positioned in a cold laboratory to study the evolution of the shape and size of airborne snow. With the help of stable water isotope analyses, we identify the hitherto unobserved process of airborne snow metamorphism that leads to snow particle rounding and growth.
Emmanouil Flaounas, Stavros Dafis, Silvio Davolio, Davide Faranda, Christian Ferrarin, Katharina Hartmuth, Assaf Hochman, Aristeidis Koutroulis, Samira Khodayar, Mario Marcello Miglietta, Florian Pantillon, Platon Patlakas, Michael Sprenger, and Iris Thurnherr
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2809, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2809, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Ellina Agayar, Franziska Aemisegger, Moshe Armon, Alexander Scherrmann, and Heini Wernli
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 2441–2459, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2441-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-24-2441-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents the results of a climatological investigation of extreme precipitation events (EPEs) in Ukraine for the period 1979–2019. During all seasons EPEs are associated with pronounced upper-level potential vorticity (PV) anomalies. In addition, we find distinct seasonal and regional differences in moisture sources. Several extreme precipitation cases demonstrate the importance of these processes, complemented by a detailed synoptic analysis.
Esther S. Breuninger, Julie Tolu, Iris Thurnherr, Franziska Aemisegger, Aryeh Feinberg, Sylvain Bouchet, Jeroen E. Sonke, Véronique Pont, Heini Wernli, and Lenny H. E. Winkel
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2491–2510, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2491-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2491-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric deposition is an important source of selenium (Se) and other health-relevant trace elements in surface environments. We found that the variability in elemental concentrations in atmospheric deposition reflects not only changes in emission sources but also weather conditions during atmospheric removal. Depending on the sources and if Se is derived more locally or from further away, the Se forms can be different, affecting the bioavailability of Se atmospherically supplied to soils.
Leonie Villiger and Franziska Aemisegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 957–976, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-957-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-957-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Three numerical simulations performed with an isotope-enabled weather forecast model are used to investigate the cloud–circulation coupling between shallow trade-wind cumulus clouds and atmospheric circulations on different scales. It is shown that stable water isotopes near cloud base in the tropics reflect (1) the diel cycle of the atmospheric circulation, which drives the formation and dissipation of clouds, and (2) changes in the large-scale circulation over the North Atlantic.
Leonie Villiger, Marina Dütsch, Sandrine Bony, Marie Lothon, Stephan Pfahl, Heini Wernli, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Patrick Chazette, Pierre Coutris, Julien Delanoë, Cyrille Flamant, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Martin Werner, and Franziska Aemisegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14643–14672, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14643-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14643-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study evaluates three numerical simulations performed with an isotope-enabled weather forecast model and investigates the coupling between shallow trade-wind cumulus clouds and atmospheric circulations on different scales. We show that the simulations reproduce key characteristics of shallow trade-wind clouds as observed during the field experiment EUREC4A and that the spatial distribution of stable-water-vapour isotopes is shaped by the overturning circulation associated with these clouds.
Adriana Bailey, Franziska Aemisegger, Leonie Villiger, Sebastian A. Los, Gilles Reverdin, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Claudia Acquistapace, Dariusz B. Baranowski, Tobias Böck, Sandrine Bony, Tobias Bordsdorff, Derek Coffman, Simon P. de Szoeke, Christopher J. Diekmann, Marina Dütsch, Benjamin Ertl, Joseph Galewsky, Dean Henze, Przemyslaw Makuch, David Noone, Patricia K. Quinn, Michael Rösch, Andreas Schneider, Matthias Schneider, Sabrina Speich, Bjorn Stevens, and Elizabeth J. Thompson
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 465–495, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-465-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-465-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
One of the novel ways EUREC4A set out to investigate trade wind clouds and their coupling to the large-scale circulation was through an extensive network of isotopic measurements in water vapor, precipitation, and seawater. Samples were taken from the island of Barbados, from aboard two aircraft, and from aboard four ships. This paper describes the full collection of EUREC4A isotopic in situ data and guides readers to complementary remotely sensed water vapor isotope ratios.
Andries Jan de Vries, Franziska Aemisegger, Stephan Pfahl, and Heini Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8863–8895, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8863-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8863-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Earth's water cycle contains the common H2O molecule but also the less abundant, heavier HDO. We use their different physical properties to study tropical ice clouds in model simulations of the West African monsoon. Isotope signals reveal different processes through which ice clouds form and decay in deep-convective and widespread cirrus. Previously observed variations in upper-tropospheric vapour isotopes are explained by microphysical processes in convective updraughts and downdraughts.
Sandrine Bony, Marie Lothon, Julien Delanoë, Pierre Coutris, Jean-Claude Etienne, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Thierry André, Hubert Bellec, Alexandre Baron, Jean-François Bourdinot, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Aurélien Bourdon, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Christophe Caudoux, Patrick Chazette, Michel Cluzeau, Céline Cornet, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Dominique Duchanoy, Cyrille Flamant, Benjamin Fildier, Christophe Gourbeyre, Laurent Guiraud, Tetyana Jiang, Claude Lainard, Christophe Le Gac, Christian Lendroit, Julien Lernould, Thierry Perrin, Frédéric Pouvesle, Pascal Richard, Nicolas Rochetin, Kevin Salaün, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Guillaume Seurat, Bjorn Stevens, Julien Totems, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Gilles Vergez, Jessica Vial, Leonie Villiger, and Raphaela Vogel
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2021–2064, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2021-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2021-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The French ATR42 research aircraft participated in the EUREC4A international field campaign that took place in 2020 over the tropical Atlantic, east of Barbados. We present the extensive instrumentation of the aircraft, the research flights and the different measurements. We show that the ATR measurements of humidity, wind, aerosols and cloudiness in the lower atmosphere are robust and consistent with each other. They will make it possible to advance understanding of cloud–climate interactions.
Andreas Schneider, Tobias Borsdorff, Joost aan de Brugh, Alba Lorente, Franziska Aemisegger, David Noone, Dean Henze, Rigel Kivi, and Jochen Landgraf
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 2251–2275, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2251-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-2251-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents an extended H₂O/HDO total column dataset from short-wave infrared measurements by TROPOMI including cloudy and clear-sky scenes. Coverage is tremendously increased compared to previous TROPOMI HDO datasets. The new dataset is validated against recent ground-based FTIR measurements from TCCON and against aircraft measurements over the ocean. The use of the new dataset is demonstrated with a case study of a cold air outbreak in January 2020.
Leonie Villiger, Heini Wernli, Maxi Boettcher, Martin Hagen, and Franziska Aemisegger
Weather Clim. Dynam., 3, 59–88, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-59-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-3-59-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The coupling between the large-scale atmospheric circulation and the clouds in the trade-wind region is complex and not yet fully understood. In this study, the formation pathway of two anomalous cloud layers over Barbados during the field campaign EUREC4A is described. The two case studies highlight the influence of remote weather systems on the local environmental conditions in Barbados.
Sebastian Landwehr, Michele Volpi, F. Alexander Haumann, Charlotte M. Robinson, Iris Thurnherr, Valerio Ferracci, Andrea Baccarini, Jenny Thomas, Irina Gorodetskaya, Christian Tatzelt, Silvia Henning, Rob L. Modini, Heather J. Forrer, Yajuan Lin, Nicolas Cassar, Rafel Simó, Christel Hassler, Alireza Moallemi, Sarah E. Fawcett, Neil Harris, Ruth Airs, Marzieh H. Derkani, Alberto Alberello, Alessandro Toffoli, Gang Chen, Pablo Rodríguez-Ros, Marina Zamanillo, Pau Cortés-Greus, Lei Xue, Conor G. Bolas, Katherine C. Leonard, Fernando Perez-Cruz, David Walton, and Julia Schmale
Earth Syst. Dynam., 12, 1295–1369, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1295-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1295-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition surveyed a large number of variables describing the dynamic state of ocean and atmosphere, freshwater cycle, atmospheric chemistry, ocean biogeochemistry, and microbiology in the Southern Ocean. To reduce the dimensionality of the dataset, we apply a sparse principal component analysis and identify temporal patterns from diurnal to seasonal cycles, as well as geographical gradients and
hotspotsof interaction. Code and data are open access.
Fabienne Dahinden, Franziska Aemisegger, Heini Wernli, Matthias Schneider, Christopher J. Diekmann, Benjamin Ertl, Peter Knippertz, Martin Werner, and Stephan Pfahl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16319–16347, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16319-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16319-2021, 2021
Short summary
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.
Bjorn Stevens, Sandrine Bony, David Farrell, Felix Ament, Alan Blyth, Christopher Fairall, Johannes Karstensen, Patricia K. Quinn, Sabrina Speich, Claudia Acquistapace, Franziska Aemisegger, Anna Lea Albright, Hugo Bellenger, Eberhard Bodenschatz, Kathy-Ann Caesar, Rebecca Chewitt-Lucas, Gijs de Boer, Julien Delanoë, Leif Denby, Florian Ewald, Benjamin Fildier, Marvin Forde, Geet George, Silke Gross, Martin Hagen, Andrea Hausold, Karen J. Heywood, Lutz Hirsch, Marek Jacob, Friedhelm Jansen, Stefan Kinne, Daniel Klocke, Tobias Kölling, Heike Konow, Marie Lothon, Wiebke Mohr, Ann Kristin Naumann, Louise Nuijens, Léa Olivier, Robert Pincus, Mira Pöhlker, Gilles Reverdin, Gregory Roberts, Sabrina Schnitt, Hauke Schulz, A. Pier Siebesma, Claudia Christine Stephan, Peter Sullivan, Ludovic Touzé-Peiffer, Jessica Vial, Raphaela Vogel, Paquita Zuidema, Nicola Alexander, Lyndon Alves, Sophian Arixi, Hamish Asmath, Gholamhossein Bagheri, Katharina Baier, Adriana Bailey, Dariusz Baranowski, Alexandre Baron, Sébastien Barrau, Paul A. Barrett, Frédéric Batier, Andreas Behrendt, Arne Bendinger, Florent Beucher, Sebastien Bigorre, Edmund Blades, Peter Blossey, Olivier Bock, Steven Böing, Pierre Bosser, Denis Bourras, Pascale Bouruet-Aubertot, Keith Bower, Pierre Branellec, Hubert Branger, Michal Brennek, Alan Brewer, Pierre-Etienne Brilouet, Björn Brügmann, Stefan A. Buehler, Elmo Burke, Ralph Burton, Radiance Calmer, Jean-Christophe Canonici, Xavier Carton, Gregory Cato Jr., Jude Andre Charles, Patrick Chazette, Yanxu Chen, Michal T. Chilinski, Thomas Choularton, Patrick Chuang, Shamal Clarke, Hugh Coe, Céline Cornet, Pierre Coutris, Fleur Couvreux, Susanne Crewell, Timothy Cronin, Zhiqiang Cui, Yannis Cuypers, Alton Daley, Gillian M. Damerell, Thibaut Dauhut, Hartwig Deneke, Jean-Philippe Desbios, Steffen Dörner, Sebastian Donner, Vincent Douet, Kyla Drushka, Marina Dütsch, André Ehrlich, Kerry Emanuel, Alexandros Emmanouilidis, Jean-Claude Etienne, Sheryl Etienne-Leblanc, Ghislain Faure, Graham Feingold, Luca Ferrero, Andreas Fix, Cyrille Flamant, Piotr Jacek Flatau, Gregory R. Foltz, Linda Forster, Iulian Furtuna, Alan Gadian, Joseph Galewsky, Martin Gallagher, Peter Gallimore, Cassandra Gaston, Chelle Gentemann, Nicolas Geyskens, Andreas Giez, John Gollop, Isabelle Gouirand, Christophe Gourbeyre, Dörte de Graaf, Geiske E. de Groot, Robert Grosz, Johannes Güttler, Manuel Gutleben, Kashawn Hall, George Harris, Kevin C. Helfer, Dean Henze, Calvert Herbert, Bruna Holanda, Antonio Ibanez-Landeta, Janet Intrieri, Suneil Iyer, Fabrice Julien, Heike Kalesse, Jan Kazil, Alexander Kellman, Abiel T. Kidane, Ulrike Kirchner, Marcus Klingebiel, Mareike Körner, Leslie Ann Kremper, Jan Kretzschmar, Ovid Krüger, Wojciech Kumala, Armin Kurz, Pierre L'Hégaret, Matthieu Labaste, Tom Lachlan-Cope, Arlene Laing, Peter Landschützer, Theresa Lang, Diego Lange, Ingo Lange, Clément Laplace, Gauke Lavik, Rémi Laxenaire, Caroline Le Bihan, Mason Leandro, Nathalie Lefevre, Marius Lena, Donald Lenschow, Qiang Li, Gary Lloyd, Sebastian Los, Niccolò Losi, Oscar Lovell, Christopher Luneau, Przemyslaw Makuch, Szymon Malinowski, Gaston Manta, Eleni Marinou, Nicholas Marsden, Sebastien Masson, Nicolas Maury, Bernhard Mayer, Margarette Mayers-Als, Christophe Mazel, Wayne McGeary, James C. McWilliams, Mario Mech, Melina Mehlmann, Agostino Niyonkuru Meroni, Theresa Mieslinger, Andreas Minikin, Peter Minnett, Gregor Möller, Yanmichel Morfa Avalos, Caroline Muller, Ionela Musat, Anna Napoli, Almuth Neuberger, Christophe Noisel, David Noone, Freja Nordsiek, Jakub L. Nowak, Lothar Oswald, Douglas J. Parker, Carolyn Peck, Renaud Person, Miriam Philippi, Albert Plueddemann, Christopher Pöhlker, Veronika Pörtge, Ulrich Pöschl, Lawrence Pologne, Michał Posyniak, Marc Prange, Estefanía Quiñones Meléndez, Jule Radtke, Karim Ramage, Jens Reimann, Lionel Renault, Klaus Reus, Ashford Reyes, Joachim Ribbe, Maximilian Ringel, Markus Ritschel, Cesar B. Rocha, Nicolas Rochetin, Johannes Röttenbacher, Callum Rollo, Haley Royer, Pauline Sadoulet, Leo Saffin, Sanola Sandiford, Irina Sandu, Michael Schäfer, Vera Schemann, Imke Schirmacher, Oliver Schlenczek, Jerome Schmidt, Marcel Schröder, Alfons Schwarzenboeck, Andrea Sealy, Christoph J. Senff, Ilya Serikov, Samkeyat Shohan, Elizabeth Siddle, Alexander Smirnov, Florian Späth, Branden Spooner, M. Katharina Stolla, Wojciech Szkółka, Simon P. de Szoeke, Stéphane Tarot, Eleni Tetoni, Elizabeth Thompson, Jim Thomson, Lorenzo Tomassini, Julien Totems, Alma Anna Ubele, Leonie Villiger, Jan von Arx, Thomas Wagner, Andi Walther, Ben Webber, Manfred Wendisch, Shanice Whitehall, Anton Wiltshire, Allison A. Wing, Martin Wirth, Jonathan Wiskandt, Kevin Wolf, Ludwig Worbes, Ethan Wright, Volker Wulfmeyer, Shanea Young, Chidong Zhang, Dongxiao Zhang, Florian Ziemen, Tobias Zinner, and Martin Zöger
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 4067–4119, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-4067-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The EUREC4A field campaign, designed to test hypothesized mechanisms by which clouds respond to warming and benchmark next-generation Earth-system models, is presented. EUREC4A comprised roughly 5 weeks of measurements in the downstream winter trades of the North Atlantic – eastward and southeastward of Barbados. It was the first campaign that attempted to characterize the full range of processes and scales influencing trade wind clouds.
Yafei Li, Franziska Aemisegger, Andreas Riedl, Nina Buchmann, and Werner Eugster
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2617–2648, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2617-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2617-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
During dry spells, dew and fog potentially play an increasingly important role in temperate grasslands. Research on the combined mechanisms of dew and fog inputs to ecosystems and distillation of water vapor from soil to plant surfaces is rare. Our results using stable water isotopes highlight the importance of dew and fog inputs to temperate grasslands during dry spells and reveal the complexity of the local water cycling in such conditions, including different pathways of dew and fog inputs.
Iris Thurnherr, Katharina Hartmuth, Lukas Jansing, Josué Gehring, Maxi Boettcher, Irina Gorodetskaya, Martin Werner, Heini Wernli, and Franziska Aemisegger
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 331–357, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-331-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Extratropical cyclones are important for the transport of moisture from low to high latitudes. In this study, we investigate how the isotopic composition of water vapour is affected by horizontal temperature advection associated with extratropical cyclones using measurements and modelling. It is shown that air–sea moisture fluxes induced by this horizontal temperature advection lead to the strong variability observed in the isotopic composition of water vapour in the marine boundary layer.
Franziska Aemisegger, Raphaela Vogel, Pascal Graf, Fabienne Dahinden, Leonie Villiger, Friedhelm Jansen, Sandrine Bony, Bjorn Stevens, and Heini Wernli
Weather Clim. Dynam., 2, 281–309, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-281-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-281-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The interaction of clouds in the trade wind region with the atmospheric flow is complex and at the heart of uncertainties associated with climate projections. In this study, a natural tracer of atmospheric circulation is used to establish a link between air originating from dry regions of the midlatitudes and the occurrence of specific cloud patterns. Two pathways involving transport within midlatitude weather systems are identified, by which air is brought into the trades within 5–10 d.
Sebastian Landwehr, Iris Thurnherr, Nicolas Cassar, Martin Gysel-Beer, and Julia Schmale
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 3487–3506, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3487-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-3487-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Shipborne wind speed measurements are relevant for field studies of air–sea interaction processes. Distortion of the airflow by the ship’s structure can, however, lead to errors. We estimate the flow distortion bias by comparing the observations to ERA-5 reanalysis data. The underlying assumptions are that the bias depends only on the relative orientation of the ship to the wind direction and that the ERA-5 wind speeds are (on average) representative of the true wind speed.
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
Short summary
Short summary
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.
Iris Thurnherr, Anna Kozachek, Pascal Graf, Yongbiao Weng, Dimitri Bolshiyanov, Sebastian Landwehr, Stephan Pfahl, Julia Schmale, Harald Sodemann, Hans Christian Steen-Larsen, Alessandro Toffoli, Heini Wernli, and Franziska Aemisegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5811–5835, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5811-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5811-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
Stable water isotopes (SWIs) are tracers of moist atmospheric processes. We analyse the impact of large- to small-scale atmospheric processes and various environmental conditions on the variability of SWIs using ship-based SWI measurement in water vapour from the Atlantic and Southern Ocean. Furthermore, simultaneous measurements of SWIs at two altitudes are used to illustrate the potential of such measurements for future research to estimate sea spray evaporation and turbulent moisture fluxes.
Andreas Schneider, Tobias Borsdorff, Joost aan de Brugh, Franziska Aemisegger, Dietrich G. Feist, Rigel Kivi, Frank Hase, Matthias Schneider, and Jochen Landgraf
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 85–100, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-85-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-85-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents a new H2O/HDO data set from TROPOMI short-wave infrared measurements. It is validated against recent ground-based FTIR measurements from the TCCON network. A bias in TCCON HDO (which is not verified) is corrected by fitting a correction factor for the HDO column to match MUSICA δD for common observations. The use of the new TROPOMI data set is demonstrated using a case study of a blocking anticyclone over Europe in July 2018.
Keun-Ok Lee, Franziska Aemisegger, Stephan Pfahl, Cyrille Flamant, Jean-Lionel Lacour, and Jean-Pierre Chaboureau
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 7487–7506, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7487-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-7487-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Our study is the first study to investigate the potential benefit of stable water isotopes (SWIs) in the context of a heavy precipitation event in the Mediterranean. As such, our study provides a proof of concept of the usefulness of SWI data to understand the variety of origins and moisture processes associated with air masses feeding the convection over southern Italy.
Related subject area
Subject: Isotopes | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Estimating emissions of methane consistent with atmospheric measurements of methane and δ13C of methane
Stable water isotope signals in tropical ice clouds in the West African monsoon simulated with a regional convection-permitting model
Disentangling different moisture transport pathways over the eastern subtropical North Atlantic using multi-platform isotope observations and high-resolution numerical modelling
Firewood residential heating – local versus remote influence on the aerosol burden
Controls on the water vapor isotopic composition near the surface of tropical oceans and role of boundary layer mixing processes
Kinetic mass-transfer calculation of water isotope fractionation due to cloud microphysics in a regional meteorological model
The influence of 14CO2 releases from regional nuclear facilities at the Heidelberg 14CO2 sampling site (1986–2014)
Lagrangian process attribution of isotopic variations in near-surface water vapour in a 30-year regional climate simulation over Europe
How does sea ice influence δ18O of Arctic precipitation?
Separation of biospheric and fossil fuel fluxes of CO2 by atmospheric inversion of CO2 and 14CO2 measurements: Observation System Simulations
To what extent could water isotopic measurements help us understand model biases in the water cycle over Western Siberia
Simulating the integrated summertime Δ14CO2 signature from anthropogenic emissions over Western Europe
Variations of oxygen-18 in West Siberian precipitation during the last 50 years
Xenon-133 and caesium-137 releases into the atmosphere from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant: determination of the source term, atmospheric dispersion, and deposition
The isotopic composition of precipitation from a winter storm – a case study with the limited-area model COSMOiso
Theory of isotopic fractionation on facetted ice crystals
Radon activity in the lower troposphere and its impact on ionization rate: a global estimate using different radon emissions
Sourish Basu, Xin Lan, Edward Dlugokencky, Sylvia Michel, Stefan Schwietzke, John B. Miller, Lori Bruhwiler, Youmi Oh, Pieter P. Tans, Francesco Apadula, Luciana V. Gatti, Armin Jordan, Jaroslaw Necki, Motoki Sasakawa, Shinji Morimoto, Tatiana Di Iorio, Haeyoung Lee, Jgor Arduini, and Giovanni Manca
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 15351–15377, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15351-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-15351-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric methane (CH4) has been growing steadily since 2007 for reasons that are not well understood. Here we determine sources of methane using a technique informed by atmospheric measurements of CH4 and its isotopologue 13CH4. Measurements of 13CH4 provide for better separation of microbial, fossil, and fire sources of methane than CH4 measurements alone. Compared to previous assessments such as the Global Carbon Project, we find a larger microbial contribution to the post-2007 increase.
Andries Jan de Vries, Franziska Aemisegger, Stephan Pfahl, and Heini Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8863–8895, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8863-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8863-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The Earth's water cycle contains the common H2O molecule but also the less abundant, heavier HDO. We use their different physical properties to study tropical ice clouds in model simulations of the West African monsoon. Isotope signals reveal different processes through which ice clouds form and decay in deep-convective and widespread cirrus. Previously observed variations in upper-tropospheric vapour isotopes are explained by microphysical processes in convective updraughts and downdraughts.
Fabienne Dahinden, Franziska Aemisegger, Heini Wernli, Matthias Schneider, Christopher J. Diekmann, Benjamin Ertl, Peter Knippertz, Martin Werner, and Stephan Pfahl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16319–16347, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16319-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16319-2021, 2021
Short summary
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.
Clara Betancourt, Christoph Küppers, Tammarat Piansawan, Uta Sager, Andrea B. Hoyer, Heinz Kaminski, Gerhard Rapp, Astrid C. John, Miriam Küpper, Ulrich Quass, Thomas Kuhlbusch, Jochen Rudolph, Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, and Iulia Gensch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 5953–5964, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5953-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-5953-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
For the first time, we included stable isotopes in the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART to investigate firewood home heating aerosol. This is an innovative source apportionment methodology since comparison of stable isotope ratio model predictions with observations delivers quantitative understanding of atmospheric processes. The main outcome of this study is that the home heating aerosol in residential areas was not of remote origin.
Camille Risi, Joseph Galewsky, Gilles Reverdin, and Florent Brient
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 12235–12260, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12235-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-12235-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Water molecules can be light (one oxygen atom and two hydrogen atoms) or heavy (one hydrogen atom is replaced by a deuterium atom). These different molecules are called water isotopes. The isotopic composition of water vapor can potentially provide information about physical processes along the water cycle, but the factors controlling it are complex. As a first step, we propose an equation to predict the water vapor isotopic composition near the surface of tropical oceans.
I-Chun Tsai, Wan-Yu Chen, Jen-Ping Chen, and Mao-Chang Liang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 1753–1766, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1753-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-1753-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In conventional models, isotope exchange between liquid and gas phases is usually assumed to be in equilibrium, and the highly kinetic phase transformation processes inferred in clouds are yet to be fully investigated. We show that different factors controlling isotopic composition, including water vapor sources, atmospheric transport, phase transition pathways of water in clouds, and kinetic-versus-equilibrium mass transfer, contributed significantly to the variations in isotope composition.
Matthias Kuderer, Samuel Hammer, and Ingeborg Levin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 7951–7959, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7951-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7951-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric 14CO2 measurements allow for estimating the regional fossil fuel CO2 component. However, results potentially need to be corrected for 14CO2 contamination from near-by nuclear facilities (NF). Our dispersion estimates of corresponding contaminations for Heidelberg, based on differently resolved wind fields, show differences of up to a factor of 2. Estimates from highly resolved models coupled with temporally resolved 14CO2 emissions from NFs are required for more accurate results.
Marina Dütsch, Stephan Pfahl, Miro Meyer, and Heini Wernli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 1653–1669, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1653-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1653-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Atmospheric processes are imprinted in the concentrations of stable water isotopes. Therefore, isotopes can be used to gain insight into these processes and improve our understanding of the water cycle. In this study, we present a new method that quantitatively shows which atmospheric processes influence isotope concentrations in near-surface water vapour over Europe. We found that the most important processes are evaporation from the ocean, evapotranspiration from land, and turbulent mixing.
Anne-Katrine Faber, Bo Møllesøe Vinther, Jesper Sjolte, and Rasmus Anker Pedersen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 5865–5876, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5865-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-5865-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
The recent decades loss of Arctic sea ice provide an interesting opportunity to study the impact of sea ice changes on the isotopic composition of Arctic precipitation. Using a climate model that can simulate water isotopes, we find that reduced sea ice extent yields more enriched isotope values while increased sea ice extent yields more
depleted isotope values. Results also show that the spatial distribution of the sea ice extent are important.
Sourish Basu, John Bharat Miller, and Scott Lehman
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 5665–5683, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5665-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5665-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
We present a dual tracer atmospheric inversion technique to separately estimate biospheric and fossil fuel CO2 fluxes from atmospheric measurements of CO2 and 14CO2. In addition to estimating monthly regional fossil fuel fluxes of CO2, this system can also reduce biases in biospheric fluxes that arise in a traditional CO2 inversion from prescribing a fixed but inaccurate fossil fuel flux.
V. Gryazin, C. Risi, J. Jouzel, N. Kurita, J. Worden, C. Frankenberg, V. Bastrikov, K. Gribanov, and O. Stukova
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 9807–9830, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9807-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9807-2014, 2014
D. Bozhinova, M. K. van der Molen, I. R. van der Velde, M. C. Krol, S. van der Laan, H. A. J. Meijer, and W. Peters
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 7273–7290, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7273-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-7273-2014, 2014
M. Butzin, M. Werner, V. Masson-Delmotte, C. Risi, C. Frankenberg, K. Gribanov, J. Jouzel, and V. I. Zakharov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 5853–5869, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5853-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-5853-2014, 2014
A. Stohl, P. Seibert, G. Wotawa, D. Arnold, J. F. Burkhart, S. Eckhardt, C. Tapia, A. Vargas, and T. J. Yasunari
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 2313–2343, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-2313-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-2313-2012, 2012
S. Pfahl, H. Wernli, and K. Yoshimura
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 1629–1648, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-1629-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-1629-2012, 2012
J. Nelson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 11351–11360, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-11351-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-11351-2011, 2011
K. Zhang, J. Feichter, J. Kazil, H. Wan, W. Zhuo, A. D. Griffiths, H. Sartorius, W. Zahorowski, M. Ramonet, M. Schmidt, C. Yver, R. E. M. Neubert, and E.-G. Brunke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11, 7817–7838, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-7817-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-7817-2011, 2011
Cited articles
Aemisegger, F.: On the link between the North Atlantic storm track and
precipitation deuterium excess in Reykjavik, Atmos. Sci. Lett., 19,
e865, https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.865, 2018. a
Aemisegger, F. and Papritz, L.: A climatology of strong large-scale
ocean evaporation events, Part I: Identification, global
distribution, and associated climate conditions, J. Clim., 31,
7287–7312, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0591.1, 2018. a
Aemisegger, F. and Sjolte, J.: A climatology of strong large-scale
ocean evaporation events, Part II: Relevance for the deuterium
excess signature of the evaporation flux, J. Clim., 31, 7313–7336,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-17-0592.1, 2018. a, b
Aemisegger, F., Sturm, P., Graf, P., Sodemann, H., Pfahl, S., Knohl, A., and
Wernli, H.: Measuring variations of δ18O and
δ2H in atmospheric water vapour using two commercial
laser-based spectrometers: An instrument characterisation study, Atmos.
Meas. Tech., 5, 1491–1511, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-5-1491-2012, 2012. a
Aemisegger, F., Spiegel, J. K., Pfahl, S., Sodemann, H., Eugster, W., and
Wernli, H.: Isotope meteorology of cold front passages: A case study
combining observations and modeling: Water isotopes during cold
fronts, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 5652–5660, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL063988,
2015. a
Beare, R. J.: Boundary layer mechanisms in extratropical cyclones, Q. J. R.
Meteorol. Soc., 133, 503–515, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.30, 2007. a, b
Benetti, M., Reverdin, G., Pierre, C., Merlivat, L., Risi, C., Steen-Larsen,
H. C., and Vimeux, F.: Deuterium excess in marine water vapor: Dependency
on relative humidity and surface wind speed during evaporation, J. Geophys.
Res.-Atmos., 119, 584–593, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JD020535, 2014. a, b
Benetti, M., Aloisi, G., Reverdin, G., Risi, C., and Sèze, G.: Importance of
boundary layer mixing for the isotopic composition of surface vapor over the
subtropical North Atlantic Ocean, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 120, 2190–2209, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD021947, 2015. a
Benetti, M., Lacour, J.-L., Sveinbjörnsdóttir, Á. E., Aloisi, G.,
Reverdin, G., Risi, C., Peters, A. J., and Steen-Larsen, H. C.: A framework
to study mixing processes in the marine boundary layer using
water vapor isotope measurements, Geophys. Res. Lett., 45,
2524–2532, https://doi.org/10.1002/2018GL077167, 2018. a, b, c
Blossey, P. N., Kuang, Z., and Romps, D. M.: Isotopic composition of water in
the tropical tropopause layer in cloud-resolving simulations of an idealized
tropical circulation, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 115, D24309,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JD014554, 2010. a
Bond, N. A. and Fleagle, R. G.: Prefrontal and postfrontal boundary layer
processes over the ocean, Mon. Weather Rev., 116, 1257–1273,
https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1988)116<1257:PAPBLP>2.0.CO;2, 1988. a
Bonne, J.-L., Masson-Delmotte, V., Cattani, O., Delmotte, M., Risi, C.,
Sodemann, H., and Steen-Larsen, H. C.: The isotopic composition of water
vapour and precipitation in Ivittuut, southern Greenland, Atmos. Chem.
Phys., 14, 4419–4439, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4419-2014, 2014. a
Boutle, I. A., Beare, R. J., Belcher, S. E., Brown, A. R., and Plant, R. S.:
The moist boundary layer under a mid-latitude weather system,
Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 134, 367–386, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-009-9452-9, 2010. a
Dahinden, F., Aemisegger, F., Wernli, H., Schneider, M., Diekmann, C. J., Ertl,
B., Knippertz, P., Werner, M., and Pfahl, S.: Disentangling different
moisture transport pathways over the eastern subtropical North Atlantic using
multi-platform isotope observations and high-resolution numerical modelling,
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 16319–16347, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16319-2021,
2021. a, b
de Vries, A. J., Aemisegger, F., Pfahl, S., and Wernli, H.: Stable water isotope signals in tropical ice clouds in the West African monsoon simulated with a regional convection-permitting model, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8863–8895, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8863-2022, 2022. a
Dütsch, M., Pfahl, S., and Wernli, H.: Drivers of δ2H
variations in an idealized extratropical cyclone, Geophys. Res. Lett., 43,
5401–5408, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068600, 2016. a
Dütsch, M., Pfahl, S., and Sodemann, H.: The impact of nonequilibrium and
equilibrium fractionation on two different deuterium excess
definitions, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 12732–12746,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD027085, 2017. a, b
Dütsch, M., Pfahl, S., Meyer, M., and Wernli, H.: Lagrangian process
attribution of isotopic variations in near-surface water vapour in a 30-year
regional climate simulation over Europe, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18,
1653–1669, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-1653-2018, 2018. a, b
Dütsch, M., Blossey, P. N., Steig, E. J., and Nusbaumer, J. M.: Nonequilibrium
fractionation during ice cloud formation in iCAM5: Evaluating the common
parameterization of supersaturation as a linear function of temperature, J.
Adv. Model Earth Sy., 11, 3777–3793, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019MS001764, 2019. a
Eckstein, J., Ruhnke, R., Pfahl, S., Christner, E., Diekmann, C., Dyroff, C.,
Reinert, D., Rieger, D., Schneider, M., Schröter, J., Zahn, A., and
Braesicke, P.: From climatological to small-scale applications: simulating
water isotopologues with ICON-ART-Iso (version 2.3), Geosci. Model Dev., 11,
5113–5133, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-5113-2018, 2018. a
Feng, X., Posmentier, E. S., Sonder, L. J., and Fan, N.: Rethinking Craig and
Gordon's approach to modeling isotopic compositions of marine boundary
layer vapor, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4005–4024,
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4005-2019, 2019. a
Fiorella, R. P., Siler, N., Nusbaumer, J., and Noone, D. C.: Enhancing
Understanding of the Hydrological Cycle via Pairing of Process-Oriented and
Isotope Ratio Tracers, J. Adv. Model. Earth Syst., 13, e2021MS002648,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2021MS002648, 2021. a
Galewsky, J., Strong, M., and Sharp, Z. D.: Measurements of water vapor D/H
ratios from Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and implications for subtropical
humidity dynamics, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L22808,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2007GL031330, 2007. a
Gat, J. R., Klein, B., Kushnir, Y., Roether, W., Wernli, H., Yam, R., and
Shemesh, A.: Isotope composition of air moisture over the Mediterranean
Sea: An index of the air–sea interaction pattern, Tellus B, 55,
953–965, https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0889.2003.00081.x, 2003. a
Gedzelman, S. D. and Lawrence, J. R.: The isotopic composition of
precipitation from two extratropical cyclones, Mon. Weather Rev.,
118, 495–509, https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0493(1990)118<0495:TICOPF>2.0.CO;2, 1990. a, b
Gehring, J., Thurnherr, I., and Graf, P.: Vertical profiles of Doppler spectra
of hydrometeors from a Micro Rain Radar recorded during the austral summer of
2016/2017 in the Southern Ocean on the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition
(ACE), Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3929289, 2020. a, b
Graf, P., Wernli, H., Pfahl, S., and Sodemann, H.: A new interpretative
framework for below-cloud effects on stable water isotopes in vapour and
rain, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 747–765, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-747-2019, 2019. a
Haumann, F. A., Robinson, C., Thomas, J., Hutchings, J., Pina Estany, C.,
Tarasenko, A., Gerber, F., and Leonard, K.: Physical and biogeochemical
oceanography data from underway measurements with an AquaLine Ferrybox during
the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE), Zenodo [data set],
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3660852, 2020. a, b
Helsen, M. M., van de Wal, R. S. W., van den Broeke, M. R., Masson-Delmotte,
V., Meijer, H. a. J., Scheele, M. P., and Werner, M.: Modeling the isotopic
composition of Antarctic snow using backward trajectories: Simulation of
snow pit records, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 111, D15109,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2005JD006524, 2006. a
Horita, J. and Wesolowski, D. J.: Liquid-vapor fractionation of oxygen and
hydrogen isotopes of water from the freezing to the critical temperature,
Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 58, 3425–3437, https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(94)90096-5,
1994. a
Joussaume, S., Sadourny, R., and Jouzel, J.: A general circulation model of
water isotope cycles in the atmosphere, Nature, 311, 24–29,
https://doi.org/10.1038/311024a0, 1984. a
Jouzel, J. and Merlivat, L.: Deuterium and oxygen 18 in precipitation:
Modeling of the isotopic effects during snow formation, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 89, 11749–11757, https://doi.org/10.1029/JD089iD07p11749, 1984. a
Landwehr, S., Thomas, J., Gorodetskaya, I., Thurnherr, I., Robinson, C., and
Schmale, J.: Quality-checked meteorological data from the Southern Ocean
collected during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition from December 2016
to April 2017, Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3379590, 2019. a, b
LeGrande, A. N. and Schmidt, G. A.: Global gridded data set of the oxygen
isotopic composition in seawater, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L12604,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GL026011, 2006. a
Li, Y., Aemisegger, F., Riedl, A., Buchmann, N., and Eugster, W.: The role of dew and radiation fog inputs in the local water cycling of a temperate grassland during dry spells in central Europe, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2617–2648, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-25-2617-2021, 2021. a
Majoube, M.: Fractionnement en oxygene 18 et en deuterium entre l'eau et sa
vapeur, J. Chim. Phys., 68, 1423–1436, https://doi.org/10.1051/jcp/1971681423, 1971. a
Merlivat, L. and Jouzel, J.: Global climatic interpretation of the
deuterium-oxygen 18 relationship for precipitation, J. Geophys. Res.-Ocean.,
84, 5029–5033, https://doi.org/10.1029/JC084iC08p05029, 1979. a
Noone, D., Galewsky, J., Sharp, Z. D., Worden, J., Barnes, J., Baer, D.,
Bailey, A., Brown, D. P., Christensen, L., Crosson, E., Dong, F., Hurley,
J. V., Johnson, L. R., Strong, M., Toohey, D., Van Pelt, A., and Wright,
J. S.: Properties of air mass mixing and humidity in the subtropics from
measurements of the D/H isotope ratio of water vapor at the Mauna Loa
Observatory, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 116, D22113,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD015773, 2011. a
Papritz, L., Pfahl, S., Rudeva, I., Simmonds, I., Sodemann, H., and Wernli, H.:
The role of extratropical cyclones and fronts for Southern Ocean
freshwater fluxes, J. Clim., 27, 6205–6224,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-13-00409.1, 2014. a
Pfahl, S. and Wernli, H.: Air parcel trajectory analysis of stable isotopes in
water vapor in the eastern Mediterranean, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D20104,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD009839, 2008. a
Pfahl, S. and Wernli, H.: Lagrangian simulations of stable isotopes in water
vapor: An evaluation of nonequilibrium fractionation in the
Craig-Gordon model, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 114, D20108,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD012054, 2009. a, b, c
Pfahl, S., Wernli, H., and Yoshimura, K.: The isotopic composition of
precipitation from a winter storm – a case study with the limited-area
model COSMOiso, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 1629–1648,
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-1629-2012, 2012. a, b, c, d
Salmon, O. E., Welp, L. R., Baldwin, M. E., Hajny, K. D., Stirm, B. H., and
Shepson, P. B.: Vertical profile observations of water vapor deuterium excess
in the lower troposphere, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 11525–11543,
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-11525-2019, 2019. a
Schemm, S., Sprenger, M., and Wernli, H.: When during Their Life Cycle Are
Extratropical Cyclones Attended by Fronts?, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 141,
149–165, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-16-0261.1, 2017. a
Schmale, J., Baccarini, A., Thurnherr, I., Henning, S., Efraim, A., Regayre,
L., Bolas, C., Hartmann, M., Welti, A., Lehtipalo, K., Aemisegger, F.,
Tatzelt, C., Landwehr, S., Modini, R. L., Tummon, F., Johnson, J., Harris,
N., Schnaiter, M., Toffoli, A., Derkani, M., Bukowiecki, N., Stratmann, F.,
Dommen, J., Baltensperger, U., Wernli, H., Rosenfeld, D., Gysel-Beer, M., and
Carslaw, K.: Overview of the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition:
Study of Preindustrial-like Aerosols and their Climate Effects
(ACE-SPACE), Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 100, 2260–2283,
https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0187.1, 2019. a
Simmonds, I., Keay, K., and Tristram Bye, J. A.: Identification and
climatology of southern hemisphere mobile fronts in a modern
reanalysis, J. Clim., 25, 1945–1962, https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00100.1,
2012. a
Sinclair, V. A., Belcher, S. E., and Gray, S. L.: Synoptic controls on
boundary-layer characteristics, Bound.-Lay. Meteorol., 134, 387–409,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-009-9455-6, 2010. a, b
Sodemann, H., Aemisegger, F., Pfahl, S., Bitter, M., Corsmeier, U., Feuerle,
T., Graf, P., Hankers, R., Hsiao, G., Schulz, H., Wieser, A., and Wernli, H.:
The stable isotopic composition of water vapour above Corsica during the
HyMeX SOP1 campaign: Insight into vertical mixing processes from
lower-tropospheric survey flights, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 6125–6151,
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-6125-2017, 2017. a
Sprenger, M. and Wernli, H.: The LAGRANTO Lagrangian analysis tool –
version 2.0, Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 2569–2586,
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-8-2569-2015, 2015. a
Steppeler, J., Doms, G., Schättler, U., Bitzer, H. W., Gassmann, A., Damrath,
U., and Gregoric, G.: Meso-gamma scale forecasts using the nonhydrostatic
model LM, Meteorol. Atmos. Phys., 82, 75–96,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-001-0592-9, 2003. a
Terpstra, A., Gorodetskaya, I. V., and Sodemann, H.: Linking Sub-Tropical
Evaporation and Extreme Precipitation Over East Antarctica: An Atmospheric
River Case Study, J. Geophys. Res., 126, e2020JD033617,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD033617, 2021. a
Thomas, J.: ACE Zenodo Community Collection, Zenodo [data set], https://zenodo.org/communities/spi-ace/, last access: 11 August 2022. a
Thurnherr, I. and Aemisegger, F.: Calibrated data of stable water isotope measurements in water vapour at 13.5 m a.s.l., made in the austral summer of 2016/2017 around the Southern Ocean during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE), Zenodo [data set], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3250790, 2020. a
Thurnherr, I. and Aemisegger, F.: Python script of air parcel process models to simulate changes in stable water isotopologues along trajectories, Zenodo [code], https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6979911, 2022. a
Thurnherr, I., Kozachek, A., Graf, P., Weng, Y., Bolshiyanov, D., Landwehr, S.,
Pfahl, S., Schmale, J., Sodemann, H., Steen-Larsen, H. C., Toffoli, A.,
Wernli, H., and Aemisegger, F.: Meridional and vertical variations of the
water vapour isotopic composition in the marine boundary layer over the
Atlantic and Southern Ocean, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5811–5835,
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-5811-2020, 2020a. a, b
Thurnherr, I., Jansing, L., Aemisegger, F., and Wernli, H.: Numerical weather simulations using COSMOiso from December 2016–March 2017 along the ship track of the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition, ETH Zurich, research collection, ETH Zürich [data set], https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000445744, 2020b. a
Thurnherr, I., Hartmuth, K., Jansing, L., Gehring, J., Boettcher, M.,
Gorodetskaya, I., Werner, M., Wernli, H., and Aemisegger, F.: The role of
air–sea fluxes for the water vapour isotope signals in the cold and warm
sectors of extratropical cyclones over the Southern Ocean, Weather Clim.
Dynam., 2, 331–357, https://doi.org/10.5194/wcd-2-331-2021, 2021. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l
Uemura, R., Matsui, Y., Yoshimura, K., Motoyama, H., and Yoshida, N.: Evidence
of deuterium excess in water vapor as an indicator of ocean surface
conditions, J. Geophys. Res., 113, D19114, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JD010209,
2008.
a
Vergara-Temprado, J., Ban, N., Panosetti, D., Schlemmer, L., and Schär, C.:
Climate models permit convection at much coarser resolutions
than previously considered, J. Clim., 33, 1915–1933,
https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-19-0286.1, 2020. a
Wen, X., Lee, X., Sun, X.-M., Wang, J.-L., Zhong-Min, H. Sheng-Gong, L., and
Gui-Rui, Y.: Dew water isotopic ratios and their relationships to ecosystem
water pools and fluxes in a cropland and a grassland in China, Oecologia, 168,
549–561, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2091-0, 2012. a
Werner, M., Langebroek, P. M., Carlsen, T., Herold, M., and Lohmann, G.: Stable
water isotopes in the ECHAM5 general circulation model: Toward
high-resolution isotope modeling on a global scale, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos.,
116, D15109, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JD015681, 2011. a, b, c
Wernli, H. and Davies, H. C.: A Lagrangian-based analysis of extratropical
cyclones, Part I: The method and some applications, Q. J. R. Meteorol.
Soc., 123, 467–489, https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.49712353811, 1997. a
Wernli, H. and Schwierz, C.: Surface cyclones in the ERA-40 dataset
(1958–2001), Part I: Novel identification method and global
climatology, J. Atmos. Sci., 63, 2486–2507, https://doi.org/10.1175/JAS3766.1, 2006. a
Short summary
Stable water isotopes in marine boundary layer vapour are strongly influenced by the strength of air–sea fluxes. Here, we investigate a distinct vapour isotope signal observed in the warm sector of Southern Ocean cyclones. Single-process air parcel models are used together with high-resolution isotope-enabled simulations with the weather prediction model COSMOiso to improve our understanding of the importance of air–sea fluxes for the moisture cycling in the context of extratropical cyclones.
Stable water isotopes in marine boundary layer vapour are strongly influenced by the strength of...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint